It all started in 1990—when my mom met my dad at a bar in NYC. They fell in love, got married, had my sister in 1993, and then I was born in 1995.

My mom’s parents lived in Buffalo, NY, while my parents were raising my sister and me in New Jersey. My grandparents bought a video camera for all four of their kids, hoping we could capture memories and send them back to Buffalo. Even though we saw them multiple times a year, this was our special way of staying connected.

This led to our obsession with getting everything on video. From when we were babies, to the time we could operate the camera ourselves, we never missed a chance to film. My sister was always the director, and I, along with friends and family, did whatever she told us to do. We spent hours creating movies, dance routines, skits, shows, and more.

As a family, we’ve always been obsessed with watching those videos. Even as kids, you can hear us asking my dad behind the camera, “Can we watch ourselves on the TV later?” It was our way of reliving the moments he’d filmed that day. The wires, the setup, the time it took to watch it all back—it was a process! When digital cameras came out, and we moved away from the camcorder, my dad had all our 8mm tapes converted to VHS and eventually bought a machine to transfer them to DVDs.

Fast forward to 2020, when the world was turned upside down, and we found ourselves stuck at home with time on our hands. I decided to explore digitizing software’s, and started uploading our videos to the cloud. Days later, I had all our videos in the cloud, even uploading some to YouTube. I created a detailed outline of every video, including each person who appeared so I could quickly find and play a specific moment when I was with them. It made it easy to show family and friends clips on demand, and everyone was impressed by how quickly I could pull up videos.

The hours my family and I spent watching old videos—dance recitals, school plays, the movies I used to make with my cousins and friends—are some of the moments that make me laugh the hardest. The memories are priceless.

Through research, I learned that these tapes deteriorate over time, and there's a limited window to preserve the memories they hold. If people don't digitize their tapes soon, they could lose those memories forever. I didn’t want that to happen, so I started sharing this information with others. The more I shared, the more urgent people felt about getting their tapes done. In 2024, I decided to take the leap and turn it into a business. After plenty of trial and error, and experimenting with different equipment and technologies, Vidley Digital was born.

Vidley is named after my dog Widley, who got his name from my childhood nickname, 'Wid.' Hearing my dad call me 'Wid' in our home videos makes it even more meaningful that the company carries that name today.

I’m incredibly grateful to be the person who brings these precious memories back to life. The reactions I get from people when they see their old videos again are unforgettable. There’s no better feeling than seeing someone’s face light up when they relive those special moments.

Since 2024, we’ve already digitized thousands of hours of tapes and uploaded hundreds of photos to the cloud, all with care and love. Thank you for trusting us with your memories, and we’re excited to have you join the Vidley Family.

-Jennifer Gordon, Founder