I recently had a good chat with Robbie Cape, the founder and CEO of Seattle-based Cozi. We talked about some key issues in tech startups and entrepreneurship, as well as the deal his company just landed in April with computer giant Dell—one that is helping drive some much-needed business to his consumer-focused startup.

The basic idea of Cozi is free software to help families coordinate their calendars, activities, to-do lists, and chores, and stay in touch better. The Web-based service can be accessed on PCs, laptops, and mobile devices like the iPhone, Windows smartphones, and BlackBerry. The recent Dell partnership means Cozi’s software comes pre-loaded on Dell’s new Studio One 19 machines (its touch screen desktop). The companies also formed a partnership earlier this year in which Dell ships Cozi’s software on other types of PCs through its retail partners.

Cape, a 12-year Microsoft veteran, founded Cozi back in 2005, and the company released its first product in early 2007. The startup has raised some $16 million from angel investors, family members, and the media company Gannett. It now has about 1.5 million customers spread among half a million families worldwide. Cozi’s revenues come from co-branding relationships and direct advertising.

Within the challenging space of Web-based consumer software, Cape had some valuable insights to share. Here’s a quick rundown:

—On how the Dell deal came about: “When we decided to integrate into family life, we spent two weeks considering doing a hardware play,” Cape says. “So much of our vision was related to there being computers, flatscreens throughout home where people could access Cozi. For our first user experience in 2007, we built it to run on Dell Studio One. One of the first calls we made was to Dell. We were talking to the team who report to the CTO, and they said they were looking out 2-3 years. They were like, ‘This would be perfect for us, let’s keep talking.’”

—On the effects of Dell on Cozi’s business: “They’ve given us incredible exposure through their retail machines. They’re signing up 1,000 new family members a day,” Cape says. “Orders are a lot higher than they thought they’d be. Retail response has been phenomenal. We’re seeing signups come through the Dell Touch machine. I’m amazed at how much focus the Cozi application is getting. There are a variety of different apps on the machine—Cozi isn’t front and center.” As for how significant Dell is to … Next Page »

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Want to simplify your holiday shopping lists this year? What about keeping track of who’s picking up the kids from the airport, or who’s going to watch the bird in the oven while you entertain guests? A Seattle startup appears to be gaining traction in helping people manage these kinds of tasks. Cozi, a software company that helps busy families organize their calendars, track to-do lists, and stay in touch, announced it has registered more than a million family members on its free Web-based service.

It’s been a busy and productive year for Cozi, as the company has made the jump from personal-computer software to a Web 2.0 service. In the process, it has added some partnerships with big companies like Whirlpool, Unilever, Best Buy, Gannett, and Meredith Corporation’s Better Homes and Gardens brand (just announced yesterday). And in the middle of the year, it began its advertising model and has signed on dozens of companies like Target, American Express, and Universal Studios.

Cozi launched its software product in the fall of 2006 and is backed by just over $16 million in funding, from Gannett and other investors. It was founded by veterans of Microsoft, Expedia, and Amazon. Most of its customers are based in the U.S., but Cozi also boasts users in about 125 other countries. “Reaching 1 million family members confirms the belief we’ve had all along that families will embrace technology to organize their busy lives and to stay connected to each other as long it simplifies rather than complicates family life,” says Carl Weinstein, Cozi’s chief marketing officer.

I asked Weinstein about the challenges associated with increasing numbers of users. “From a technical perspective, this is growth we expected and have been prepared for,” he replied. “We foresee no technical challenges that we haven’t already anticipated at this point. We’ve just finished the final phase of creating a highly scalable database architecture which will enable us to grow well beyond this level of use with little if any R&D overhead. As we add new features, and that is a big priority for us looking forward, we’re always considering scalability and redundancy given the size of our customer base.”

So where does it all go from here? Not surprisingly, Weinstein is upbeat. “This all bodes really well for Cozi in 2009. Our business model is strong, we are heavily focused on new feature development and our research indicates that more families than ever are ready to ditch their old ways of organizing for a modern solution,” he says. “Given that most families, regardless of how much technology they use personally at work or elsewhere, are still using pen and paper to manage the family, we are very excited about our prospects for the future.”

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