Digital gifts, real-life joy

Winnipeg Free Press

28-07-2025

When Lisa Chalker wanted to create a special gift for her husband Ron, she turned to VidDay.
The online service makes it easy to collect video messages from friends and family, plus photos and other media, and compile them into a professional-quality video gift. No editing skills are required.
A retired event planner, Chalker collected 19 videos and 89 photos to create a 20-minute video she presented to her husband last year on his 60th birthday. The total cost was US$24.
'My husband is not a mushy guy, but he was crying,' recalls Chalker, who lives in Port Orange, Fla. 'Where else can you just reach in and grab somebody's heart for $24?'
Today, Chalker is something of an evangelist for VidDay, which is headquartered in Winnipeg. She describes herself as the company's biggest fan.
'I couldn't believe that I found this service and that it was so inexpensive,' she says. 'It's unbelievable what you can do with this service.'
Reactions like those show VidDay co-founder and president Denis Devigne that, a decade into its existence, the company is on the right track.
'Every time (we) get the feedback from people using it, we know we're doing the right thing,' the 39-year-old says. 'It just feels so good.'
Devigne is sitting in Kilter Brewing Co. in St. Boniface, the Winnipeg neighbourhood where he was raised, as he reflects on VidDay's 10th anniversary.
The company employs 12 people, nine of whom are in Winnipeg. Everyone works remotely, but local staff typically gather at Kilter one work day each week to collaborate in person. (The team is so comfortable in the space that when a Free Press photographer stopped by to take pictures, they'd put temporary VidDay signage on the wall.)
Since VidDay launched, it has become a global platform with more than eight million users in more than 180 countries. It's all a result of the company's goal to make one billion people smile.
Per VidDay's website: 'Making a billion smiles happen isn't just a lofty goal — it's a guiding principle that motivates us to create a positive impact in the world.'
Devigne and co-founders Jeffrey Laxson and Kyle Sierens have a lot to smile about these days, but like most entrepreneurs, they have plenty of stories about their company's humble beginnings and struggles.
It was 2013, when Devigne, a Saint Boniface University business graduate, came up with the idea for VidDay.
At the time, it was popular for Facebook users to post a birthday greeting on their friends' pages. How much more impactful would it be, he wondered, if those messages were videos? And what if those videos were compiled into one montage, complete with photos and music?
Devigne was a freelance web designer and Via Rail service attendant when he started the company by making a rudimentary website that advertised video gifts for $10.
He knew that eventually the process would be automated, but at the beginning, he was manually editing the videos himself. He recalls spending hours of his off time during one Via Rail trip to Vancouver, working on a video for a customer in Australia. His father couldn't believe he was working that hard for a ten-spot, but Devigne had a vision.
Later that year, he hired a company in Ukraine to build an app that would automate VidDay's processes. He had $40,000 to spend — all of his life savings at the time — and the company burned through three-quarters of it in a week-and-a-half. Realizing he didn't have the money needed for the app developers to pull off what he'd envisioned, Devigne pulled the plug.
That's when he turned to Laxson and Sierens for help. Together, the three entrepreneurs built the VidDay team that developed the back-end technology that today makes the service affordable and easy to use.
VidDay wouldn't be what it is without that team, Devigne says.
In recent years, VidDay has expanded its offerings. They include VideoGreet, a service that allows online shoppers to add personalized video, audio and text messages to physical and digital gifts.
There's also CineGreet, which gives people who are going to the movie theatre the chance to create personalized video messages for loved ones that play before the screening they're attending. The latter service is available in Landmark Cinemas nationwide, where it's branded as Shout Out.
VidDay also offers e-cards and custom songs.
'We want people to start thinking, 'Just go to VidDay,'' Devigne says. 'It's a go-to celebration platform for digital gifts.'
Margaux Miller has been a VidDay supporter since the company launched. The Winnipeg-based event MC and keynote speaker has both given and received video gifts through the service.
When thinking about why video gifts are so meaningful, Miller points to Maslow's hierarchy of needs — a motivational theory in psychology comprising a five-tier model of human needs. 'Love and belonging' make up the middle tier.
'I think we don't spend enough time reminiscing on happy memories and realizing all of the people that love us and care for us,' says Miller, 36.
'When you receive a VidDay (gift), it's a moment where you get a chance to be reminded of all the people who truly love and care for you. It helps you remember those relationships, which helps build happiness. It's so unique. It's not a material item that just gets forgotten on a shelf. It's something that can spark joy and happiness.'
Devigne has seen users give VidDay gifts in a variety of situations, including graduations, retirements and teacher appreciation events. Businesses are using VidDay to celebrate employees and recognize important workplace milestones, he says, and non-profits are using it to thank their donors.
Musicians Ian Hunter and Paul Rodgers — of Mott the Hoople and Bad Company fame, respectively — have used VidDay to create recent music videos.
When Devigne decided to start the company, he says, three pillars mattered to him most: work with incredible people, create great products and make a positive impact on the world.
Giving back to the community has been part of VidDay's business model from the start, he says.
To that end, the company donates a portion of its net proceeds to planting trees to support global reforestation efforts. More than 100,000 trees have been planted around the world as a result. The company also contributes to a local charity that builds schools in Laos.
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Additionally, VidDay users can make and send 'get well' videos to loved ones for free. The company also offers free videos to non-profit organizations to support their causes.
'I knew (VidDay) couldn't just be about spreading love through video,' Devigne says. 'I had to go further (and) build a business model that also created a real social good.'
Devigne adds marking 10 years in business feels surreal. He's excited about VidDay's future, he says, because the company's technology 'is only getting more robust, better and more advanced.'
'It's easy to (sleep well) when you know you're making people cry tears of joy every day,' he says. 'It's not a bad job.'
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Aaron EppReporter
Aaron Epp reports on business for the Free Press. After freelancing for the paper for a decade, he joined the staff full-time in 2024. He was previously the associate editor at Canadian Mennonite. Read more about Aaron.
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