I See Me!
I See Me! is a direct-to-consumer retailer that publishes personalized children's books and complementary personalized gifts, serving parents, grandparents, and gift purchasers across the US, UK, Ireland, Australia, France, and Canada through regional e-commerce storefronts.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2000
- HeadquartersEden Prairie, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What I See Me! does
I See Me! is a direct-to-consumer e-commerce retailer that publishes and sells personalized children's books and complementary personalized gifts. Founded approximately 25 years ago by husband-and-wife team Maia and Allan Haag, the company operates as a brand under parent entity PlanetArt, LLC and is headquartered in the Minneapolis/Eden Prairie, Minnesota area. The core offering consists of customizable storybooks, board books, photo books, coloring books, and comic books in which the child's name, photo, and other details are integrated into the story and illustrations, with flagship titles including "My Very Own Name" and "Goodnight Little Me" illustrated by Mary GrandPré.
The commercial model is exclusively direct-to-consumer through the iseeme.com website, supported by regional storefronts in the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, France, and Canada (in both English and French). Customers personalize books in real time through a self-serve web configurator with a live preview, then check out individually or in bundles. Pricing is unit-based, generally $29.99–$34.99 per personalized book, with a 20% multi-book discount code (MULTI20), premium hardcover/gold-foil variants, and a rewards program for repeat purchases. Phone support, live chat, and a reseller/wholesale program supplement the core e-commerce channel, while content marketing via blog, Instagram, and Facebook supports top-of-funnel demand generation.
Revenue is generated primarily through one-time product sales across the core book categories plus an expanding portfolio of add-on personalized products (puzzles, growth charts, ornaments, hand-drawn portrait art, placemats, blankets, stickers) and bundled gift sets. Marketing is occasion-driven (baby showers, birthdays, holidays, religious milestones), the catalog is segmented by age (newborn through 8) and recipient type (children, pets, grandparents, family), and customer reviews indicate a 4.7-star Google rating across approximately 1,970 reviews. All products are printed in the USA and shipped from domestic fulfillment.
I See Me! firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- I See Me!
- Legal name
- PlanetArt, LLC
- Website
- https://iseeme.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2000
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- I See Me! is a direct-to-consumer retailer that publishes personalized children's books and complementary personalized gifts, serving parents, grandparents, and gift purchasers across the US, UK, Ireland, Australia, France, and Canada through regional e-commerce storefronts.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
I See Me! industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Personalized Children's Books
- NAICS
- Hobby, Toy, and Game Retailers (45912), Doll, Toy, and Game Manufacturing (339930), Office Supplies, Stationery, and Gift Retailers (4594)
- SIC
- Retail-Hobby, Toy & Game Shops (5945), Games, Toys & Children's Vehicles (No Dolls & Bicycles) (3944)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Humor, Gift & Specialty Format Books (Journals, Coloring, etc.) (MPAJAAAN)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Children’s Activity & Practice Books (Workbooks, Puzzles, Handwriting) (EDAGAIAE), Educational/Children’s Learning Games & Puzzles Retail (CRALALAN)
Keywords
Where I See Me! is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Eden Prairie
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
I See Me! business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Personnel
Revenue model
- Product Sales - Personalized Books: One-time purchase of personalized children's books. Products include storybooks, board books, coloring books, comic books, photo books, and gift sets. Customers pay per item with volume discounts available for 2+ books.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Individual personalized books with customization |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
I See Me! product offering
Product offeringCore offering
I See Me! designs, publishes, and sells personalized children's books — storybooks, board books, photo books, coloring books, and comic books — in which a child's name, photo, and details are incorporated into the narrative and illustrations in real time during the ordering process. The company also offers a complementary line of personalized gift items (puzzles, growth charts, ornaments, hand-drawn portraits, placemats, blankets, stickers) and bundled gift sets, all printed in the USA and shipped directly to consumers worldwide.
Product overview
I See Me! is a personalized children's book e-commerce platform offering a portfolio of customizable book products and complementary gift items. The core offering consists of personalized storybooks, board books, photo books, coloring books, and comic books where each child's name and photo are integrated into the story and illustrations in real-time during the ordering process. Key flagship products include 'My Very Own Name' (name-learning book) and 'Goodnight Little Me' (bedtime lullaby book). The product line extends to add-on items including personalized puzzles, growth charts, ornaments, hand-drawn portrait art, placemats, blankets, and stickers. The company also offers bundled gift sets combining books with complementary items like plush toys. All products are printed in the USA and available in multiple formats including softcover, hardcover, and board book variants.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Quantifiable outcome
- 4.7-star rating from 1,970 Google Reviews
Companies that use I See Me!
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
I See Me! technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
I See Me! partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- BookOfUsminorPartnership referenced in footer navigation under Partners section. BookOfUs appears to be a related platform or co-marketing partner.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
I See Me! competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Frecklebox: Personalized children's books, puzzles, and gifts sold D2C with a comparable gift-occasion merchandising approach and overlapping product categories.
- Wonderbly: One of the largest personalized children's book publishers globally, offering customized storybooks (e.g., 'The Little Boy/Girl Who Lost Their Name') — direct overlap in product, customer, and gifting-occasion positioning.
- Hooray Heroes: European personalized children's book brand with strong presence in UK/Ireland and other markets that overlap with I See Me!'s geographies; comparable product range, price points, and D2C e-commerce model.
- Pinhole Press: Personalized books, stationery, and gifts for children and families, with a similar D2C premium-positioning model and a curated catalog of customizable products.
- Bright Star Kids: Personalized children's books, coloring books, and activity products sold D2C; directly overlaps with I See Me!'s coloring book, activity book, and educational gifting categories.
Emerging players
- Artifact Uprising: Premium photo books and personalized print products brand with a higher-end positioning; relevant for benchmarking on premium quality, brand aesthetic, and direct-to-consumer gifting in the photo book overlap.
- Lovebook: Personalized book publisher primarily for adult gifting (anniversaries, relationships); adjacent use case but a useful benchmark on personalization technology, D2C funnel design, and gifting occasion merchandising.
Broad incumbents
- Things Remembered: Legacy personalized gifts retailer (engraved/personalized items) competing in adjacent gifting categories I See Me! is expanding into (ornaments, keepsakes).
- Shutterfly: Large-scale photo and personalized products platform; overlapping in photo books and personalized gifting, with greater scale advantages in printing, marketing, and customer acquisition.
- Personalization Mall: Broad personalized gifts retailer (not books-specialist) operating at significantly larger scale; competes for the same gifting occasions and add-on categories I See Me! serves.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
I See Me! social profiles
Digital presenceI See Me! financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
I See Me! leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
I See Me! funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
I See Me! M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about I See Me!
What does I See Me! do?
I See Me! designs, publishes, and sells personalized children's books — storybooks, board books, photo books, coloring books, and comic books — in which a child's name, photo, and details are incorporated into the narrative and illustrations in real time during the ordering process. The company also offers a complementary line of personalized gift items (puzzles, growth charts, ornaments, hand-drawn portraits, placemats, blankets, stickers) and bundled gift sets, all printed in the USA and shipped directly to consumers worldwide.
Is I See Me! a public or private company?
I See Me! is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was I See Me! founded?
I See Me! was founded in 2000. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is I See Me! based?
I See Me! is headquartered in Eden Prairie, United States, in the North America region.
How does I See Me! make money?
One revenue line is on record: product Sales - Personalized Books.
Who are I See Me!'s main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Frecklebox, Wonderbly, Hooray Heroes, Pinhole Press and Bright Star Kids. Emerging players are Artifact Uprising and Lovebook. Broad incumbents are Things Remembered, Shutterfly and Personalization Mall.
Does I See Me! have an API?
No public API is recorded for I See Me!.
What industry is I See Me! in?
I See Me!'s product category is Personalized Children's Books. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJAAAN, Humor, Gift & Specialty Format Books (Journals, Coloring, etc.), with a secondary code of EDAGAIAE, Children’s Activity & Practice Books (Workbooks, Puzzles, Handwriting). Its NAICS code is 45912 and its SIC code is 5945.