Who We Are
What Is Penzu?
Penzu is an online diary and personal journal focused on privacy. With a unique and compelling user experience, it makes writing online as easy and intuitive as writing on a pad of paper.
Origins of Penzu
Why isn't there an easy and secure way to record your thoughts online? All of the existing online solutions were either clunky, bloated, or not built for private writing. Why would you want to keep a private journal on a blogging service intended for public use? The alternatives — keeping private information on a desktop computer or in a notepad — are effective, but they aren't entirely safe either.
Penzu offers a secure place to store your thoughts and ideas in the cloud. Not only are your entries password protected within your account, but journals can be secured with strong encryption.
With our powerful security also comes extreme ease of use. The core component of the interface is the Pad — a metaphor for a pad of paper. This universal design element has allowed Penzu to transcend language and cultural barriers, with people from over 170 countries using the service. We've always made the user experience a top priority, and it's one of our main differentiators from complicated and confusing competitors.
The name "Penzu" comes from many influences, but mainly it's a derivative of the Latin pensare, which means to think or be full of thought.
We love what we do. For us, building Penzu isn't work — it's our passion. We strive to create the highest-quality online experience by combining intriguing interactions and rock-solid functionality.
The Team
Alexander Mimran — President & Founder
Alexander started Penzu to solve a personal need of his: why isn't there a secure place to keep one's thoughts on the web? After a year of developing on evenings and weekends, Penzu launched a minimum viable product and garnered the interest of journalers from the get-go. It has since acquired many passionate users worldwide who pour their lives into their Penzu journals.
Alexander has a product development and marketing background and is the driving force behind Penzu. He previously worked as a freelance graphic designer and branding consultant, helping startups and various small businesses. His vision is to make Penzu the most popular digital alternative to pen and paper — something we're all using less and less of as computers and mobile devices change our behavior.
Michael Lawlor — Co-founder & Lead Developer
Mike has been with Penzu since day one and is a master of all things web. With a background in artificial intelligence, Mike has experience in diverse areas such as domain registration, web hosting, e-commerce, online job banks, mobile social networks, user-driven content, rich media collaboration tools, and cloud computing.
What started as a side project to both showcase his skills and take them to new levels has blossomed into a worldwide hit. Penzu's distinct harmony between an attractive, intuitive user experience and a solid back-end architecture is a testament to Mike's prowess.
Simon Wilkinson — Senior Developer
Simon's broad base of experience in providing customer-centric solutions and his desire to build leading-edge products are valuable additions to the Penzu team. He has a background in computer science, having received both his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Carleton University in Ottawa. His research work at Carleton involved using swarm intelligence to secure communications within anonymous overlay networks. He has built everything from service-quality assurance solutions for wireless broadband operators to enterprise systems management automation.
Get in Touch
Have a question or a media inquiry? Send all inquiries to info@penzu.com.