Record days of future past with the Yesterscape app

This picture sums up what Yesterscape does as an app

Yesterscape, designed by founder and CEO of Qooq, Inc. Taiho Ueda, is a self-described photographic time machine. People are already constantly taking photos to preserve their memories. This app takes that tendency a step further by affixing photos to GPS locations so users can revisit the location weeks or years later and relive the moment.

Log in (using Facebook, Google, or a separate Yesterscape account) and start snapping away. The pics get stored in your personal file which can be shared with friends and family. You can also import pics into your folder. If you pass by a landmark or enter a restaurant where you have a stored picture, you can receive a notification. The photo you originally took will float on the screen, so you can use the apps augmented reality to see how the surroundings have – or have not – changed.

Yesterscape was born in Kyoto, Japan and takes advantage of the many historical landmarks of the area. There are tourism-focused packages which help users understand how Kyoto has changed over the years.

Building for the future

That Yesterscape exists at all is a testament to Ueda’s determination. A self-taught developer, his first business partner did not pan out and the result was about US$200,000 of debt. Then he hired a CTO who was supposed to help turn around the company, but the person’s technical skills turned out to be much less refined than they appeared on paper. Despite these setbacks, the debt incurred by the first business partner has been paid back, and Ueda now oversees a small team in one of Kyoto’s popular startup working spaces.

Yesterscape has tallied 200,000 downloads so far with Thai users being particularly enthusiastic. Ueda does not envision vanity metrics taking off at a viral pace until devices like Google Glass become more popular. “We see expansion as a long term project,” he says.

New features to attract users are in the pipeline. 3-D painting is a just-released function that allows users to draw 3-D images in their pictures.

“Right now, we don’t burn through much money. Even if the company itself doesn’t do well, I can bootstrap it [with my side business],” he says. “We have not received any investment. We don’t quite have the resources to scale the business so in the future we will look for additional funds.”

Scaling for startups often means going overseas. Ueda is looking forward to that challenge as well. One project he wants to put into action is taking pictures in developing nations so future generations can see the world their parents grew up in.

See: This tiny Tokyo startup wants to challenge Instagram and Vine with real-time video editing