Keeping in touch is a major challenge for families of people serving time in prison. Flikshop is a new business that’s making it easier and more affordable for inmates to communicate with the outside world.
Marcus Bullock, a D.C.-area native and the CEO of Flikshop, was sentenced to eight years in an adult maximum-security prison when he was 15 for carjacking a man in a mall parking lot.
Incarceration was dark and difficult, but Bullock said his mother’s promise to send him a photo every day helped him see to a future after his prison term.
“It paved a way for me to be able to prepare myself for what the tomorrows could potentially look like,” he recalled.
The messages from Mom also opened his eyes to a need in the prison system. When he was released, he launched Flikshop.
“There were these predatory companies that were charging families, which ended up racking up to be billions of dollars,” he added.
Bullock’s Flikshop allows families to send postcards online with photos and messages to inmates.
He’s now also allowing businesses to use the platform to help inmates prepare for their release.
“These are some of the partners that never have been able to connect directly with people in the prison.”
He’s also launched Flikshop Angels, a program that lets sponsors pay for postcards for kids who want to keep in touch with their parents.
“Our Flikshop angels purchase Flikshop credits so kids can send as many selfies to their parents as they want,” said Bullock.
Bullock said he hopes his business will help inmates stay connected and make them better equipped for the outside world.
More details are available on Flikshop’s website.
