One Interview.
An AI-Powered reflection
I. Our Family
Before Echotree was ever a company, it was a gift. A way to capture the voice, stories and values of a grandmother by her grandson.
Our founder, Bradley Beachum, was visiting his grandparents when the idea first took root. As a documentary filmmaker, actor and writer, Bradley had spent years professionally capturing and embodying the lives of others through films. That skillset, combined with a growing obsession with AI technologies, led to the first Echo. In our founder Bradley’s words:
“Before this was ever a business, it was personal. I created the first Echo for my own grandmother, but the seed of the idea came from someone I never got to meet: her mother, Moo.
My great-grandmother Moo was the heart of our family. I grew up on stories about her, how she loved her kids like nothing else, how she was funny without even meaning to be, how she had very little but gave with her whole heart. To this day, I can feel her love moving through the family, a part of her is still woven into who we are.
And yet, I never got to hear her voice. I never got to ask her about her life, or what she believed in, or what she might want her great-great-grandchildren to know. All I had of her were a handful of stories and some family heirlooms, many of which had already been lost to time.
I remember thinking… I wish I could just sit with her.
That’s where Echotree came from. It started as a gift, a way to capture someone’s voice, their values, their way of being. Not just to preserve the past, but to keep a conversation going across generations.”
Today Echotree is a family business, run by Bradley, his father Brandon Beachum and his uncle Ryan Beachum.
II. The First Echo
The first Echo wasn’t built in a lab. It was shaped at a kitchen table, in quiet moments, over the course of a weeklong interview done in bits and pieces with Susan Beachum, or as her family calls her, Gigi.
Bradley Beachum, Echotree’s founder, had spent the past few years acting in films and directing documentaries, learning how to ask the right questions, how to listen for the real story beneath the surface, how to preserve someone’s essence on screen. At the same time, he’d become quietly obsessed with emerging AI tools, not for productivity, but for self-reflection.
He began using AI like a mirror. A journal. A way to explore his own experiences, track the evolution of his values, and witness his inner life over time. The conversational quality of the tools made something click. What if this same technology, so fluid and so personal, could be used not to replace people, but to preserve them? What if it could carry a voice across generations?
And so, armed with his filmmaking instincts and a set of early AI prototypes, Bradley sat down with Gigi to capture her story.
The interview itself was spread over several days. A relaxed, open-ended exploration of her life. They talked about her childhood, her parents, the things she learned raising kids of her own. They explored her values, her beliefs, her humor. She laughed. She cried. She paused and reflected on things she hadn’t spoken aloud in decades. It was intimate, unhurried, deeply human.
For Gigi, the process was unexpectedly profound.
For weeks afterward, she kept recalling new memories, reliving old seasons of life, and sharing stories at the dinner table that hadn’t surfaced in years.
For Bradley, it was the moment Echotree became real. The Echo they created wasn’t just a recording. It was a living archive, trained on her voice and values, capable of answering questions in a way that felt like her.
It wasn’t just about memory.
It was about presence.
That was the first Echo.
III. Our Vision
Here at Echotree, we believe too much of AI today is focused on replacement. On streamlining, automating, optimizing.
And while we have no qualms with productivity, we see that AI technologies are capable of something else as well. Something far more human.
We believe that conversational AI has the potential to preserve the essence of a person in a way that’s never before been possible. Not just as data or a digital likeness, but as a living archive of memory, voice, humor, values, and presence. A way for people to speak across time.
We’re not here to build avatars for automation. We’re here to build vessels for memory.
To help families remember the sound of a father’s laugh.
To give future generations a way to ask their grandmother what she believed in.
To let someone reflect on their own life and feel seen.
Every Echo begins with an interview. It’s cinematic, conversational, and deeply personal. And while the result is a tool for the future, the process itself is transformative. People often find themselves remembering long-lost moments, naming unspoken values, or simply recognizing the story of their life in a new way.
This isn’t just a time capsule. It’s a mirror.
We believe that reflecting on your personal history, your ancestry, and your lived experiences can lead to healing — for individuals, for families, for entire lineages. That preserving your story isn’t just about legacy. It’s about meaning.
Echotree believes AI technologies shouldn’t replace people. They should preserve them.
Bradley Beachum
Founder & Director
A filmmaker, actor, and lifelong storyteller, Bradley leads Echotree’s vision and creative direction. He draws from his work across more than 100 film productions to guide the interviews, helping people uncover the deeper narrative of their lives, not through performance, but presence. Before founding Echotree, he earned multiple awards for his storytelling work, including a film that was featured at the Cannes Film Festival.
Brandon Beachum
Advisor
Brandon is a serial entrepreneur, thought leader, and host of The Positive Head Podcast, which produced over 2,200 episodes across a decade and consistently ranked among the top shows in the spirituality space. He previously co-founded ResortShare, scaling it to $12M in annual revenue and earning a spot on the Inc. 500 list. A former frontman for the band Kundalini, Brandon brings a blend of business acumen, creative vision, and soul-centered ethics to the heart of Echotree’s mission.
Ryan Beachum
Advisor
Ryan is a seasoned entrepreneur and creative advisor with a background that spans music, branding, design, and strategic innovation. He co-founded ResortShare alongside Brandon, helping scale the company to $12M in annual revenue and earning recognition on the Inc. 500 list. With a mind for both aesthetics and systems, Ryan has built ventures across hospitality, tech, and storytelling. At Echotree, he serves as a trusted advisor—shaping the vision, guiding design, and helping craft experiences that feel as meaningful as they are memorable
