Youth Startup Creates Mobile App to Connect Charities to Donating Users and Volunteers
Rishab Siddamshetty, 15, Aadi Khasgiwala, 15, Akash Raghunathan, 15, and Aaron Liu, 15, all from Dallas, TX, are one of this year's competitors in the i.Invest National Youth Business Competition. The team members are the cofounders of MyWish. MyWish integrates simplicity with innovation to provide charities with a simple solution to acquire supplies, money, and volunteers.
We spoke with Aaron, Akash, Aadi, and Rishab to learn more about the business venture:
Tell us about your business:
Every charity needs three things: supplies, money, and volunteers. Our app, MyWish, solves these issues by hosting a user-friendly interface that connects charities to donors, so philanthropists can donate money and supplies to their favorite charities. Also, our multifarious platform allows charities to create public profiles, allowing for volunteers to connect with them directly through our app’s chat function. In order to cover the costs of hosting this platform, the supplier is charged $3.00 for supply-based transactions and 4% for cash-based transactions. MyWish also allows for an in-app subscription which includes an unlimited wish list, a more advanced profile, and guaranteed advertisement on the MyWish homepage. Essentially, our app aims to provide a more long-term solution for charities by creating strong communities as opposed to one-time transactions.
Who or what inspired you to start MyWish?
MyWish was formed to learn about charity’s needs and wishes and brainstorm how our team could help fulfill them. Many of our team members were inspired by an underprivileged community center that we volunteered at, and we were disappointed that so many people waste items that charities could be utilizing. As we went through our development phase, our team thought about the various competitors in the field, such as Giftster, Offer-Up, and more. Our team built MyWish with a goal to help charities, as opposed to any of our other competitors.
How will MyWish impact the world?
The growth of users will benefit charities by giving them the ability to get the supplies and volunteers they need with a single click. Volunteers and donors will also benefit by having a user-friendly platform to reach the forefront of philanthropy. Using MyWish, more people will learn about these organizations, and in turn, more people will supply them with the everyday materials they desperately need. Our product strives to help charities. It is reported that nearly 5,000 charities are forced to close their doors every year and shut down due to a lack of supplies, volunteers, and money. Our company can help alleviate the struggles charities face daily by providing a platform for more people to donate, supply, and contact these charities.
What are the next steps?
We are seeking $15,000 to fund advertising and marketing our product; in additional to financing additional app development, server hosting, and cover further personal expenses.
To mentor or support, email info@i-investcompetition.com.