How an App out of MIT and Harvard Could Boost Your Social Impact

There are plenty of resources out there that let you compare prices to get the best deal on a product. But bargain hunting isn’t everyone’s modus operandi. These days, more and more people would rather shop with a clear conscience than save a buck or two on morally tainted goods.

The trouble is that it can get tricky when determining whether companies you’re dealing with exercise upstanding business practices. It can require some painstaking legwork on the part of consumers, which can sometimes act as a disincentive.

For about a year now, DoneGood has been working to change that. With their app - which is currently available on the Apple Store and will be accessible for Androids within the month - you’ll have a list of ethically approved local business in the palm of your hand. Whether you’re bent on buying only organic or you want to purchase products solely from people who treat their workers well, you now have the tool to do so.

Most recently, DoneGood received the People’s Choice Award at the #Tech4Democracy Showcase and Challenge, which was hosted by Harvard’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, last week. But there’s so much more to this feel-good startup that lets you pinpoint businesses that share your specific consumer values.

An app to change personal policy

I spoke with Co-Founders Cullen Schwarz and Scott Jacobsen about how their company came to be, and what their app means for consumerism as we know it. The duo, who met when they were both working in Washington, DC, was inspiring - to say the least. Combining their experience in government with the technical talent of their third Co-Founder Garrett Parrish of MIT, they’ve infiltrated the business world with a mission.

“We’re the demand side of the supply and demand equation. Whatever we demand, the market will provide.”

“We are two guys who have spent most of their careers so far trying to make a change from a political standpoint,” Schwarz said of Jacobsen and himself. “We went to Washington as young, idealistic guys because we wanted to make a difference. It doesn’t surprise many people when we say that we found out that change comes slowly in DC.”

“Sometimes Washington isn’t the best place for change,” Jacobsen further explained. “The bureaucracy of a nonprofit may not be efficient, or there are sometimes strings attached to funding, so your power to impact is limited. But people are starting to recognize that business can be a powerful source for good.”

Now, don’t get the impression that the DoneGood team is against government action because they aren’t. They just want to give people the power to make an impact in their daily lives.

“We should vote, we should write our representative and advocate public policy,” Schwarz said. “But our greatest tool for change is in our back pocket: Our wallets.”

“We’re the demand side of the supply and demand equation. Whatever we demand, the market will provide,” he concluded.

More than just a good business index

While providing transparency into which businesses agree with your ethical standards is DoneGood’s current scope, Jacobsen and Schwarz told me there’s more to come from their app. In general, they want to help communities of like-minded and socially conscious individuals come together.

“Along with helping people find businesses that share their values, we also want to feature events and opportunities for folks to volunteer,” Schwarz said.

Jacobsen added, “We want people to use it to create a lifestyle where they can feel good about the products they buy, feel good about the groups they’re associating with and create a better world one step at a time.”

-BostInnio