Missionable
Missionable, launched by Douglass Guernsey MBA ’22 and Varun Edupungati MBA ’23, creates verified action tokens that mission driven organizations can use to thank donors. Verified action tokens are gaining traction as a new way to digitally verify that an individual has taken a certain action. Providing donors and other who engage with mission driven organizations with unique verified action tokens will increase engagement and create new utility in badging systems.
The team started out in fall of 2021 as a project in the Heller Startup Challenge, a hackathon-style weekend in which social entrepreneurs build out ideas for their startups. Fiscal year 2022 saw them reach a series of milestones. They applied to the Spark program, winning a coveted spot in the Brandeis Virtual Incubator program at the SparkTank pitch competition in February 2022. The Spark program provided the team with funding and support in developing their business models, making connections to mentors, and training in pitching their companies to incubators and investors.
Winning a spot in the prestigious MassChallenge global incubator, over the summer of 2022, Missionable continued to refine their business plan, do further research on their target markets, and build their product. They also developed a marketing plan in the MBA class of Christina Inge, MS, Brandeis Innovation’s Online Infrastructure Manager. Graduating from Brandeis with a proven prototype, a business plan, and go-to-market strategy, as well as a growing network, Missionable was poised for success.
“Participating in Spark was a catalyst for our growth. It’s wonderful how Spark works as part of the overall Brandeis innovation ecosystem, fitting in with other supports such as startup competitions, courses, and clubs, to accelerate startup growth.” — Douglass Guernsey