Papafund is a platform that allows people to submit their pitch for why they should win a $1000 prize, then other users vote for the winner. I think good use cases for this would be someone who wants to wants to travel to another country to surprise a loved one, but can't afford it - those individuals wouldn't really be able to use traditional crowdfunding sites, and places like Just Giving wouldn't be suitable either. I think Papafund is a nice middle ground for use cases that aren't charity or business-based.
@bentossell@riaface Pitches are not that public. You can only see pitches of your competitors in the current round when you have already pitched and the round becomes active (ie. all 150 pitches submitted). When 150 people pitch on Papafund, a round begins and the voting week starts.
Hello folks! Glad to see Papafund on PH.
So here's the story behind it. In Feb 2015, I was a student who was selected to attend a conference at Harvard. I didn't want to spend my limited money on aircraft fuel and my Dad (nick: Papa) wasn't ready to give me a grand. I didn't want to crowdfund and ask for money from people. All I had were a lot of friends who were there to help me out with anything that wasn't beyond social media. I searched the internet and there was no service that would let me raise support, not money.
Nine months down the lane, my co-founders and I launched Papafund!
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charging for submissions from people who are already in need feels a bit like a regressive social tax. not a fan of pay to play contest formats, but good luck
@passingnotes Nice feedback. I get your point of view.
At Papafund, people pitch for getting money to fulfil their wants, not needs. The platform is made for the people who are doing fine without something, but would definitely want it because they're passionate for it.
For example, a college student could pitch for $1000 to throw a party for his friends this new year's eve. His/her friends would definitely vote for it and if the pitch is good enough, they'd actually be partying pretty good later this month!
Just like @riaface suggested, Papafund is a nice middle ground for use cases that aren't charity or business-based. It's to fund you for anything you are passioante for.
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@rafiimran exactly - and if the party doesn't happen, it's another ten bucks on student loans ;)
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