Hooot: Empowering individuals with the gift of safety
Max Young is a junior studying computerÌýscience andÌýa solopreneur who hasÌýa passion for startups and building awesome products. His passionÌýled him to compete in ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä Boulder's in 2019 with his business idea for PartyFavor, a smartphone app that is aimed at empowering individuals with the gift of safety.ÌýNow known asÌý, he'sÌýback competing in NVC this year with his sights set on the Championships.
Q: How did you come up with your business idea? What inspired you?
MY:ÌýMy startup idea is to help solve the problem of sexual assault on college campuses and to help make college a much safer experience.ÌýHooot is a smartphone app aimed at empowering individuals with the gift of safety. DangerousÌýsituations can present themselves anywhere at anytime—what if a campus safety pole isn't quite as close as you need it to be? With Hooot, you'll have access to the help you need right in your pocket. As your personal mobile bodyguard, Hooot jumps into action once activated by gesture orÌýcode word, sending a text message and pin-dropped GPS location to an unlimited number ofÌýemergency contacts.
I was inspired when I read that 26 percentÌýof all women in college will experience sexual assault atÌýsome point in their college career. I felt like there wasn’t a good solution to this problem so IÌýdecided to come up with my own solution. I was also inspired by it because I have beenÌýharassed when walking to class and felt like there needed to be a way to contact my friends inÌýcase I was in danger.Ìý
Q: Why did you decide to compete in this year'sÌýNew Venture Challenge (NVC)?
MY:ÌýI decided to compete in NVC this year because I competedÌýin 2020, and I had a greatÌýtime. I love the connections you can make with other students who are building awesomeÌýcompanies and the connections you can make with the boulder startup community.ÌýThe other reason I decided to compete in NVC is because it provides a lot of great resources for Hooot to grow.Ìý
Q: What has been your biggest challenge in running your startup? What about notable wins or successes?
MY:ÌýMy biggest challenge in running my startup is that I am a solo founder. This means I have toÌýdeal with all aspects of the business. I have to be writing code, working on marketing, growingÌýthe business and talking to users every week. There is a lot to juggle but I have been enjoying the process and I have learned a lot.Ìý
Some notable wins I have had was launching our product, partnering with sororities atÌýuniversities across the country and getting press coverage on Hooot. I have also been gaining traction with our users so that is super awesome as well!Ìý
Q: What do you love about having your own company?
MY:ÌýI love that I am able to work on a problem that I am super passionate about. I love talking toÌýusers and building products that I believe will add value to theirÌýlives.Ìý
Q: What advice would you give to other students who are interested in starting their own businesses or wanting to compete in NVC?
MY:ÌýOne of the biggest pieces of advice that I would give to anyone starting their own business isÌýthat you have to be super committed. There will be a lot of challenges and failures along theÌýway, and you will need to have the perseverance to push through it.ÌýMy other piece of advice would be to work hard. You hear it all the time but once you start your own business you will see why people say that. It will take a lot more work than you originallyÌý expectÌýbut that hard work is super fulfilling.Ìý
Q: What is your plan for your startup after graduating? Do you still plan to work on it? If so, what are your goals?Ìý
²Ñ³Û:ÌýI want to continue working on Hooot after graduation.ÌýI am currently halfway done with my junior year and I am taking a gap semester. This means I now have two more years in college, so graduation is still quite a while away. Once I graduate I plan on continuing to pursue thisÌýproblem until I have found the best solution.ÌýHopefully it is with my current product but if IÌýdiscover there is a better solution I will build that out as well.Ìý