Jason Rosado is a bit of a romantic. A business romantic that is. Having worked in the private sector for most of his career, he is now among a new generation of entrepreneurs who want to use technology and mobile applications to help people, help each other. Rosado is the founder of the Givkwik iPhone app (short for ‘giving quickly’) is a mobile tool where anyone can give, people can give together and it’s fun and easy to do.
“We’re building a business that makes it possible for people like me, someone who didn’t have money growing up but who still wanted to make a difference in the world, to pay it forward. We want to make giving so easy, that you can weave giving into other online interactions like reading articles or playing games,” Rosado said. “Giving should keep you engaged, not take you away from what you were doing. It should be where you are, as close as possible to your feeling of YES as it can be.”
Having worked for nearly 15 years in banking and e-commerce, the 39-year old Puerto Rican from the Bronx is used to sitting in on conversations where he is among a small group, if not the only, person of color. Still it can be challenging trying to convince investors, most of whom are not Latino, that philanthropy is a universal impulse across incomes and cultures. “It’s teaching people with lots of money that people with less money also like to help people with their money,” Rosado explained. “There’s a level of connectivity, especially in Latino cultures, of helping your fellow man and feeding your friend’s kids, too.”