The client

Socialwyze is a startup that refuses to accept how society neglects individuals experiencing financial hardship, high barriers to employment, and mental illness. They believe the status quo represents an unconscionable level of suffering and waste of human potential which costs taxpayers and charitable funders billions in compounding back-end costs associated with eviction, homelessness, mental illness, addiction, and crime.

Mark Cuban, a lead investor of the startup, said “When people experience disruption, financial and human costs can spiral out of control quickly. I’m thrilled to be an investor in Socialwyze, a mobile app that connects displaced workers with meaningful public benefit work”.

The problem

Every time the founder of Socialwyze, Cody Merrill, walked down the street, he’d be struck by the inadequate ways society was addressing homelessness. According to Forbes, 78% of people are living paycheck-to-paycheck, so when job loss occurs, eviction and homelessness become ticking time bombs. But, on the other hand, there are many service jobs that need to be done: community gardens need to be tended; parks need to be cleaned; trees need to be planted.

Is there an easy way to connect organizations such as homeless shelters, transitional programs, and homeless veterans’ groups with local nonprofits that have public benefit work that needs to be done? This was the problem to solve by Socialwyze: easily connect the unemployed with work that needs to be done.

The solution

A mobile app called Socialwyze was designed and launched, an app that connects work that needs to be done with people who need work. Element 14 did much more than meet the requirements: we asked a series of detailed questions to make sure the founder thought of all the contingencies. We added our suggestions and provided a lot of creative input. In the founder’s own words: “working with them is like I was working with someone right across the street” and “They’re keenly aware of tech decisions major players make, and they stay at the forefront in the industry. They had a lot of experience. Our experience with them is phenomenal”.

The results

The impact of the startup can be seen in some of its partnerships:

Socialwyze’s first partnership was with Miles of Freedom, a nonprofit with a mission to equip, empower and employ individuals returning home from prison. The organization partnered with Socialwyze to help host a pilot program distributing produce at the Park South YMCA (Dallas, TX). The event was a success, with Richard Miles, founder and CEO of Miles of Freedom, and his team offering valuable feedback that helped improve the app’s user experience.

Next up, Socialwyze embarked on its first large-scale community fund with EarthX, the international nonprofit environmental organization founded by Trammell S. Crow. EarthX chose Socialwyze for its inaugural entrepreneur-in-residence program. Donations to the EarthX fund pay the wages of the people who find work through Socialwyze. “Taking these people and giving them the occupation, and then, the pride they have and dignity they gain is palpable,” Crow said.