Simbiotics Startup Campaign

It all started one Saturday morning at an event called Changefest—a social entrepreneurial business pitch competition. Each of the students participating formed groups of 3-6 based upon what social impact they were trying to make. They then had the entire day to create a business model for whatever sector of society they were trying to improve. The options ranged from education to justice reform to things like the environment and sustainability. A group of five college students, passionate about saving the environment, chose to tackle the topic of sustainability. The main problem they were trying to address was a way to incentivize college students like themselves to become more proactive when it comes to practicing sustainable habits. They figured what better way to do that then by providing them the opportunity to have their college tuition paid for by doing just that—recycling. They pitched their idea, came in first place, won "the Most Game Changing Award", and received $500 to make their idea become a reality. After some careful planning and deliberation Simbiotics was born. 


 Our Mission Statement

 At Simbiotics our mission is to foster the development of sustainable ecosytems within communities by making recycling easier than ever before. We will surpass this goal by providing a service that incentivizes our users and the community at large, and creates a personal and communal effort to get behind a cause that is much bigger than us all--saving the planet.

How We Operate

Simbiotics’ business model was designed with one idea in mind—creating a model that incentivizes our users and the community at large to create not only a personal effort, but also a communal effort in saving the planet. We wanted to find a way to make recycling easier than ever all the while rewarding those who do so. We eventually came up with the idea of having Smartbins that are conveniently placed throughout campuses that allow students to donate recyclables and more importantly keep track of how much they have personally contributed. All of this information will be synced and tracked through an app. Additionally, the app keeps track of how much the institution as a whole has contributed so the students have an idea of how much of an impact they are making on their campus in comparison to other students.  At the end of the year we will sell off all of the recyclables collected from the institutions to 3rd party vendors. The money that is collected from the selling of recyclables will then be turned into a scholarship/grant that then is given back to the institution. The top students who recycled the most according to the app will receive the scholarship.

Our Vision


 It goes without question that the necessity of adopting sustainable habits is important now more than ever. Being college students, we know how busy the average day for a student can be. Often times there are things we want to do or accomplish but simply do not have enough time in the day to do so. We did not want recycling to be one of those shoulda-coulda-woulda’s. Thus being why we designed our business model to make it easier than ever for all of our users to do just that. All they have to do is put their recyclables in our bins and leave the rest up to us. With this quick and efficient method of recycling—with the added bonus of receiving a scholarship for doing so—we believe that our company would flourish on college campuses around the country. This then would be a huge leap towards saving the planet all the while making the average student excited about doing so.

 Our bins will also be placed in high traffic areas like public beaches and state parks. The money generated from those bins will then provide us with an extra way to help improve the lives of the community and all those within it. We will do that through various ways like grants, scholarships, and improving the infrastructure of said community.

 At the end of the day, all we really want to do is save the planet and improve the lives of as many people as we possibly can. More importantly, we want to use this as a tool to motivate and inspire kids of all ages to go out into the world and make a difference.


 With your support you can help us do just that. The money that you donate to our startup campaign will go towards the following:

·      Improving our SmartBin/App technology

·      Legal fees

·      Website improvements

·      Promotional Events

·      Charity Events

·      Research and Development

·      & more
 
Instagram

@Simbiotics

 
Snapchat

Simbiotics_llc

 
Website

~~COMING SOON~~

 
If you have any further question do not hesitate to shoot us an email or reach out to any one of our Founders on Facebook.

 
Founders:

Dakota Williams

22

Major: Philosophy

Minor(s): Business Admin. & Accounting

Palmdale, CA

 

Daniel Donnelly

20

Major: Chemistry

Minor(s): Mathematics

Portsmouth, RI

 

Waverly Findlay

20

Major: Health Studies

Exeter, RI



(from left to right) Liam, Dan, Grace, Dakota, Waverly