Ryan Chan, a 2010 Brown University graduate, is CEO of Speramus, a startup founded at Brown that helps nonprofits with development efforts.
PBN: What is Speramus?
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CHAN: Speramus is an online fundraising platform that helps nonprofits connect individual donors together to make big changes. We allow organizations to list the specific projects they’re doing, offer donors a variety of gift opportunities to make a difference in the program, and track how their gifts are changing lives.
As a team of nonprofit activists ourselves, we realized that small donors, who represented the bulk of our supporters, get a very different philanthropic experience from big donors. As a big donor, you can have a conversation with the organization about what your gift does, who it helps, and how it is used; as a small donor, you get none of these. But these small gifts make a definite difference, and those donors should get the same experience regardless of how much they give. Speramus’ online fundraising platform provides nonprofits the leverage necessary to give every donor that big donor experience.
PBN: How would you describe the difference between Speramus and other fundraising systems for nonprofits?
CHAN: We’re in the business of helping restore meaning to philanthropy; our product is dedicated to improving the donor experience. A lot of our competitors focus on the financial nature of fundraising: they’re all about finding out who has the most money, or how you can fundraise from more people. We see this as a disservice to the incredible relationship built between a donor and an organization. These donors are helping you achieve amazing things, whether eliminating hunger or educating our children, and their gifts represent much more than just a way of continuing operations. By connecting donor and nonprofit in a meaningful transaction, we create a relationship that is more fulfilling for both.
PBN: Can you explain a bit more about where the idea came from?
CHAN: Everyone on our team is involved with a nonprofit organization, so we’ve all experienced some of the trials and tribulations of fundraising. Nathaniel, one of the co-founders, had the idea of giving smaller donors the same experience given to major donors. In brainstorming, we turned it into a business idea for a more streamlined fundraising model that could be implemented by any nonprofit, and we started the initial planning for Speramus. Luckily we were both in Danny Warshay’s entrepreneurship class at Brown, and developed the idea further in class.
PBN: You recently won the Rhode Island Business Plan Competition’s student track. How was it going through that process? What did you get out of it?
CHAN: The Rhode Island Business Plan Competition really helped us transition from concept into reality. We were five smart kids with a great idea, but the business plan competition made us hammer down exactly how we were going to take this idea and make it something real. Winning the competition was incredibly validating for us; that recognition gave us an emotional boost you won’t find on the prize sheet. It also made us realize how many great resources were available in the local area: we’d probably never have known otherwise.
PBN: How have you found the time to start up a company while still being a student at Brown?
CHAN: The transition from student to startup actually isn’t as chaotic as I expected. Starting a company is actually a lot like being a student at Brown. As a student you juggle extracurriculars, classes and friends; as a co-founder you juggle advisors, employees and milestones. Speramus has kept me pretty busy, but as a student you learn to use time management (and occasionally sleep deprivation) to the best of your abilities. •
