After launching Watsi, we experienced a surge of interest, with major media outlets like TechCrunch, Huffington Post, and NBC covering us, leading to a rapid increase in donations that outpaced our ability to post new patients.

In the early days of Watsi, we decided that 100% of every donation would fund healthcare, we would be the most transparent organization, and we would treat everyone with respect and dignity. On August 23, 2010, we launched Watsi after a year and a half of preparation, and our initial goal was to fund healthcare for 10 patients in the first six months. We achieved that goal within the first couple of hours after launch.

Since launching Watsi, over 10,000 donors have funded healthcare for 4,000 patients across 20 countries, raising over $3.5 million, all of which has gone directly to those in need.

The turning point for starting Watsi came when I witnessed a woman on a bus asking for donations for her son's medical treatment, and I thought, "Why isn't there a website to fund medical care for individuals?"

Watsi is the first global crowdfunding platform for healthcare, allowing people to see photos and read stories of patients worldwide who need life-changing healthcare but cannot afford it.

Watsi is a crowdfunding platform for healthcare that allows anyone to donate as little as $5 to fund medical care for people in need.

I faced significant challenges in fundraising, as I had no connections in Silicon Valley and struggled to secure initial funding for Watsi. No one wants to be the first person to take a gamble and support you.

Despite being featured on TechCrunch, I felt overwhelmed by the reality of our operations, which were chaotic and unstructured, leading me to quit my job to work on Watsi full-time.

Two weeks after winning the competition, we received an email from Paul Graham inviting us to be the first nonprofit to join Y Combinator, which became a pivotal moment for Watsi's development.