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.

My dad, a Berkeley 60s activist, believed it was crucial for us to understand that we are part of a larger world where many people struggle to meet basic needs like food and healthcare.

After working at a large humanitarian nonprofit in Washington DC, I was disheartened to see that despite the skills of the staff, the organization struggled to make a meaningful impact due to donor restrictions.

A group of female entrepreneurs at the hospital in India pooled their resources to save for healthcare, demonstrating the power of community and direct relationships in addressing needs.

While working at a small nonprofit hospital in India, I witnessed how being close to the community allowed the staff to focus on the needs of the people they served, leading to real impact.

When I returned to San Francisco, I was inspired by the explosion of technology connecting people in unprecedented ways, leading me to believe we could leverage these connections for meaningful purposes.

Chase, who had an idea for a website to connect people to fund healthcare, inspired me to join him in building Watsi, aiming to scale individual connections for a real purpose.

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.

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.

During the early days of Watsi, I was juggling a full-time job while trying to manage the influx of donations and patient profiles, which often required me to sneak away to the bathroom to update our website.

We entered an online voting competition for a $10,000 prize, which was crucial for our funding. After rallying support from friends and family, we won the competition by just 1% in the final hour.

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.

At Y Combinator, I was inspired by the ambitious mindset of other founders, which contrasted sharply with the skepticism we faced before. It motivated me to fully commit to making Watsi a reality.

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.

We launched a monthly donation product called the Universal Fund, which has attracted nearly a thousand supporters committed to funding new Watsi patients every month.

Watsi connects donors directly with patients, allowing them to see the impact of their contributions and the real stories behind the people they help, like Getu, who received life-saving surgery funded by 13 donors within 24 hours.

Every donation to Watsi brings us closer to a future where helping others is a natural impulse, and I encourage everyone to find meaningful work that excites them, rather than just seeking solutions for problems that don't resonate personally.