Keep.ID: Connor Chong
A recent college graduate is helping provide those experiencing homelessness with access to virtual storage for their personal documents.
What inspired you to start your venture?
At the University of Pennsylvania, every engineering student has to design and create a senior year project. You receive a year of school-sponsored time, which provides you with the opportunity to apply your skills and create something impactful. Keep.id spun out of this project. There is an organization in Philadelphia called Broad Street Ministry, which does a lot of work around homeless relief by running soup kitchens and having mail/ PO boxes. My team and I wanted to figure out a way to move the information from the PO boxes online. A lot of homeless people do not have physical mailboxes where they can store items and receive mail. Keep.id is a document storage platform for those experiencing homelessness to access their documents and apply for jobs as well. It also allows them to apply for government aid through our portals. A lot of people experiencing homelessness do not have devices where they can access our platform, so we have created partnerships with nonprofits, who play a crucial role in executing our mission. They establish relationships with those experiencing homelessness and help them access our online documentation platform.
What is the toughest part of being a student founder?
Switching hats between my different roles has been challenging. Our team is still expanding. I am currently in charge of the technical aspect of Keep.id. I manage all of the engineering aspects that occur and ensure that the workflow is of high quality. I also have to handle business decisions. Currently, we are trying to generate revenue and pay our employees a livable wage. We want to attract talent and it can be hard to build a sustainable business around helping those experiencing homelessness. It can be tricky to manage a team and find new employees to expand our mission. I want to ensure that I am excelling at my role.
What drives you to keep pushing despite the obstacles that came your way?
We all believe in our vision and see how our application rectifies these systemic injustices that are incredibly widespread and prevalent in our society. The creative process of building a business has been a fascinating process for me to learn. I have enjoyed figuring out how to develop a culture, accommodate everyone and their personal needs, and facilitate communication between everyone to ensure that we are all on the same page. Organizational design is something I studied in college, and I love applying the knowledge I gained in the real world. I love what we are building, and there are always things to do to expand our impact. I have grown a lot personally and have loved seeing these building blocks evolve.
What was a key decision that helped you get to where you are today?
There have not been necessarily key defining moments for me. However, there have been defining characteristics that have shaped the way I have viewed myself and others around me. In terms of being a founder, one of the most important things is building a sense of humility. At a lot of top colleges and in the realm of entrepreneurship, you do not meet that many truly humble people. However, humility is all about recognizing your own limitations and recognizing that there are always ways to grow and expand as a person. Focus on cooperating with others and sharing the benefits with others.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Start building things. Do things that are meaningful to you that will add value to your life later on. When you build things, the creative process is almost like art. It’s a maturation of your ideas and identifying small components that will create a larger structure. I wish I had built a stronger vision of what things I created could become. I never placed importance on the things I did at the time for enjoyment. You should envision what you can create and think about ways you can disrupt the world. Understand that you have the capabilities to do so.
When you were growing up, what was an assumption you had about the world that ended up being incorrect?
I assumed that anyone could do anything if they are equipped with the proper skillset. I always thought that the possibilities are endless. However, I learned that there are several barriers that exist including racial and political divides. There’s a lot of division in our society and there aren’t a lot of topics that people see eye-to-eye on. Navigating the different worlds and the areas of influence can be challenging and required a lot of thinking. There is a lot of listening required in order to accomplish something. In society, we need to be more open to hearing other points of view.
About Connor:
Connor is an incoming Software Engineer at Wealthfront. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, where he pursued a double major in Economics and Networks and Social Systems Engineering. Growing up, Connor aspired to become a doctor. As time went on, he discovered his passion for creating and building things. Connor became fascinated by the creative processes of construction and deconstruction, especially seeing the intricate layers fall apart and putting them back together. Therefore, he conducted thorough research into the field of engineering. In high school, Connor enjoyed participating in the Science Olympiad, tinkering with new objects, and designing things with the materials around him. He witnessed the power of technology through these engineering pursuits, and he realized the localization of impact after transitioning to college. Through creating Keep.id, among many other lessons, Connor learned about the importance of teams and organizations in order for agile change to occur in a setting.
Transcribed by Reva Jariwala, ORIGIN Content Manager
