Jeff Spencer, CEO of Playfora
This interview is part #EVOLve Series with one of our @posi2ive community members — in partnership with Responsibly Ventures. Interviewees have been active in our weekly *VC Impact* community roundtables on Twitter Spaces [each Friday 4pm PT]. In each self-paced and self-authored interview, we ask impact Founders / Investors what they are doing to change the world, and why they’re motivated to focus on their area of impact. Hope you all enjoy!
“I’m one of those naturally motivated people. I think I pull motivation from many places. From wanting to create something that will change the world, to bettering my family, to proving people wrong.”
Twitter: @PlayforaJeff
The Interview
Top Sustainable Development Goals (SDG):
- 3: Good Health / Well Being
- 5: Gender Equality
- 10: Reduced Inequalities
Impact verticals your venture focuses on:
- Financial Access / Democratization
- Social Impact
- Social Good
Please share what you’re building, your professional background, and what inspired this venture.
Playfora is a payments platform like GoFundMe, but instead of 100% donations, we empower people to integrate fractional charity into the contests and events that people already know and love. Creating this new, non-intrusive way to generate charitable giving.
I created Playfora because for consumers wanting to champion a cause or change, the only solutions available rely on pressure to drive donations through crowdfunding or p2p. If someone wants a “portion” to go to charity, they’ll have to manage payments manually (out of public view) which causes extra communication and adds liability to the organizer.
I was inspired to build Playfora after working with nonprofits for years, watching their struggles, and questioning why fundraising has such a gap in their effort paradox. There’s this huge gap between the effort needed to create fundraisers that people (i.e., galas and golf tournaments), and the fundraising that’s easy (i.e., sticking our your hand physically and digitally) and asking for money. We soon realized that this gap was created by several regulations that block technology.
What’s the impact focus of your venture? And how do you plan to measure impact?
I like to say that we are the only platform that can generate donations from even uncharitable people.
The popularity of consumer-run contests like March Madness and other similar events are growing at an extremely fast rate, with fantasy sports alone predicted to generate $74 Billion in revenue by 2027. Our platform not only makes it easier to collect for these events but also adds purpose and impact to markets that historically generate very little charity.
Our impact can be measured by donation volume.
What’s driving your impact focus?
The thought that our solution and ideology could be integrated and be conceptualized into many things and ways that would drive long-term impact.
What are some obstacles standing in the way of the impact you have planned?
The regulations that I mentioned before have also made it very difficult for us to piece together an MVP. We had to go above and beyond to build our own solution that could adequately test. Even still, we’re competing against solutions that operate instantly and our deposits take 3 business days. We have a plan, but we need capital to execute.
How do you stay motivated?
I’m one of those naturally motivated people. I think I pull motivation from many places. From wanting to create something that will change the world, to bettering my family, to proving people wrong.
Tell us about your market, customers, and team.
Our GTM we’re focusing on consumer-run contests, which is nearly a $50 billion dollar market that’s expected to double. Eventually we would like to get social payment market which is a trillion dollar market.
My cofounder & CTO has an exit from from his last company. We have 4 other part time employees who’ve been with us for over a year, and I’m being mentored by Chris Heivly founder of Mapquest ($1.2 Billion dollar exit) and former SVP of Techstars.
How do you keep yourself healthy — e.g., mentally, physically, emotionally?
Quick workouts in the morning. Go to bed early and wake up early. I also schedule family and personal time into my daily routine.
What are you currently educating yourself on?
Fintech and startup trends in general.
What books, podcasts, or newsletters should our community read — to better understand your area of impact?
What do you do outside of work, that you like to brag about?
My family. I’m also a good golfer (grew up competing against and beating Dustin Johnson) but I only play a couple times a year now.
How can the @posi2ive community support your efforts? (*Not public solicitation, nor securities offerings)
Networking. I’m looking for way to better my company all around: partnerships, feedback, or access to capital
Copyright 2022, all rights reserved. No financial advice nor any offerings made in this post. If you’re a Founder / Investor focused on VC Impact, we’d love to invite you to share your story here (#EVOLve) with the posi2ive community. If you’re an LP or GP in venture, we’d also love to have you apply to our private VC Impact Capital Community.
