Tagline
The "Uber" Online Classified Service for upcycling, reusing & repurposing to reduce waste!
Pitch us on your solution
“Got a heavy sofa in the basement you want to get rid of? Don’t take it to the dump... post it on... YouPickUp.org” ”If you’re looking for an old fridge to repurpose into a flower bed... try posting a “wanted ad” on... YouPickUp.org” - we create communities of repurposing, to reduce the amount of content that ends up in the landfill. Giving away items for free on YouPickUp.org helps both parties. The donor doesn't need to pay to throw out their items in a landfill and the receiver get items for free, as long as they are willing to come pick them up. The website utilizes google maps, so people & communities all over the world could post and share their items in all languages.
Film your elevator pitch
What is the problem you are solving?
Every minute, one garbage truck of plastic is dumped into our oceans.The problem that needs to be solved is why do we as a civilization waste so much? Consumerism is destroying our planet. Our solution is to repurpose, recycle, & upcycle on a global scale. YouPickUp.org aims to connect people and communities globally to encourage the reuse rather than disposal of unwanted items.
Who are you serving?
The solution targets the well off & seniors (the Grey Wave or Silver Sunami) who are down sizing and don't have the capacity to move many of the items they wish to get rid of & also targets lower income individuals. Young families and/or new residence would benefit from the free items being given away on YouPickUp.org as long as they do the heavy lifting and come pick up the posted items.
What is your solution?
The solution is to connect people online and/or through an app to share classified posts of items destined for the dump. The website allows people to post pictures of items they want to get rid of. Anyone who views the post can email the postee and arrange to come pick up their unwanted sofa, for example. Alternatively, people could create posts for items they're looking for and are willing to come pick up. Charities, second hand stores, governments could even use the service. The condition is that no money is allowed to change hands. It's yours for free, as long as you come pick it up and get it out of my basement.
Select only the most relevant.
Where is your solution team headquartered?
Calgary, AB, CanadaOur solution's stage of development:
PilotSelect one of the below:
New business model or processDescribe what makes your solution innovative.
Very much like Uber, Air BnB and other peer-to-peer technologies, YouPickUp.org facilitates connections between individuals anywhere and at anytime (ubiquitous). As an online classified service, the niche concept inherent in YouPickUp.org revolves around promoting the "Upcycling" of unwanted items rather than discarding them in the landfill.
Describe the core technology that your solution utilizes.
The core technology of YouPickUp.org is the WEB at this stage of development. The site is a user/mobile friendly Word Press software application. YouPickUp.org would also benefit from being developed into an app for mobile devices.
Please select the technologies currently used in your solution:
Why do you expect your solution to address the problem?
According to the EPA, "In 2015, the management of MSW (Municipal Solid Waste) through recycling, composting, combustion with energy recovery and landfilling prevented over 181.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MMTCO2E) of GHG emissions. These reductions are comparable to the annual emissions from over 38.8 million passenger vehicles." Given the amount of CO2 emission from MSW, if YouPickUp.org could redirect or delay a fraction of the items that end up in the landfill, we would see tangible results in terms of protecting the environment. Our goal to create awareness of our disposable lifestyles, which will ultimately lead to a significant reduction in waste.
Select the key characteristics of the population your solution serves.
In which countries do you currently operate?
In which countries will you be operating within the next year?
How many people are you currently serving with your solution? How many will you be serving in one year? How about in five years?
Currently, few people are using the service. In 1 year, 1000 people and in 5 years 500000 people.
What are your goals within the next year and within the next five years?
The goal is create awareness and facilitate the use of YouPickUp.org. Ultimately, millions of people could use YouPickUp.org, which in turn would show clear tangible results in lowering CO2 emissions via a reduction in landfill waste.
What are the barriers that currently exist for you to accomplish your goals for the next year and for the next five years?
The current barriers are financial and a lack of expertise in terms of marketing, social media development & technical innovations (debugging the Word press software & building an app) as well the costs of hosting. In terms of language and culture, providing the service globally requires expertise in translation and cultural identification. The scaling of YouPickUp.org would also require expertise to keep the system functioning efficiently and without delay.
How are you planning to overcome these barriers?
The current plan is to allow for slow growth by targeting local communities. As the awareness increases, monitoring the softwares capabilities is essential. Should the growth increase in speed, resources (both human & financial) will be sought to keep abreast of the demand.
If you have additional video, provide a YouTube or Vimeo link to your video here:
Select an option below:
For-ProfitIf you selected Other, please explain here.
Currently YouPickUp.org is not part of a larger team. We are open to collaboration.
How many people work on your solution team?
Two people currently operate YouPickUp.org. I am responsible for the concept, the design & development of the website and marketing. My partner is responsible for administration and management.
For how many years have you been working on your solution?
1
Why are you and your team best-placed to deliver this solution?
I have over 25 years in web development, graphic design, marketing and the development of digital media. My partner is experienced in management and dealing with day to day operational needs.
With what organizations are you currently partnering, if any? How are you working with them?
We are not currently partnering with anyone.
What is your business model?
The problem is the world is becoming over polluted. YouPickUp.org plans to address this problem by educating and providing a service for people to recycle, upcycle, reuse and repurpose items, which in turn will lead to a reduction in waste. The customer will feel a sense of self worth by contributing to a worthy cause and help reduce waste, which in turn will lead to a reduction in pollution. YouPickUp.org is a peer to peer solution which ultimately will become self-functioning, once individuals become aware of the service. In terms of cost structure, maintaining and upgrading the technology will be essential for growth. Marketing will also include large costs to provide awareness of the service and also educate the public about the benefits of recycling, reusing, repurposing and upcycling. Social media will also be essential in educating and spreading the positive benefits of reducing waste and being more aware of our lifestyle choices. Revenue from YouPickUp.org could be generated from advertising on the website or through a small fee to download the application. Donations could also be a strong source of income. Large profits could be re-invested in environmental causes to further assist in the education of waste reduction and how each person can play a part in helping save the planet.
What is your path to financial sustainability?
Similar to Wikipedia, YouPickUp.org would have a donation-based revenue model. Given that YouPickUp.org's content is crowd-sourced, the site functions based on the collaboration of people uploading content and sharing resources. If needed, YouPickUp.org could use website advertising to generate revenue. Ultimately, selective advertising would be essential to comply with the altruistic concept of YouPickUp.org.
Why are you applying to Solve?
To quote your website, YouPickUp.org is looking to "join a supportive community of peers, funders, and experts to help advance their work; receive mentorship and strategic advice from Solve and MIT networks; attend Solve at MIT, our annual flagship event in May; and receive access to more than $1.5 million in prize funding for the 2019 Challenges."
We believe we have a brilliant idea that could really help change the world. What we don't have is the experience and expertise to take this idea and develop it into a global resource to create a positive change on the world stage.
What types of connections and partnerships would be most catalytic for your solution?
If you selected Other, please explain here.
N/A
With what organizations would you like to partner, and how would you like to partner with them?
Wikipedia and Craigslist would be ideal partners given the platform similarities and their experience in providing crowd sourced content in a donation-based revenue model.
If you would like to apply for the AI Innovations Prize, describe how you and your team will utilize the prize to advance your solution. If you are not already using AI in your solution, explain why it is necessary for your solution to be successful and how you plan to incorporate it.
YouPickUp.org would use the AI Innovation Prize to further develop our peer to peer technology to bring people together to work towards a significant reduction in landfill waste, via recycling, reuse, repurposing and upcycling. Specifically, we would use the funds to developed a mobile device software application in the top 10 languages spoken in the world (amounting to over 4 Billion users) and begin marketing & social media development in the top 4 languages - Mandarin Chinese (1.1 billion speakers) English (983 million speakers) Hindustani (544 million speakers) and Spanish (527 million speakers).
If you would like to apply for the GM Prize on Circular Economy, describe how you and your team will utilize the prize to advance your solution.
N/A
If you would like to apply for the Innovation for Women Prize, describe how you and your team will utilize the prize to advance your solution.
Through marketing and social media development, YouPickUp.org would be enthusiastically interested in celebrating women's voices by creating a global awareness of our services through the advancement of women and girls. My daughter is also the major influence for me to see YouPickUp.org succeed. I wish to do my best to create a healthy world for my daughter and she is also very much aware of the current problems we face with pollution and waste.
If you would like to apply for the Innospark Ventures Prize, describe how you and your team will utilize the prize to advance your solution. If your solution utilizes data, describe how you will ensure that the data is sourced, maintained, and used ethically and responsibly.
YouPickUp.org would use the Innospark Ventures Prize to further develop our peer to peer technology to bring people together to work towards a significant reduction in landfill waste, via recycling, reuse, repurposing and upcycling. In terms of data, YouPickUp.org would ensure that data is used ethically and responsibly. Specifically, we would use data profiling to introduce peer to peer preferences in an attempt to create successful connections that lead to "pick ups" & successful repurposing, ultimately resulting again in a reduction of waste. Data could also be used to educate customers on the creative possibilities of upcycling
Solution Team
-
Mr. Paul Swanson Director, You Pick Up Services Ltd.
to Top
Our Solution
YouPickUp.org