Every college student at some point in time has a moment where they wish they could create the next best thing and become rich. For Andrew Kortina and Iqram Magdon-Ismail that is exactly what happened. These two college roommates came up with the idea for Venmo. Venmo is an app that allows people to give and receive money. If you forgot your wallet, no problem you can ask someone to pay for you and they can Venmo you the money right then and there.
Kortina and Magdon- Ismail developed this idea at first when they were trying to help friend start yogurt shop, they noticed the lacking of traditional sales software and wished they had something new to help fix it. At a local jazz show, Kortina and Magdon-Ismail thought of the idea of being able to buy a MP3 of the show instantly with a text message. Later, the idea was reinforced when Magdon-Ismail forgot his wallet during a trip, and needed to pay back a friend. He noticed how much of an inconvenience, especially compared to the possibility of mobile phone-based transactions it was to repay his friend for the money borrowed. They then started to work on a way to send money through their cell phones. Their original prototype used text messages but then quickly turned into a mobile app that we know today as venmo.
The company is now worth eight hundred million dollars and is growing steadily. These two college student turned a bright idea into a thriving business and now are their own bosses and live their dream lives. Starting as roommates at the University of Pennsylvania to now being business partners this idea was they start of a revolutionary company and the start to a lifelong friendship.
This is very interesting and shows that college kids create corporations and companies just as much as anyone else. Venmo is a revolutionary app and has created a new industry, cash apps. This is a very good innovation and has a huge market, but is mostly comprised of college students. I have personally used Venmo many times and it is very convenient and very handy. I find it very fitting that college students made the company and noticed the need for something like Venmo in the market. This is certainly an innovation into the realm of virtual money transfer and it has turned out great for them and has helped many people.
Unreal. I am such a believer in Venmo. I use it often and I feel like all college student’s especially those who tend to carry their wallets with them (myself) have benefited greatly from this. I used to “spot” people all the time and now with Venmo I get paid back on the spot. As simple as finding my name and giving me the exact change on a cup of coffee or on gas money after a long road trip! I no longer have fear of not getting paid back. My only, worry with Venmo is if it were to get hacked.
These two college students saw a need and decided to create a solution that is now helping other college students all over the world. It’s crazy to think of how much of an impact Venmo is having, and these two pals are now reaping the benefits of their innovation. It’s stories like this that make apps that we use daily that much more personal, because the founders are so relate-able. Great read, thanks for sharing!
Thank you for sharing! Venmo is a really fascinating company.
It has experienced a meteoric rise in popularity during the last few years. The company is successful because it correctly identified a pain point in their target market. Innovative apps are hard to design; however, truly successful apps simply seek to meet a need in the market. This is the foundation of good design, and it is an important lesson to remember when thinking about digital entrepreneurship.
Venmo is so convenient. I work as a waitress and one time I was waiting on a couple and they both forgot their wallets. They had both been sitting at their table for a long time and they said they called a friend to pick up one of their wallets for them. When they told me that, I asked if I could pay for the meal and they Venmo my personal account, so that’s what they did! I’ve also had customers pay for meals in cash, then ask if they can Venmo me my tip. I love it because then the restaurant can’t take a portion of my tips!
I have never used Venmo but it seems like it is up and coming. I know many people who use Venmo and highly recommend it. I am impressed with how well they used person to person transaction using technology.
Pretty good choice of topic, and pretty good writing. Simply, good post.
While I personally have never used Venmo, I know many who do. Its such a simple, effective idea and the creators seem to have implemented it effectively. It targets an issue, and solves it, plain and simple. I also am constantly inspired by college student success stories such as this.
I’m noticing a lot of Millenial startups that are now huge apps/businesses started out as something that inconvenienced its creators (in this case not having your wallet) so the ythought of a way to fix that problem and then market it. This is Entrepreneurship at its finest, getting annoyed with something and selling it because you know other people are annoyed too.
I’ve always thought that venmo was a great idea. The fact that they were roommates and came up the idea together makes it that much more special. The combining of their thoughts and ideas got them to their ultimate goal. Its great to see peoples dreams become a reality.
I have never used Venmo, but I have heard of it, and I have used very similar programs to it. It’s always amazing to see college students go out and just form and build their own company’s. Surely a great reminder to never give up on your dreams.