For two years in a row, Matthew Krisiloff, student at University of Chicago, has won a contest for his creative ideas. Matthew grew up in Brentwood.
Q: What is CrowdCoin?
A: CrowdCoin is a hardware/software system that makes it easier to give small charity donations. It allows consumers to make digital donations in the checkout line at stores, which increases donations to charities, creates goodwill for businesses and makes consumers feel good. The CrowdCoin hardware integrates with point of sale systems, or computer-based cash registers, and sits in front of the customer at the checkout line. The customer then opts into the system by pressing a central button on the hardware–once to round up their transaction to the nearest quarter or twice to round it to the nearest dollar. The software takes care of rounding up the transaction seamlessly, and all donation data is sent to us so we can bill the business we are installed in and then transfer the money to our partner charities. With a wide rollout, we expect to be able to raise millions for charities.
Q: How are things going? What’s next?
A: Great so far! We won Chicago Booths Building the New Venture Undergraduate competition this winter, and we won UChicago’s $10,000 Social Innovation Competition just yesterday. We are also competing in other competitions at MIT and Northwestern University as well. My team and I will be working on CrowdCoin full time this summer, and we hope to launch a pilot program in Chicago in a few stores by September.
Q: Tell us about the insects.
A: Last year, I started another company called Entom Foods, which is trying to turn insects into a palatable food source for western consumption. Insects are nutritionally comparable or better than traditional meat sources (ie beef, chicken), and they can be raised for 1/10th of the resource cost that goes into raising beef. The problem is, though, that we westerners are repulsed by insects. My team and I have been exploring means to extract insect meat and manipulate its form so it can be used as an efficient supplemental protein source. Entom Foods won UChicago’s $10,000 Social Innovation Competition last year, and it’s been featured in The New Yorker, New York Times, MSNBC, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Huffington Post, and others.
Q: Tell us about your Brentwood roots.
A. I spent my entire childhood growing up in Brentwood, and it’s been interesting to see it change throughout the years. I live a block away from the Country Mart, and still go there frequently whenever I’m in town (mmm, Reddy Chick!). My mom, Flora, has been highly involved in the Brentwood community, so it’s definitely been a big part of my life.
Q: Any post-college plans?
A: I’m 99% sure I want to keep being an entrepreneur. Hopefully, CrowdCoin or Entom Foods will take off, and I’ll continue to work on them in the coming years. Later in life, I want to tackle even more ambitious ideas, like privatized space exploration and life-extension research.
