My experiences starting a nonprofit

Earlier this year I started a nonprofit: Technology Trained by Teens (“TTT”). Last April, my family visited my grandma to catch up and help set up her new tv. After helping my grandma out and seeing how much her quality of life improved, I set out to establish TTT.

When I got back, I began working on establishing TTT and its website, www.technologytrainedbyteens.org. After doing some work to get TTT an official 501(c)3, I set out to find volunteers willing to help work with me to create TTT.

A difficulty that we encountered was finding the right market. From what I had seen, the older someone gets, the less likely they are to want to learn how to use technology. Our first seminar had on average, an older audience (early to mid eighties), who were all less motivated to learn. However, when we had a seminar in September, with a relatively younger audience (early to mid seventies) we had much more engagement, and the participants were excited to learn. From this, we had discovered a new way to connect with the right audience: libraries. Recently, we have partnered with a local library, and our services have had great demand so far and a positive word has gotten out around school and more students are wanting to volunteer their time.

Through this experience, I have gained so many important life experiences. I learned to conquer my fear of cold calling, I have learned how to communicate better, lead an organization, and most importantly, the joy of helping someone out, getting others excited to help, and making a positive difference in the world.