Chosn as a relationship enrichment app designed to help you be the best version of yourself with the people you love
Please introduce yourself and the Startup Chosn to our readers!
Andre Smith is the founder of Chosn.io, a tech company specializing in helping people be the best version of themselves. Andre’s professional career has included operational and management roles across manufacturing, retail pharmacies, investor research, and digital marketing. His undergraduate degree in finance from UNC Charlotte came after his first entrepreneurial venture was a Mortuary Science company.
Why did you decide to start a business?
My exposure to entrepreneurship comes from 2 different stories as a teenager. My great grandfather had an art hobby that got him an invite to make that a profession out of it. He said no because of family and not wanting to take a risk. That invite was to be a part of what is now Walt Disney. What I took away from this was that I needed to be willing to take a risk on the unknown. If you decide on having all the information, it is often too late to take advantage of the upside and innovation.
My uncle ran Charlotte Pro-Am during the time of the 1st Charlotte Hornets’ heyday when Mugusy and Dell Curry played. Seeing the trappings of NBA players let me research what the team owners do. Being under 6ft, I realized that owning was a better opportunity for me. The sports team owners had great diversity in their portfolio of investments.
What is the vision behind Chosn?
A breakup that occurred over ten years ago led him on a journey of self-discovery and improvement. The difficulty for Andre was applying what he had learned about himself to his relationship with others. He founded Chosn as a relationship enrichment app designed to help you be the best version of yourself with the people you love.
He started Chosn so that people can be in control of what they want to improve and have options on how they can go about their self-discovery journey. The app provides personalized feedback to get to know yourself and gain a level of introspection to understand your needs. Chosn is your guide to determining what your goals are to make better decisions and have better conversations based on what you say you want and need. The app gives you the tools and suggestions for that introspective work.
From the idea to the start what have been the biggest challenges so far and how did you finance yourself?
The company has been bootstrapped so far. Currently raising. Biggest challenges: Coming from outside of software tech I didn’t have an existing software network to lean on. Thinking I needed to build more at once than I had to. As a non-technical founder, not understanding the development process doesn’t start in the app store.
Who is the target group of Chosn?
People that want to work on themselves or their relationship wellness habits. The early adopters will be current consumers of personal development material. The second will be young adults that have the most positive view of mental health and wellness.
How does Chosn work? What are the advantages? What makes you different from other providers?
User starts by selecting what relationship they want to focus on for the next 30 days. After selecting, either Friend, Family, Romantic, or Self, the user can choose 3 of 6 goals. Then three times a week Chosn will send a Nudge via text message. These text messages are the actionable insights to accomplish their stated relationship goals.
Our differentiation is that you can bring your whole self to Chosn. Being the best version of yourself requires you to develop more than just one area of your life. Most personal development material is consumed solo, with no context of how to apply it to others in your life. Our relationship and book challenges can be done with friends, family, or a romantic partner.
Chosn, where does the road go? Where do you see yourself in five years?
Chosn empowers users on their journey of personal development and relationship building. The first part of the CHOSN journey focuses on the behavioral change nudges for your relationship goals. We introduce more of the brand to new users by growing our social media brand. People are more glued to their phones and have become reliant on them more than ever before. Our communications tools don’t teach us how to show up for each other.
With Chosn, we empower people to be the best version of themselves in the social context of the people you care about the most. In what ways can consumers become aware again of their relationships with each other. CHOSN isn’t just an app that targets consumers; it targets employers and establishes better relationships in the work environment. It’s the one-stop-shop for building and establishing deep relationships.
The moonshot goal of CHOSN is to close the mental health gap entirely. Imagine a world where everyone is conscious and aware of who they are and not stuck in their head. CHOSN changes how we have deeper relationships with ourselves and others around us. We aren’t just a company that provides on-demand therapy and coaching. In 5 years, we see ourselves having 8M active users. Not only a consumer product but also an employee benefit. Chosn will be an end-to-end solution for a user’s emotional and mental health needs.
At the end: Which 3 tips would you give to future founders?
Understand how your industry finances your particular vertical. It will influence how you build the first few versions of your product. Additionally, it helps narrow down your investor search.
Don’t fall in love with a particular solution, you are ultimately building for paying customers.
Take advantage of many of the free and low-cost entrepreneurial resources available like YC’s Founder’s School, Tech Stars, and workshops in your local entrepreneurial ecosystem.
More information you will find here
Thank you Andre Smith for the Interview
Statements of the author and the interviewee do not necessarily represent the editors and the publisher opinion again.
