In February alone, Better Finds has already been mentioned in two online news articles. For large, established corporations, this is not a big deal. For a startup hoping to gain traction in changing the world, we’re celebrating every victory. The first, from the Maple Valley Reporter, highlights our visionary co-founder, David White, and what inspired him to start Better Finds. The second, from the Santa Cruz Tech Beat, is a mention from my (Jonathan’s) presentation at the Santa Cruz New Tech Meetup.

See excerpts from the pieces below, and click on through to read the entire articles.

Maple Valley Reporter: Maple Valley man creates app to help sell items and donate to charity

“So the idea was born probably just over a year ago, and it was while I was cleaning out my garage. My wife and I are originally from Germany, and we moved here to Seattle, 10 years ago, and just (realized) how much stuff we had,” he said. “When we moved out here we had 12 boxes and now we have a house that is completely full with stuff. And that’s when it dawned on me that there are a bunch of apps out there that do the same thing, allow people to sell items, and then pocket the money themselves, I thought ‘You know what, hey this could actually be a revenue opportunity for other charities.’”

Read the entire article here.

Santa Cruz Tech Beat: Ten years, 106 events, and 2120 pizzas later

“Then, Chris Thornberg, Founding Partner of Beacon Economics, spoke on the limiting factors for local tech growth and concluded that growth was primarily hindered by a lack of available affordable housing. Jonathan Lo, a Seattle-based social technology entrepreneur, introduced Better Finds, an app allowing you to sell items and have the proceeds benefit your favorite charity while giving you a tax receipt. Next up was Sam Lessin, CEO of Fin. Fin is an “artificial” AI assistant. It combines complex networks and machine learning programs augmented by human assistance and decision making capabilities.”

Read the entire article here.