André Eikmeier’s new startup, Good Empire, is releasing the first version of its mobile app in app stores on September 20 as it looks to raise a second round of investment through equity crowdfunding platform Birchal. Nearly 10,000 pre-registered test users and 100 selected organisations from around the world will be able to download a closed version of the app, which aims to drive social change through viral video challenges. Like the modern equivalent of a chain letter, challeng
allenges spread rapidly through social media. While some are simply for laughs, others can have real impact. The ice bucket challenge has raised US$115 million (A$156 million) for motor neuron disease and the push-up challenge has raised A$7.25 million for suicide prevention and mental health.
Eikmeier believes challenges tap into people’s desire to make a difference beyond donating to charities and can be used to tackle some of the biggest issues facing humanity, from climate change to world hunger to income inequality.
“My view is that we all feel terrified and disempowered, but we don’t have to be,” he told Inside Retail. “As individuals we’re not self-motivated enough to make the changes, but we’re pretty good at joining movements.”
It was this realisation that spurred Eikmeier, the co-founder and former co-CEO of online wine retailer Vinomofo, to model Good Empire on a highly engaging social media platform.
“We’re building TikTok for good,” he said.
How it works
Good Empire has 17 impact goals that it hopes to achieve by 2030, including ending hunger for 1 million people, giving 1 million children access to quality education, helping 1 million people experiencing homelessness and saving 1 million tonnes of plastic from the oceans.
It works with partner organisations to create themed challenges around each goal and invites users to participate by creating and sharing videos, tagging their friends to join a challenge and making donations. Users can set targets for the impact they’d like to make, track their progress and earn rewards for their engagement.
Eikmeier calls it a “gamified loyalty program”. But rather than using “cheap and nasty tricks” to drive human behaviour, such as don’t-miss-out messaging, the app uses intrinsic motivators, such as creativity and community.
“There are guidelines for how to do a challenge, but what you choose to do is completely up to you. There’s a lot of room for creativity,” he said.
Good Empire worked with leading gamification agency Octalysis to harness the positive aspects of social media while leaving out the harmful ones. Rather than likes and follower counts, for instance, the app uses a ripple effect to show users their impact.
“You’ll be able to see that you’ve inspired other people you don’t even know to join a challenge through five degrees of separation, which I think is going to be really galvanising,” Eikmeier said.
Corporate engagement
In addition to a public app, Good Empire also has a paid version for organisations to create their own challenges. The idea is that companies, schools and other groups can use the app to engage people to take action on issues that align with their values.
Eikmeier sees a big opportunity for retailers to connect with their customers in more meaningful ways through challenges on Good Empire.
“Everyone thinks they’ve got a community, but most people just have a database,” he said.
While many retailers tell their customers about the social causes they support, Eikmeier believes it would have more of an impact if retailers allowed customers to participate in their activities.
“A lot of CSR strategies are really top down. Nobody feels a part of it,” he said.
Good Empire raised over $500,000 from over 1,000 investors through Birchal earlier this year to launch the pilot version of the app. The second round of funding will enable the startup to build the full version in the coming months.