Editor's note: This is one of 10 companies profiled by DC Inno for its annual Startups to Watch feature. Go here to see all of this year's honorees and learn more about the young, promising companies poised to shake up the region's innovation community.
About the company: Gaithersburg-based Givhero offers a mobile app that serves as a motivational and engagement platform for employees. Designed to be implemented by human resources teams, Givhero helps companies identify local programs for their employees that result in a positive social impact or good. Over the past five years, Givhero has helped global brands increase adoption, retention and engagement in the well-being programs it has established. More recently, Givhero has expanded to offer its motivational engine for conferences and events, an initiative that has helped increase revenue for event managers and drive more traffic for exhibitors, all while supporting a local community. The firm has raised $1.3 million in funding, with a seed round taking place in March 2022. Givhero is generating revenue, though it declined to disclose specific figures.
Why we’re watching: Givhero stands out for its innovative approach to user engagement. By gamifying the user experience, the company encourages continuous engagement with its platform. In March 2022, Givhero received investment from Maryland Momentum Fund, the Maryland Technology Development Corp. and Conscious Venture Partners to use intrinsic motivation — a concept that says something should be done out of enjoyment or interest instead of for an external reward or pressure — to increase adoption and engagement in wellness programs. Givhero said most of its clients have increased program participation by 50% over previous programs, and employee retention and engagement in wellness programs is more than 90%.
Quotable: “Givhero is exploring new ways to leverage the Givhero model, beginning with conferences and events. Instead of incentivizing visits to exhibitor booths with free handouts, the platform encourages participants to scan QR codes on exhibitors’ badges, triggering a donation to a charity of their choice. This not only adds value for the vendor by encouraging conversation, but also allows conference organizers to make an impact in attendees’ local communities.” — Vishal Chintawar, CEO
The basics
- Founders: Vishal Chintawar, CEO; Timothy Guinan, director of partnerships
- Founded: 2017
- Headquarters: Gaithersburg
- Full-time employees: 15
- Total funding: $1.3M
- Annual revenue: Declined to disclose