Who or what is your inspiration in business?

My users. Every day, I see real people using WashedUp to meet up for the first time, for concerts, for coffee, for comedy shows. They are actively choosing connection over isolation. They inspire me to build faster, to solve this problem at scale, and to create a world where no one has to miss out on life just because they don't have a plus-one. Their courage and vulnerability is the fuel for this company.

How do you stay motivated?

I had never written a line of code in my life before starting WashedUp. I taught myself to code because I was obsessed with solving this problem. That obsession is my motivation. Every time a user tells me they made a new friend, or went to an event they would have skipped, or just felt less alone for a night, it reminds me that this is more than an app, it's a movement. The impact is real, and that's all the motivation I need.

What would you do with the $25,000?

I would invest it directly into our community. The first $10,000 would go to a "First Plan on Us" fund, where we sponsor the first 100 user-created plans in new cities to accelerate our expansion. The remaining $15,000 would go to hiring a part-time community manager to help us scale our support and engagement as we grow. This isn't just about building an app; it's about building a community, and this prize would go directly to that mission.