One of the great benefits of entrepreneurship is the ability to write your own story, free from constraints found in traditional careers.
Sadly, if you are from an ethnic minority, this can be especially valuable.
“I’ll often talk to friends of mine who work in mainstream corporate jobs, and I hear about the challenges they go through as ethnic minority employees,” Ismael Dainehine, founder of match-funding platform Givematch, tells TechBlast.
“Of course, I have my own experience of being part of an ethnic minority in wider society. But I see entrepreneurship as my own realm where there are no forces at play other than the strength of the product I build.
“Entrepreneurship is a great equaliser, and you’re rewarded based on how much value you’re putting into the world. I feel like it’s shielded me from many of the prejudices people feel in other jobs.”
Givematch is a donation platform that harnesses the power of social sharing. When you donate via Givematch, you’re given a personalised link: if you get two friends to donate through that link, your initial donation is doubled through match-funding from corporate companies.
The platform has helped organisations such as Macmillan Cancer Support and Barnado’s, with more organisations added all the time. In 2022, it raised more than £10 million for charities around the world.
Before Givematch, Dainehine launched a chore-sharing app and photo-sharing app. When neither worked out, he created and scaled an eCommerce company operating through Amazon which focused on selling children’s safety products.
However it was a side project called My Ten Nights, which helped people to make charitable donations throughout the 10 days of Ramadan, which would ultimately lead to Givematch.
“My desire to help others can be linked back to my faith. Faith enables you to remember your mortality; we’re only here for a short time, and the more good you can do in that time, the better,” he explains.
“With technology, we have this incredible opportunity to carry acts of benevolence past our own expiry dates. I find it empowering to think that my timeline doesn’t constrain the good I can do in the world.”
Dainehine describes his entrepreneurial journey as being in three stages.
“The first stage was about pursuing financial freedom and finding ways to support my family,” he says. “After that, I entered a period of curiosity and exploring. Creating My Ten Nights was pivotal because it gave me an understanding of how tech can be used as a force for good.
“I’m in the third stage of my journey: pursuing meaning and connection. Givematch is essentially an expression of the idea that when people come together, we can have a greater impact than we can individually. My top priority is building a product that solves real-world problems and brings people together.”
He describes seeing his family after a hard day’s work as “the most relaxing part of my day”, adding: “I’m from a working-class background, and I’ve always seen entrepreneurship as the best way to support my wider family. It inspires me daily, and I find it helpful to remember that greater purpose.”
There are upsides and downsides to being a self-confessed introvert, he adds.
“Being an introvert helps me to take a step back and be meticulous. It’s in my nature to look at the macro and the micro, and I always try to understand the nuances of a problem before I step forward with a solution,” he explains.
“Where it doesn’t work to my advantage is networking – I hate it! The prospect of public speaking isn’t something that I relish either, but it’s so worth it to get the message out about Givematch.”
So what are his plans for 2023?
“Of course we want to grow the business and enable charities to fundraise [but] we don’t tend to set ourselves rigid targets,” he says.
“The guiding principle of the business is to help people make a difference collectively. We’re completely focused on building a product that’s in line with our values and making a real-world impact.”