We’ve all had that moment. When we’re struck with an idea that would make life easier, and we think to ourselves, “That would be a great idea for an app!” and brush it off thinking, “Someone else will make it one day.” But for Amanda, when she thought of the idea for her app, she didn’t just brush it off. She didn’t assume someone else would make it because she was determined to do it first. And for the past 2 years, she’s been working to do just that.
One day, Amanda asked me and a few of my friends to fill out a survey about traveling and digital photo collecting. I assumed it wasn’t for a class since she’s a Physician’s Assistant student who doesn’t take any business courses. When she explained the reason for the survey saying, “I’m doing field research for an app I’m creating,” and described her vision for her app and her process of creating it, I was captivated and inspired. I thought to myself, “That’s a girl who’s getting stuff done.”
Since then, she has made a prototype for her app, Mark Your Map, launched its social media campaign (follow @MarkYourMap on Instagram!), has been selected as the winner of $1,500 in the Top Ram Business Competition. Impressive, but what exactly is it? I asked Amanda to describe her app in a few words: “It’s an easy and interactive way to organize and share your photos from traveling. It’s basically the digital combination of a travel diary and scrapbook.”
Amanda was inspired by the idea of a scratch off map, which shows you at a glance what percentage of the world you’ve traveled, but wanted to take it one step further. In Mark Your Map, not only can you mark off the places of the world you have visited, but by clicking on those locations you can easily pull up your pictures with descriptions of the time you spent there.
The biggest thing Amanda wants you to get out of her app when it’s launched is to share her love for travel. She said that “I hope my app can help start conversations by allowing you to keep sentimental moments all in one place and share stories of traveling with others.” And she certainly has some share-worthy stories herself!
Her family has always loved traveling and she has seen the good and the bad of the world. She shared with me one of her favorite places she’s visited, Rivera Maya in Mexico. She got to see first-hand the state of the neighborhoods in Mexico and meet the people living there. With her app, she could capture the people shes met while traveling and carry them with her in her pocket. “That’s the main reason I wanted to make this app,” she explained, “If not for everyone else, it was for me.”
This desire was a huge motivation for her, and she stayed focused by giving herself deadlines, prioritizing her time, and being her own boss. With help from the Blackstone Launchpad, she was challenged to push herself further and work as hard as possible. And that hard work is paying off as she is watching the overwhelming support of her app before it’s even launched. Keep an eye out for Mark Your Map – coming to an App Store near you!