This Election Day, Let's Look Back on ARK Challenge Startup Politapoll
Demo Day for the fall 2014 run of the ARK Challenge accelerator, the fourth installment, is scheduled for Wed., Nov. 12, from the Clinton Library in downtown Little Rock.
Meanwhile, this Election Day, let's take a look back at one of the seven teams that'll be competing for $150,000 in additional investment -- Politapoll of Rogers.
Politapoll co-founder Justyn Hornor wants to enable meaningful communication between legislators and constituents.
Check out the recent profile of Politapoll from Arkansas Business and IA, part of a series of ARK 4 team profiles: Eatiply, Tagless, My Color of Beauty, Fair Share Data, Acorn Hours and Jones Innovative Medical Solutions.
Here's a sample from the Politapoll profile:
Hornor ... joined his childhood buddy Tim Brasuell to launch Politapoll, a tool that polls citizens and tracks legislative votes regarding specific legislation.
Hornor ... said his experience as a lobbyist made him realize how most citizen advocacy groups are ineffective because of a lack of resources.
"We want to bring advocacy groups together and help them form alliances," Hornor said. "Our app is the interface that keeps citizens and legislators connected."
Hornor stresses baby steps over swinging for the fences: the importance of piling up small wins that lead to big change. He thinks Politapoll can help achieve that as a tool for both citizens and legislators.
"Our mission is first and foremost to serve American citizens, but if we don't also empower legislatures to understand the needs of their constituents, then the system becomes one-sided," he said. "We create tools for citizens to engage with their legislatures and tools for legislatures to understand what constituents want as well as the ability for a dialogue between constituents and legislatures."
So, if you haven't already, vote. It's both a privilege and a responsibility, as well as a big part of that whole "meaningful dialogue" idea. And mark your calendar for ARK 4 Demo Day on Nov. 12.