What is CIVIE?
CIVIE is a startup app that I created alongside my brother, Dylan Lopez. Although American citizens have their own voice and want to make a difference politically, politicians don’t listen. Additionally, some people don’t know who to speak their mind to, resulting in helpful ideas being unheard. As a solution, we created CIVIE to put the power of democracy in the palm of your hand. CIVIE allows you to contact your representative, from the local to the federal level.
Features
- Discover and contact your political representatives are at every level
- Link your social media account to share who you have contacted
- News feed tailored to the user’s representatives and selected interests
- Polls to take the pulse of an issue
- Groups to rally users to support a cause
- Voter registration with links and maps
Market Research
- 60% would use a mobile app like CIVIE to make their opinions heard
- 58% believe it is very or extremely important that people actively participate in democracy beyond voting
- 41% recognized less than 50% of the names of the ballot the last time they voted
- 62% do not believe their beliefs and opinions are represented by the government
- 93% believe elected officials need to be more responsive to their constituents
- 59% check news daily to keep up with politics
Monetization Strategy
CIVIE is monetized through ads, paid subscriptions, and the selling of user data. In-feed banner ads, interstitial ads, native ads, political campaigns, and national and local organizations would advertise on CIVIE. The unpaid version of CIVIE limits users to one message a day, but basic and premium versions can be purchase to send unlimited messages, customize the news feed, and to create and join groups. Data reports will be monetized through anonymous aggregated data by zip code or other demographics. The activity or interests of a specific user will never be revealed.
