I Won Second Place in the Pitch!!

After an hour of intense competition, insightful feedback from our judges, and an inspired crowd, our three winners were selected:

First Place — Robert Marshall: A military veteran himself, Robert wants to build a transitional home for veterans suffering from PTSD and combat-related injuries.

Second Place — Sharon Simmons: After violent crime made a permanent impact on her life, Sharon is creating a crime-reporting application called iGotem.

Third Place — Ali Spagnola: A surprise appearance at PitchFest, Ali is currently running an Indiegogo campaign to fund her album-meets-drinking-game tour, “The Power Hour.”

Demo pitch

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/it-takes-an-app-to-catch-a-thief/x/2848544

Practicing my pitch

Getting Ready for the RISE Social Good Fast Pitch Competition i Austin!..check out the link https://www.riseglobal.org/cities/austin-2013/social-good-fastpitch-2013

Turning Tragedy into Action

Turning Tragedy into Action

While at work in the Spring of 2011 I fell off of a ladder, injured myself and had to go on workers comp. While I was recovering one day I received a devastating phone call from a family member. Our 18-year-old nephew was shot and killed while playing basketball with friends. A young man with a mask and a gun ran him down and shot him in the back in the middle of the street as he was running. After hearing this I went online and searched the local news and saw a photo of him lying on the ground. I knew it was him. A few days went by and rumor was that the people who actually saw it would not tell the police for fear of retaliation. Keep it mind this happened on a small island of 50,000 people where everyone knows everyone.

I was born in Dallas, TX and raised in the heart of South Central Los Angeles, I’m no stranger to crime. Where I grew up, crime was rampant, protection was light, and citizens were too afraid to come forward. And this same behavior exists all over the world. Living in the Caribbean with my husband, remnant fears from my childhood brought an automatic sense of awareness and the will to fight for change. I believe that by freeing citizens from the fear of retaliation, we might be able to catch some of our most violent offenders. The death of my nephew lit the fire to get me to finally do something.

Feeling hopeless and not being able to fly because of my health, I couldn't stand not being able to at least go to the funeral. I asked myself “What can I do?” and asked Google a few questions because Google is my best friend and knows all the answers. I needed to know how to create an app. I realized that the problem that needed to be solved was: How can I get the community to talk to the police and assist them with more information? I realized that developing better communication between the two groups while remaining anonymous was the goal. So, I asked myself, how can I use technology to attain this goal?

All of my questions were answered by asking a few questions to my bff Google, who gave me all of the answers. Next, I interviewed a few developers, story-boarded the app concept, bootstrapped the project and was able to fund two platforms. And thus, the iGotem app was born and uploaded to the iTunes store by September 2011!

iGot’em will empower citizens, reduce crime and allow users to combat crime within their communities by uploading a recorded incident to the nearest law enforcement office. The application will notify law enforcement of the date, time, and location of the crime in progress. The combination of this information along with images taken by users will allow accurate reporting while protecting the identity of the user.

This took me three months from start to finish. I have no degrees in technology and am not able to code. All I have is pure passion and a desire to help others. I can make a difference in the way we use technology to help our everyday lives. Maybe I am the next “female” Steve Jobs J. And if I can do it, then I know you can too.

iGot'em mentioned in the Silicon Caribe

iGot'em 

A new US$3,99 iPhone app, titled iGot’em, will empower citizens and reduce crime and allow users to combat crime within their communities by uploading a recorded incident to the nearest law enforcement office. The application will notify law enforcement of the date, time, and location of the crime in progress. It was produced by Sharon Hodge, Trafalgar Solutions and former Caribbean resident.

The combination of this information along with the general images taken by users will allow accurate reporting, while protecting the identity of the user. Hodge credits her creative spirit and her love for the Caribbean to iGot’em. Born in Dallas, Texas, and raised in the heart of South Central Los Angeles, she is no stranger to crime. “Where I grew up, crime was rampant, protection was light, and citizens were too afraid to come forward. This same behaviour exists in countries throughout the world,” said Hodge.

Living in the Caribbean’s with her husband, remnant fears from her childhood brought an automatic sense of awareness and the will to fight for change.“By freeing citizens from the fear of retaliation, we might be able to catch some of our most violent offenders,” she said.
iGot’em is available for purchase through iTunes. Smart phone devices such as the Android and Blackberry will be added in the near future.
Source: CaribbeanNewsNow

http://bit.ly/18nLZhv

So who is really looking for Black Tech's?

Do you think people will use this app?

Hopefully by using this app people we think about saving the life of another person when in need. Usually people will generally turn there back if they have witness a crime. Most people don't want to get involved but by using the app it keeps the app user anonymous. They don't have to get physically involved, they can report the crime and still walk away, but with sending help to the law enforcement before they leave the scene. This may in deed bring back the Good Samarathan!