Wander With WAYfinder Crowdfunding Event
Last Wednesday, the Innovation Centre helped launch WAYfinder Trails & Recreation’s crowdfunding campaign at Sleeping Giant Brewing Co. Many people came out to show their support and to learn more about this community initiative; Thunder Bay's first ever hiking and trails mobile app! WAYfinder's Indiegogo campaign will be live for the remainder of May and all funds will go directly towards the app development with an emphasis on the creating user profiles and city-wide challenges.
At the crowdfunding event, WAYfinder organizers, Graeme Saukko-Sved & Katherine Couzelis spoke about the exciting app features that will allow local residents and visitors to safely explore local hiking and walking trails, and took the opportunity to showcase their official Indiegogo campaign video.
As this hiking app is in development, Graeme and Katherine have been working with the Northwestern Ontario Innovation Centre, and have partnered with The Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce, Thunder Bay Tourism, Lakehead Regional Conservation Authority, and Tourism Northern Ontario. In addition, WAYfinder has also been working with Shout Media to deliver the best product possible.
The App
WAYfinder will be a great tool for everyone who enjoys outdoor recreation!
Phase One Launch: Expected to launch in June, the first phase of this mobile app will feature 800 km of hiking trails from the US border to Nipigon, ON. These trails will be classified by difficulty, type, estimated time of completion, and distance. For many of the popular trails, there will be directions with a full description in order to let users know what to expect and to also prevent them from getting lost.
Phase Two Launch: In July, you can expect to see the phase two launch which will focus on user interaction with an emphasis on promoting a healthy lifestyle. Users will have the option to create a personal profile so they can log any trails they hike, and share them with friends. Gamification will be imbedded allowing the user to enter “healthy living” challenges in which they can earn points that will be redeemable for discounts and prizes for local businesses.
Indiegogo
Many entrepreneurs seek assistance in covering the costs associated with bringing their innovative ideas to life. Indiegogo is a crowdfunding platform that allows entrepreneurs to build a campaign based on these ideas. It enables online donations to be made from not only local supporters, but also from a community of people worldwide who are looking to help back projects they see potential in.
Perks
With Indiegogo, there are perks; depending on donation amount, that are offered to backers in exchange for their support. Once you have picked a perk, like most online payments, you must provide your payment and billing information. Katherine and Graeme have set up several great perks related to hiking and recreation for your donations which can be picked up at their hiking app launch party in June. View the full list of perks on the campaign link provided below.
If you are interesting in following the progress of this community initiaitive, visit the WAYfinder Trails & Recreation Indiegogo campaign here and check them out on Facebook and Instagram @wayfindertrails.