When our TA friends accomplish something awesome, TACL wants to recognize their rockstar-dom and spotlight their achievement.  Our STAR program aims to capture these stories and share it with you.  If you have a story you’d like to share, please email us at star@tacl.org.

 

Have you heard about Sean from TAP-Boston?

Sean Chung is TAP-Boston’s Co-Social and Cultural Chair and is also the CTO of Wellapets, a tech start-up that recently won the grand prize of $10,000 in the Boston University Seagull Pitch Competition.  Here is our interview with Sean:

TACL: Congratulations on your recent victory!  Can you tell us a bit about the winning concept – what it is, who came up with the idea, what your role is, etc.?

SC: Wellapets makes healthcare easy and fun for kids by communicating with kids in their native language – gaming. Our first game, available on iOS & Android, focuses on asthma which is the number one cause for kids ER visits. In our game, kids adopt a fire-breathing dragon but it cannot breath fire unless its asthma is under control. They learn to care for themselves by caring for a virtual pet who faces similar challenges as they do. We were originally a team formed in college and were always interested in improving healthcare. When we came across research studies showing that educational games can not only teach kids about their health, but can actually keep kids healthier, we saw our opportunity.

TACL: A little bird tells us that you competed in TAP-NY’s 2nd Entrepreneur Challenge & Competition in NY 1.5 years ago.  What a fun TACL Family connection!  Can you tell us about that experience and how that has helped you in your development process?

SC: Being a contestant for TAP-NY’s Entrepreneur Challenge was actually one of the first few times that I had the opportunity to pitch for Wellapets. The first round was nerve racking but also fun! I was in charge of the tech demo. I always joke around about how my tech demos had always screwed up in the past, and sure enough it did again. Even though we made it to the final round, my bus broke down on my way to new york that day, so my teammates had to present without me. Takeaway? Always have a contingency plan.

TACL: Now that we know a bit about your start-up life, tell us a little bit about yourself! It can be anything – where you grew up, your professional background, how long you’ve been involved in the TA community, your hobbies, etc.

SC: I’ve always wanted to be an artist/graphic designer growing up, but my dad convinced me to pursue a software engineering route while applying to colleges. I didn’t like it at first, but it grew on me – and the awesome part is that I get to do both design and coding at my current job.

I used to be obsessed with handball in high school (for those of you not in NYC, its similar to racquetball/squash but you hit with your hands), I was in the varsity team and made it as far as city finalist in the league. Lots of my friends have mathletes or science project trophies at home, but one of my proudest moments will always be holding a trophy for this little known sport.

I didn’t really get involved in the Taiwanese American community until I went to college, I joined our school’s TASA because they didn’t get their logistics right for a karaoke competition that I was a participating in. This annoyed me so much that I decided to join the group to make sure all future karaoke competitions ran smoothly. Over time this community really grew into a second family for me.

TACL: Just out of curiosity, how long have you been on the TAP-Boston board and what is your favorite part of being on the Board?

SC: This year is still my first year on the TAP board. My favorite part about being on the board is being able to talk about issues with people that has a similar yet different experience as you. It’s always fun to meet TACL/TAP members from across the country as well and I’m very happy that I’ve decided to join the board. I think TAP has really helped develop a sense of community for me here in Boston.

TACL: Lastly, now that you guys have $10,000, what are you planning to do with that money and what are your next steps with Wellapets?  If anyone in the Taiwanese American community could give you a hand, what are ways we can help you?

SC: The prize money will be used to market Wellapets. Our next steps are to acquire users for our current asthma game and to begin work on our next game. We plan to tackle food allergy, diabetes and other critical issues in our future games.

We could definitely use a hand from the Taiwanese American community to spread the word about Wellapets! Follow us on Twitter (@Wellapets), Facebook & Pinterest to help us raise awareness and spreading the word to parents and kids who could benefit from our game!

If you want to learn more, check out our website at www.wellapets.com and email us at info@lifeguardgames.com. We’d love to connect with you!