The Pitch: Christine Souffrant sells online access to street vendors across the globe

Did Christine Souffrant convince you in her 60 seconds? When we travel, we love the unique goods offered from the local street vendors. Vendedy is a digital platform that connects travelers to those fabulous vendors. Who doesn’t love shopping for what they want from the comfort of their hotel room?

Name: Christine Souffrant

What you’re pitching: Vendedy makes it easy to access local products while you travel the world! One out of five of global goods is located in street markets, bazaars and souks, yet there is no digital platform to access them. With beta success in Haiti, Vendedy launched the first mobile network connecting travelers to street vendors in real time. Now a traveler can use the network to browse through live feed photos of products and either connect with the vendor to purchase via SMS or request a product delivery to their hotel. The launch of the network goes live this summer. Sign up for the first access here: vendedy.com/landing

Position: CEO and founder

Hails from: Born in New York, raised in Haiti, lives in Dubai (currently at NASA for the summer)

Birthday: Feb. 24, 1989

Personal life: Scrapbooking, traveling, public speaking, photography

Priors: Former banker, policy research analyst, start-up development strategist

Pitch inspired by: The pitch was inspired by the convergence of my childhood reality and life learnings with the street vending industry. As the daughter of three generations of Haitian female street vendors, I grew up understanding that the way of life for many was selling in the streets. I earned a Bill Gates scholarship to Dartmouth and traveled to over 22 countries, witnessing the stories of street vendors across Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. I became obsessed with the street vending industry, and when the earthquake hit Haiti in 2010, I made it my life goal to transform the black market street vending industry as I walked through the rubble amongst street vendors. By 2013, I quit banking to move to Dubai to study social entrepreneurship, with the goal of launching a start-up post-graduation — little did I know that it would be Vendedy.

Mentor(s)/people who inspire: My mother has a huge influence on me. She embodies resilience, bravado and boldness.

Last read/watched/listened: Bold by Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler

Words to live by: 

• “When 99% of people doubt your idea, you are either gravely wrong or about to make history.”
• “Life is a promise. Fulfill it.”

Social:@Csouffrant

Guilty pleasure: Red velvet cake

How I recharge: Music playlist and binge-watching Ancient Aliens on National Geographic

Top of travel wish list: Any ancient site of the world: Machu Picchu of Peru, pyramids of Egypt, etc.