Today's Entrepreneur is Patrick Aylward, Co-founder and COO at RemitRight. RemitRight is a comparison platform for international money transfers, the KAYAK for remittances. They compare online money transfer operators, revealing hidden fees and exchange mark-ups for their predominantly immigrant users. They also provide information on other remittance preferences such as send and receive method and transfer time.
Aylward is an engineer and has an MBA from the Yale School of Management. Patrick has spent the last decade working in international development building systems to bring transparency to opaque markets. His specialties includes market dynamics and competitive strategy, pricing transparency, analytics and data visualization, systems development, project management, access to medicines, pharmaceutical patents, and open data.
RemitRight self-categorizes in these areas: Comparison shopping, and Financial technology (Fintech).
Here's a little about Aylward:
-Managed the development of a web application used in 120+ low and middle income countries to monitor $5 billion+ of pharmaceutical procurement.
-Managed the development of a web application to track patents for HIV medicines across 120 countries. Enabled Medicines Patent Pool, activists and procurement agents to challenge patents and increase access to medicines in low income countries.
-Built a Market Intelligence System for the World Health Organization to monitor the global markets for HIV. malaria and tuberculosis medicines and health products.
-Served as the first Field Director of Hope Through Health. Expanded the organization to serve more than 1,500 HIV-positive patients at five clinics in West Africa.
-Intel Divisional Award for improvements made to manufacturing lines at Intel's primary R&D fab.
If you are an entrepreneur, why? I want to change the world.
My favorite startups: Betterment.com, NerdWallet, Kayak, Bankrate.com, Quora, The Department of Better Technology,
What's most frustrating and rewarding about entrepreneurship/innovation?
The most rewarding aspect of innovation is building a concrete solution to help people solve a problem. I am happiest when I'm working with users who are benefiting from my systems. I get most frustrated managing the organizational aspects of starting an organization - accounting, human resources, legal.
What's the No. 1 mistake entrepreneurs make? Building a solution to a problem that is perceived and not real.
What are the top three lessons you've learned as an entrepreneur?
1. How to iterate fast
2. How to test ideas and experiment
3. It's a long fight
Full bio
Patrick is co-founder and COO of RemitRight. He has an MBA from the Yale School of Management and an MSE and BSE in engineering from the University of Michigan. After starting his career at Intel, Patrick followed his passion and pursued a career in international development and social justice.
Prior to RemitRight, Patrick helped to launch a community-based HIV/AIDS treatment program in West Africa; built web application to track and benchmark billions of dollars of pharmaceutical procurement across low income countries; and developed market intelligence systems for the World Health Organization to improve access to medicines. He also was a co-author of the Global Fund's 2012-2016 strategy and has authored key publications and presentations on access to medicines and market dynamics.
When not working on RemitRight, Patrick is a hiker, skier and avid reader.
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RemitRight is a comparison tool for the $550B international money transfer market, We are the KAYAK of remittances. Our mobile and web responsibe platform provides individuals sending remittances with perfect market information associated with sending money. The intuitive website lets users quickly search and compare transfer options based on their individual needs. This includes information on the transfer operator, total costs, exchange rates, user reviews, payment methods, delivery options, transfer times and importantly, best value.
RemitRight helps our users, mostly hard-working immigrants, send more money to loved ones in their home countries. Money transfer operators currently take advantage of remittance senders through hidden fees and exchange rate mark-ups. In the U.S. alone, remittance senders spend an additional $1billion simply due to lack of transparency. We are attacking that $1 billion by helping our users make informed remittance choices. We estimate that the average RemitRight user will save $122/year. This money goes to life's essential needs like food, shelter, school supplies and healthcare.
We will reach our users through digital marketing, content creation and through our network of partnerships throughout the U.S. Our CEO’s background in immigrant rights and advocacy gives the company credibility as a unbiased third-party source to prevent hard-working immigrants from being taken advantage of by money transfer companies. Organizations want to partner with us and help their members make informed remittance choices.
Joined Vator on
Patrick is co-founder and COO of RemitRight. He is an engineer and has an MBA from the Yale School of Management. Patrick has spent the last decade working in international development building systems to bring transparency to opaque markets.