Meet the entrepreneurs participating in the 2020 Impact Accelerator! FunAbilities.com matches accessibility-sensitive consumers to places, services and events that can serve them.

Venture Name: FunAbilities.com

Members: Sharol A. Signorelli, Founder and CEO

Venture Description: FunAbilities.com is an accessibility-focused online search and review platform that matches accessibility- sensitive consumers to the places, services and events that can serve them.

Why did you apply to the Impact Accelerator?
I applied to the Impact Accelerator to meet and work with entrepreneurial peers and to gain access to funding sources for my new company.

What makes you the most qualified to start this particular business?
Over the past fourteen years of caring for my son, who has multiple physical and cognitive disabilities, I have become extremely passionate about the accessibility of the world around us. I understand the barriers to participation that those with disabilities and the ones who care for them face daily. But even more than that, I understand how difficult it is to know ahead of time where these barriers are or are not. This inspired me to start FunAbilities.com, which has a primary objective to collect and deliver reliable and specific accessibility information about places, services, and events. FunAbilities.com allows users with accessibility needs to research where they can go beforehand so that they can avoid the frustrating trial-and-error method that existed before FunAbilities.com. I understand which accessibility features are important to people and am keenly aware of the current lack of information available about these features. From this understanding I have created FunAbilities, which is the perfect tool for all things accessibility-related.

How does your company create a positive social or environmental impact?
FunAbilities.com gives people with accessibility needs instant and reliable information on specific accessibility categories and features that have been reviewed and rated by others with similar needs at places, services, and events around the world. Users can plan using the website or be spontaneous using the mobile app. FunAbilities.com itself is accessible and easy to use. FunAbilities.com is revolutionizing the way people with disabilities live, allowing them the freedom to leave the safety and comfort of their homes without doubt that their accessibility needs will be met so they can participate and have fun. FunAbilities.com is also a community for users to engage with one another and with the businesses that serve them through forums, chats, friendships, and content contributions.

If you were to win the $10,000 grand prize at the Venture Showcase, what would you do with it?
Winning the Venture Showcase prize of $10,000 would jumpstart marketing programs focused on our powerful mission to build brand awareness and drive traffic to the site. The quality of the service FunAbilities.com provides is directly related to the quantity of people using the site. It is important to attract the first wave of users so that the site can begin to benefit from a user-driven virtuous cycle.

Find FunAbilities online: Website | Facebook | Instagram: @funabilities | LinkedIn | Twitter