Press
Recent Media Features
- Crunchbase News called us "the most charismatic pitch" at Y Combinator's W2019 Demo Day
- The Boston Globe - front page below the fold (1/14/19)
- NPR's Morning Edition (8/15/18)
- USA Today mention and link (1/10/19)
- TechCrunch
- Thrive Global
- Americaninno Profile
- Worcester Telegram
- Boston Globe Letters to The Editor
- Milwaukee Business Times
- Cambridge Chronicle
- Wireless Today
Factsheet
Community Phone Company
Based in Boston, MA
Founding date: February 1st, 2018
Website: communityphone.org
Press / Business contact: ellie@communityphone.org
Phone: 617-963-0004 and 888-582-4177
Overview
Who We Are
We chose to work on this problem because our families were systematically abused by large carriers. From a sister who was sold a $45 phone for $500 to a grandpa who spent 3 hrs on hold because he didn't know how to turn on his iPhone 4 and was then shamed into buying an iPhone X to solve "his problem," our loved ones have been crushed by telecom. Our core team consists of James, our CEO and a 2017 Thiel Fellow, John, our COO and a recent USF data science grad, and Ellie, a recent Harvard Math and Philosophy grad who is a professional artist and manages our design and marketing. Our most important qualification, though, is our vehement need to make phone companies, at minimum, decent and ethical.
What We Offer
We buy our data in bulk from carriers all over the globe so we can offer lower prices for almost all people. Our more than 400 customers have saved more than $20,000 per month by switching to us. Our most popular data plan costs only $25/month, and all of our plans have no contracts and include unlimited calls and text messages. As part of all of our phone plans, we provide in-person customer support and phone set up, making cell phones hassle free. Our coverage is nationwide and can include international services and hotspot capabilities. We do not harvest or sell our members’ data. Unlike other providers who sell customer data to advertisers, the data our members purchase is theirs to own. This helps our customers feel safe and secure online. We also run tech-literacy events throughout Boston, having already helped hundreds of people learn to use their smartphones. Each month we also publish a TeleGraham, our newsletter which includes announcements about local Boston events and businesses as well as a Member Spotlight, where we profile one of our outstanding members.
Images
Awards
- "Thiel Fellowship" James is a 2017 Thiel Fellow. The Thiel Fellowship (originally named 20 under 20) is a fellowship created by Peter Thiel through the Thiel Foundation. The fellowship is intended for students under the age of 23 and offers them a total of $100,000 over two years, as well as guidance and other resources, to drop out of school and pursue other work, which could involve scientific research, creating a startup, or working on a social movement. Selection for the fellowship is through a competitive annual process, with about 20–25 fellows selected annually. It has a selection rate below 1%. (Taken from Wikipedia)
Quotes
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This new telephone company Community Phone is light-years ahead of all the others, most notably in its enlightened attitude towards its customers. Graham and his staff of young visionaries are determined to make the phone and the internet less costly and easier to use. Everyone claims they "care." Community Phone truly means it.
Anne Bernays, American Novelist, Wikipedia -
I can’t tell you how great I feel having made the switch to Community Phone. I’m a new man!
Richard McNally, Poet