“I’m always raising the bar for myself. I’ll probably never view myself this way. But I think self-financing my business and keeping full control is a good measure of my success.”

ByPact is a free service launched to allow anybody to create an agreement (a “pact”) with a friend, co-worker, family member or anybody else and to have a virtual platform that keeps the record of this agreement and make it easier for both sides to maintain their side of the bargain.

It also offers the ability for pacts to be created and shared on social media so that others can join if you wish. We offer a variety of features to make it easier for all parties to keep their agreement, such as automatic reminders, deadline notifications, and breach of agreement notifications.

MO: What inspired you to launch your business?

Stefan: I had a situation where I wanted to buy my girlfriend at the time (now my wife) a special piece of jewelry that I had been searching for and actually found on Craigslist. However, I just happened to be in Miami that week on vacation and the seller was back home in NY. So upon calling him, I asked that he keep it for me, but he explained that he had no real guarantee that I would buy it. The next day it was sold, and as I was walking on the beach all upset, it occurred to me that if only there was a quick way I could send him a promissory note, he could have done the deal with me. From there, the idea behind ByPact was born.

MO: What issue does your core product help solve and how so?

Stefan: The idea behind ByPact is to provide a service to allow people to make personal agreements quickly and easily. Whether it’s social in nature, such as getting friends to go skydiving, arranging a bachelorette party in Vegas, or something more serious like lending money to friends and relatives, or making a business deal.

However, the site is more than that. We also included a component for kids and parents to make their own agreements to strengthen their bond.

MO: What has been your biggest challenge as a business owner and how have you met that challenge?

Stefan: Our biggest challenge was figuring out how we could turn ByPact into a tool that could be used by organizations to grow their businesses or charities. We met this challenge by developing the campaign pact model, which allows organizations and individuals to create a pact to raise money for a cause or business venture through a model similar to crowd funding. Campaign pacts are public meaning users can share them via social media and email in order to reach the widest audience and raise the most money possible.

MO: What’s the most exciting thing on the horizon for you/your Company?

Stefan: We are actually very excited about the upcoming launch of two additional modules. The first allows people to raise funds for their favorite cause, which can either be a known charity or something as simple as raising funds for something you need by asking your circle of friends and family. The second module will allow kids over 13 years of age to make pacts with their parents, friends or even teachers. Kids are very intelligent and savvy these days and empowering them to make agreements such as getting a certain grade in a course in exchange for a reward or allowance will benefit both the parent and child.

MO: Where do you envision your company in 5 years, 10 years, 20 years?

Stefan: I would like to see this service growing exponentially to being something that is ubiquitous. I can imagine ByPact being used to make all sorts of decisions and agreements on the fly, ideas being transferred to decisions and agreements in a coffee shop from a paper napkin. If Donald Trump had gotten Bill Maher to sign our pact, he might be getting a $5 million charity check right now.

MO: Do you consider yourself successful and by what means do you measure success?

Stefan: I’m always raising the bar for myself. I’ll probably never view myself this way. But I think self-financing my business and keeping full control is a good measure of my success.

MO: How do your competitors view you?

Stefan: I don’t know and I prefer not to ask. I’m happy to stay under their radar.

MO: What advice do you have for other entrepreneurs and business owners? What do you wish someone told you?

Stefan: I’m a big fan of pivoting, so analyze customer trends and continually get their feedback. Be ready to make adjustments often to meet your customer’s needs. I wish someone had told me that it’s 10 times more work than I could have ever envisioned, although I doubt it would have stopped me.

MO: What’s the biggest risk that you’ve ever taken and how did it turn out?

Stefan: I would say being newly married and telling my wife that I’m about to throw most of our money into a new venture..”and by the way, we need to do a small wedding instead”. It turned out just fine because she’s still with me.