How do we aim to make the world a better, more sustainable, and more effective place? Two entrepreneurs at Penn, who recently finished as a Weiss Labs have found one way: by striving to revolutionize how we shop at convenience stores, streamlining the process for greater consumer efficiency. Their startup, UCheck, is an app that allows consumers to scan items as they shop, and when they’re finished, they can purchase all their goods with one-click, confirm their receipt at the door, and leave, eliminating tedious lines.
UCheck is founded by Xiaoyi (Sherry) Chen (M&T ’19) and Ezaan Mangalji (W ’20 SEAS ’20). Sherry’s inspiration came her freshman year, when she waited in line for 10 minutes at Fresh Grocer for a pack of candy. She went on to develop a “smart shopping cart” for grocery stores, but after several design iterations, decided to focus on convenience stores.
UCheck has recently partnered with Harnwell Cafe to undergo initial testing. They are most looking forward to all the resources they can utilize from Weiss Labs, like legal advice and one-on-one mentorship. Ezaan said one of the greatest parts of Weiss Labs is the community, which provides plenty of support to their team and design.
To find out more about UCheck, watch the full interview here and check out their website here.
Here at the Weiss Tech House, we celebrate, support, and create innovators and thinkers all across Penn’s campus. In the spirit of our mission to advance technological entrepreneurship, we’ve started our new series: Founder of the Week. Each week, look forward to the new highlights, interviews, updates, and insights from Penn founders. If there’s anybody you’d like to nominate as a Founder of the Week, preferably Weiss Tech House member or alum, let us know here.
