KnotProfit redefines the wedding industry

Most brides can relate to the stress of a big wedding: invitations, RSVPs, seating charts, linens, gift registries, and the like. Bride-to-be Kritika Kripakaran has taken a step toward relieving the stress and, even better, helping those less fortunate along the way.Kripakaran and fiancé Joshua Harris are co-founders of KnotProfit, an online company that specializes in donation-based wedding registries and wedding favors, and the “ethical honeymoon experience.”Kripakaran said she quickly became bogged down in the wedding planning process, including gift registry.“We live in a really small apartment, and I don’t cook often. So we knew for sure we didn’t want any appliances or anything,” said Kripakaran. “We decided against a registry and were looking online for anything else we could do.”The answer came in the form of donations in lieu of gifts and a family connection. Kripakaran’s grandfather funds the Kizhar Palaniyandi Pillai School in a small village near Salem, Tamil Nadu, India.“Josh and I thought it would be really cool to have our guests donate to that school,” said Kripakaran. The couple hopes to raise funds for a new kitchen at the school.“Once we started planning the donation process, we realized it’s really hard to do,” noted Kripakaran.Thanks to their unusual wedding registry alternative, the couple won a contest with Long Haul Films, a company specializing in wedding filmmaking.“The submission requirements asked if we were getting married underwater or on the top of Mt Everest. We weren’t doing anything that cool,” commented Kripakaran. “I didn’t think we qualified to enter, but they deemed us the winners.”Long Haul Films partnered with Harris and Kripakaran in the KnotProfit venture. “They pushed us into making this a business. If we were going to solve the problem for ourselves, we may as well enable everyone else to do something like what we are doing,” added Kripakaran.KnotProfit.com is easy to use when planning a wedding, noted Kripakaran. Couples may choose a nonprofit organization in the area where they plan to honeymoon and even volunteer time at the facility, or just have guests make a monetary donation in lieu of gifts.“Obviously, it’s your honeymoon; you don’t want to volunteer the entire time. There are incredible resorts near areas in need, so you can have your honeymoon and in the back of your mind know that you did something good,” added Kripakaran.“We also offer donation based wedding favors,” said Kripakaran. “Instead of giving your guests wedding favors, you can donate to a cause, like an orphanage, and have all the children hand write notes for your guests.”The KnotProfit site will offer a variety of amenities, including “green” wedding invitations, save the dates, and personalized wedding websites to allow guests to make donations easily.Vetting organizations has been time consuming, noted Kripakaran, as well as having her own organization vetted by those she wishes to donate to.“I’m not going to send anyone there if I don’t know they are safe,” added Kripakaran.The couple is not new to entrepreneurship. They also own Core Simplicity, an online site devoted to helping consumers find or sell Apple computers, as well as servicing them.It was their endeavor with Core Simplicity that brought them into contact with Braintree Business Development Center. When the time came to explore options with KnotProfit, Braintree was one of the first stops.Harris and Kripakaran contacted Barrett Thomas, Braintree Microfinance Administrator, and then followed through with classes at Braintree.“We saved so much time with Barrett helping us out,” said Kripakaran.KnotProfit is now a Braintree tenant. “It’s like we’ve found our home here,” added Kripakaran.Harris and Kripakaran are excited to be part of Braintree and the downtown Mansfield area. “We have the ability to make our business grow. I think that’s really cool from a local economic standpoint,” said Kripakaran.

KnotProfit redefines the wedding industry
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