The operating system for the social sector
Avandar was founded on the simple belief that the social sector deserves the best software. The people in this sector work day and night to save lives, to serve their communities, and to help people live with dignity.
But despite their importance, after over a decade building tech for these teams at Silicon Valley companies, I became exhausted of seeing the social sector be forced into two equally unfair options:
- Pay for high-tech digital solutions that were designed for the private sector, figure out how to make them fit into their social missions, and end up overpaying for a solution that was never meant for them.
- Build their own digital tools on their tight budgets by relying on volunteer work, corporate philanthropy, or a rotating door of contractors, which leads to subpar tools due to the lack of a consistent software development team.
This meant that the only organizations in the social sector with the best tech tools were the ones with the largest budgets. I became disillusioned with Silicon Valley's promise of social impact but realizing that they will always value short-term profit over real impact. I've been a volunteer, I've worked in corporate philanthropy, and I've built the high-tech tech tools. And in each case, the real needs of the social sector were left unsolved.
The truth is that most of the sector cannot afford $1million+ contracts for a data pipeline. The truth is that most of the sector cannot afford to pay $20-$50/user for the newest AI subscription. The majority of this sector consists of 1-10 person teams around the world that are simply trying to make their communities better. This is not a niche market. This is 80% of the social sector.
And the truth is that the tech industry can build far better and affordable software for social missions if they just let go of their obsession with big data and serving only the top 10% of the social sector.
Avandar is the only digital tool that is optimized for resource-constrained teams, for the small-to-medium data scales that the majority of the social sector faces on a daily basis, and that considers high-risk and low-connectivity environments as the norm rather than an afterthought.
We are a team of individuals who have worked their entire careers in the social sector. We have experienced your same problems. We have been in your shoes. We will not stop fighting to make this platform everything you deserve.
- Pablo Sarmiento, Founder & CEO of Avandar Labs
Our core values
Affordable technology as an act of justice
The social sector has been handed a false choice for too long: accept subpar technology or pay Big Tech prices designed for someone else entirely. We reject that. Avandar exists because we believe that affordability and quality are not mutually exclusive, and that organizations deserve tools that live up to their work.
We believe that people come first, technology second. That means we will never compromise on technical excellence, because we know from experience that poor software in high-stakes settings can be the difference between lives saved and lives lost. We will never choose technology because it is the current trend or “cool.” We will build what our communities need and ask for. We believe in advocating for underserved communities and teams and our commitment to excellence and affordability is our first step in that direction.
