by Jonathon Cerini 

OurCo co-founder and Chief Creative Officer Benjamin Wachtel saw the disconnect between government and constituents in modern society. Born in Moscow, USSR and raised between London and Larchmont, New York, Benjamin saw firsthand the technological differences and their impacts on social change.  

Benjamin admires several European nations’ advancements in utilizing electronic voting to promote civic engagement. Now in his 30s, Benjamin has seen a dilemma within politics in the U.S. Comparing the pros and cons of lifestyles around the world fueled his desire to do something about it. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Benjamin had an “aha!” moment. The New York University alum began a career in the film industry when suddenly, there was no work. Benjamin recalls speaking with his father, Jonathan Wachtel (co-founder of OurCo) on the matter when he had anxiety about taxes, wishing he could have more of a say with his income.  

“I felt very guarded around my financial situation. I’d feel so much better giving money to a government or organization if I could have transparency around how it was going to be used,” Benjamin said. 

Benjamin decided to move forward with this concept. He wanted to create a platform that could record voter participation and offer the sense of clarity he longed for. “I thought it’d be cool if you could vote for things on your phone and see where your opinion, dollar, or any perspective goes in terms of how it’s shared, disseminated and then acted upon,” he said.  

As a member of the Directors Guild of America, Benjamin believed his role as a director and producer on film/television sets could translate into a leadership role with the start-up. “The process is extremely similar. You have a bunch of different departments that you need to make sure you’re tending to and delegating is so important,” he said. “I know that I'm not the sales guy. That's not what I am naturally good at, nor do I think I should do it just because I think I know better. A lot of business owners don't take on feedback and ask for help, and I am proud that I do."  

Benjamin feels more confident working on the more analytical side of things. He wanted this project to have a strong foundation. He believed it was imperative for real people to act upon real facts. He wanted to bring a direct line of access by removing the intermediary and going straight to the representatives. “If your principals feel one way, [leaders] should consider doing X, Y, and Z things…we help the communication move from communication into an action. That is what really differentiates us,” he said. 

Benjamin launched OurCo as an alternative to the social media giants. He felt that the OUR platform could provide more grounded and tangible results. He emphasizes that information accuracy and security have become more of a necessity these days. 

While other apps make users sift through misinformation, public opinion, and theory, the OUR platform relies on credibility. “Anyone can say they're anyone. We're big on verifying users and making sure that communities are accepting people who are really part of the community,” he said. 

Benjamin admits facing trials and tribulations throughout OurCo’s journey. Stuck between feeling doubtful and burnt out to feeling obsessed and passionate, Benjamin says the biggest challenges are found in competing with other survey marketing platforms. “We’re a small company; they do some piece of what we do but they have all this money behind them.” 

Seeing the public express their needs to leadership, and having things change for everyone is something Benjamin describes as “beautiful."  

“To see people engaging in improving their lives, we concretely see how our data reports are adding value,” he said. 

To Benjamin Wachtel, success would be to give people fewer barriers around voting. “I think that we are so busy and overstimulated. We have so much spam in our inbox and are mistrusting of a random number texting us,” he said.  

Benjamin describes an ideal world, imagining one day that citizens use their phones in smarter ways. “I feel like people—for example, while they're on the subway instead of opening Instagram, they opened ‘OUR New York City’ and voted on things they wanted. It would be a much better use of their time,” he said. 

In the end, Benjamin wants to be remembered as an innovator who pursued OurCo with class and integrity. “I hope people think the company makes the world a better place and empowers people of all diversities to express themselves and contribute to their communities.”