More to the point, we have a special talent for accumulating stuff and then not using it. Our piles of unwanted items end up gathering dust in our closets or under our beds, or worse, sitting out on our curbs destined for the dump. Which is a shame, because most of the time there’s nothing wrong with the stuff — except that we don’t want it.

At WasteGate, we're building a smarter way to free up space, get rid of your unwanted stuff, and transform your trash into someone else’s treasure.

Meet WasteGate: the simple, convenient, fun way to turn stuff you don’t want for stuff into that you do.

Our cloud-based web and mobile platform works a lot like Craigslist, but less sketchy and way more user-friendly.

GET RID OF OLD STUFF
Put your unwanted stuff on WasteGate to find it a new home!

FIND NEW STUFF
Browse WasteGate for stuff you do want and need!

MULTIPLE WAYS TO PAY
WasteGate operates on a credits system: If you’ve got your eye on an item that’s worth more credits you have, you can make up the difference using credit cards, PayPal, mobile phone, gift cards and more!

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
WasteGate’s built-in Location Based Services (LBS) make it easy to find people and items near you!

DOOR-TO-DOOR DELIVERY
No more schlepping your old stuff down to the second-hand store: WasteGate plans to partner with local delivery services that will take your unwanted items away and bring the items you want right to your door!

As we said before, our unwanted stuff isn’t just cluttering our houses: it’s piling up on our streets and cramming our landfills past capacity. There’s only so much space on the planet, and every time we throw out an item before its time, or run to the store to buy yet another brand-new product instead of reusing and recycling something older, that space gets a bit smaller. And that’s not to mention the waste and destruction that goes into producing the products that we buy new.

By passing along our gently used items so they can live on after we’re done with them, and seeking out second hand products before buying new, we can all work together to build a better, more sustainable future!

WasteGate founders Thikshan Arulampalam and Rangana Samarasinghe had worked on a few other mobile app ideas together when the inspiration for WasteGate hit Thikshan almost out of nowhere.

Living in New York City, Thikshan constantly saw people using the streets of the city as a dumpster for perfectly good stuff. He latched on to the sight, and to the thought that there had to be a way to help people save space, money and the environment — especially in busy cities. That thought was the beginning of WasteGate. Thikshan and Rangana pooled their technology, management and marketing skills and set out to make WasteGate a reality.

Thikshan Arulampalam, CEO
Thikshan lives and works in NYC. He has over 15 years of experience in the technology and financial fields, both in the US and overseas, working for companies including Millennium IT, Tripwire and NewFront Software. He earned his Bachelors of Business Administration from Portland State University in 2003.

Rangana Samarasinghe, CTO
Rangana found his calling in software development through holding several positions as a software engineer, senior software engineer and tech lead. He has more than 9 years years of experience spanning both international corporations and local business clients, and currently works as CEO of Insharp Technologies. Rangana earned his Bachelors of Science from British Computer Society in 2004.

Our team is hard at work developing Waste Gate and we’re making some great progress: our Beta testing is scheduled to launch at the end of July, with 50 users and counting signed up to participate.

But we need some help to hit all of our goals, and that’s where you come in!

With this fundraise, we’re hoping to raise $49,000 to help us put development of WasteGate on the fast track to completion.

Here’s a quick timeline of our plans for the next few months and what your support will help us to accomplish:

WasteGate uses a credit system on our site to make transactions even easier and more secure. 1 WasteGate credit is equal to USD$1. Yep, you read that right: every dollar you contribute to this campaign will be converted to WasteGate credits in your account, to go towards whatever treasure you may find, be it a bike, a couch, a TV or anything else. (Bear in mind that prices will vary depending on quality, condition and demand, similar to Craigslist.) Plus, we've even thrown in t-shirts, shipping charge discounts, and gift cards to make the deal that much sweeter. 

So what are you waiting for? Check out the great rewards below!
Thanks so much for your support. 

Limited quantity: 1,000

Receive a personal thank you card
and 5 WasteGate credits.

Limited Quantity: 200

Receive a WasteGate t-shirt and 25 credits.

Limited Quantity: 200

We'll waive your shipping charges on your
1st WasteGate swap (limited to $10),
and you'll receive 60 credits! 
Be one of the 1st 10 people to pledge $60+
and you'll receive 30 bonus credits!

Limited Quantity: 1,000

Receive 90 WasteGate credits 
and a $20 Urban Outfitters gift card. 

Receive 120 WasteGate credits
and a $50 Best Buy gift card.

Receive 250 WasteGate credits
and a $95 Warby Parker gift card.

Limited Quantity: 150

Receive 500 WasteGate credits,
a $50 gift card to Urban Outfitters,
$50 gift card to Best Buy,
and a $50 gift card to Warby Parker.

Receive 1,000 WasteGate credits, 
a $100 gift card to Urban Outfitters,
a $50 gift card to Best Buy 
and a $95 gift card to Warby Parker.

Christopher S. Edwards, 
Attorney at Reitler Kailas & Rosenblatt LLC
As a corporate lawyer with a focus on general corporate transactions for both venture capital funds and companies, including equity and debt financings, secured lending transactions and mergers and acquisitions Chris has significant experience with preparation and negotiation of operating, credit, asset and securities purchase and employment agreements, equity incentive plans and other corporate documents, as well as management of corporate governance matters.

Education
Harvard Law School, 1995 - 1998
• Doctor of Law (J.D.)

Debbie Hidajat, 
Entrepreneur & Angel Investor 33 Angels
A proven leader with entrepreneurial spirit, Debbie comes from three generations of successful entrepreneurs, and she is always seeking to connect with global thinkers who are similarly passionate about growth, and who are not afraid of challenges. Having had extensive personal and multinational business experience in China, Indonesia, Singapore and US she is now interested in exploring investment and partnership opportunities with startups and real estate companies.

Education
Columbia University - Columbia Business School, 2004 - 2006
• Master of Business Administration (MBA)

Columbia University, 2004 - 2006
• Master of Engineering (M.Eng.), Industrial Engineering

Cornell University, 2000 -2004
• Bachelor of Science (BSc), Operations Research and Industrial Engineering

Dr.Sanith Wijesinghe, 
Principal Information Systems Engineer at MITRE Corporation
A Data Scientist and an experienced researcher with expertise in modeling and simulation of complex physical and socio-technical processes. Dr.Wijesinghe has strong enterprise software deployment, operations planning and international management expertise. He has vast knowledge in Numerical Analysis and Modeling, Systems Analysis, System dynamics, Computational Fluid Dynamics, Financial Time Series Analysis, Combinatorics and Optimization, Technical Writing, Enterprise Software Deployment, Trading System Operations, Project/Risk Management, Teaching and Mentorship.

Education:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1996-2003
• PhD; S.M, Aeronautics/Astronautics

Imperial College London, 1992-1996
• MEng; Aeronautical Engineering

Jonathan Emery, 
Partner at Bressler, Amery & Ross, P.C.  And Member of NY and D.C. bars.
Jonathan is a seasoned corporate lawyer with a very broad and unique legal and business background. At Bressler, he continues to build the firm's general corporate, securities and M&A practice. He has served as General Counsel of three public companies in three very different industries. He is an expert in legal and business aspects of early-stage companies in addition to personally being an angel investor himself, has served on the Board of over 15 young technology companies.

Education:
Boston University School of Law
• JD; Banking, Corporate, Finance, and Securities Law

Trinity College
• BA; Economics