Meet Pranav Rai | Co-Founder of Bytes For Better Lives

We had the good fortune of connecting with Pranav Rai and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Pranav, what do you think makes you most happy? Why?
For me, true happiness comes from making others happy. When I help someone or donate a board game, their smiles and joyous expressions warm my heart and bring a smile to my own face.

I truly enjoy the feeling of making a positive impact on someone else’s life, and that’s where my happiness stems from.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am most proud of the number of contributions we have made to our community in just 2 years. We have been able to donate board games to Joe Di Maggio’s Children Hospital, His House Children’s Home, and House of New Vision and Hope. We have also helped bridge the digital divide at many senior homes like Palomino Gardens, 5-star Premier Residencies, and the Palace at Weston.

It was definitely not an easy task; it took a lot of effort in terms of outreach, designing flyers and presentations, building a community-oriented team of volunteers, and fundraising. Our biggest obstacle was rejection. Many places were hesitant to accept a young group of volunteers, and we had to learn to be content with that. However, we still continued our outreach to local senior homes, children’s homes, and children’s hospitals to volunteer and make a positive impact.

I have learned the importance of community service work, as it can truly make a difference in the lives of so many individuals. Even just taking a little time out of your day can help a child play their first board game or allow a senior citizen to finally navigate their cell phone.

I want the world to know the mission of Bytes for Better Lives: To empower underserved individuals through education, while helping bridge the digital divide and provide equitable entertainment.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my friend were coming over, this would be the itinerary

Fun Places
– Hollywood Beach – we would go jet skiing, parasailing, play beach volleyball, and swim!
– Top Golf – amazing place to relax and play some golf!
– Wynwood – Check out the amazing artworks
– Malls (Brickell City Centre and Sawgrass) – Do some shopping!
– Watch a Miami Heat Basketball Game
– Go to a Weekend or Drake concert at HardRock
– Go-Karting!

Food Places
– Mister 01 – best pizza
– Sufrat – Best Mediterranean food
– Talkin’ Tacos – amazing tacos

We would also definitely play a lot of sports like Basketball, table-tennis, and football.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Definitely, my co-founder, Aaron Pinto. He has been with me in this journey to help make our community a better place from the start. We came up with this idea at the beginning of 10th grade because we were both driven to give back to our community and as a result we founded Bytes for Better Lives.

Website: https://bytesforbetterlives.wixsite.com/bfbl

Instagram: @bytesforbetterlives

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pranav-rai-7a15702b7/