2 Startups Fixing Your Social Network
We must not be as connected as we think we are, based on two startups that launched recently.
Whyttle is a social networking site focused on communities. Say you’re into bluegrass music. The site finds communities of bluegrass fans around you to connect with and share content like upcoming events, equipment for sale, and info about bands. Founder Martin Levine says he was inspired to launch Whyttle when he wanted to connect with others in the early stages of learning to paint. It may sound like Meetup, but Martin says it’s not meant to organize events. And it may sound like Facebook groups, but it’s open to everyone, whereas some Facebook groups require permission to join.
One of the bigger Whyttle groups that's already formed is geared to DC-area parents. Martin says Whyttle is another pivot in his career. He’s worked as a political science professor and has had stints in government, affordable housing finance, and international development. He has no tech background but saw startup tech as what’s defining the world. He started working on Whyttle two years ago and has been testing it with users for the last few months. It’s collected over 100 registered users since site testing began and in the three days following its launch. Its plan for revenue includes ads on the community groups. It’s bootstrapped but a seed round raise will start in early fall.
Tier5, founded by three Johns Hopkins students, helps users tap into all their social networks to find people who can help them reach personal and professional goals. A user compiles to-do lists and the site connects them with people in their network who can help because they’ve already done something similar. Tier5 officially launches July 1 and will bring in 500 random people for testing. It will eventually make money by allowing large companies to create "groups" in order to tap into their employees' strengths for new and existing projects. The company will pay to create a group and access behavioral data about their members or employees. The goal is to have 50 million people and their connections indexed by the end of July and over one billion in the next 12 months.
