Teamstory is the Social Network for Enterpreneurs

 “But what I do know is this startup journey is long, hard as f#!@ and lonely.”

teamstoryTeamstory founder Kevin D.H Kim found himself looking around for community in the startup world. The way he sees it, even though we spend a lot of time on Twitter, Facebook, and blogs, there’s very little “real” community. We share the good things or give advice on the easy stuff, but when things really get hard a lot of founders find themselves kinda lonely.

With that problem in mind, Kim and his cofounders are building Teamstory as a place for just that kind of interaction.

They’ll be up against some real competition, of course. Facebook, Twitter, and email work pretty well for a lot of entrepreneurs, and some surprisingly real conversations can happen in those forums. And, of course, there’s that “killing it” thing we all have. It will take a real paradigm shift to convince founders to open up and admit their struggles, when so much is riding on confidence in their business.

Check out the Q&A with the Teamstory team below and let them know what you think.

What is your startup called?

Our startup is called Teamstory – A Community for Entrepreneurs and Startups.

What’s the story behind your idea?

As an entrepreneur and a founder myself , I’ve always felt the disconnect within the startup community. Even though there are platforms like AngelList, Gust and F6S, there was no ‘real’ communication between the entrepreneurs and startups. It was all about what’s on the tip of the iceberg – Idea, pitch, fundraising etc. , all the fluff and the good stuff. Then I began to wonder… what about the other side? the good, the ugly, and the bad about your journey, your moments throughout your journey. I kept searching for a ‘real community’ for startups and entrepreneurs but haven’t be able to find one. So we decided to create Teamstory. A picture-based community where entrepreneurs and startups can capture, share and discover the moments in their journey with like-minded people. 

Who are the founders, and what are their backgrounds?

Kevin D.H Kim (24) / Tobok Lee (24) / Freddy Hidalgo-Monchez (25) We’re all entrepreneurs, builders and designers who has experience in multiple startups and tech-companies. We are from Waterloo, Toronto, and Montreal.

features_4@2x

 

Where are you based?

We are based in Toronto, Canada

What’s the startup scene like where you are based?

It is a growing tech-hub of Canada alongside with Kitchener-Waterloo. There are big and successful startups in the scene: Shopify, 500px and Bitstrips etc. And it’s beginning to grow more and more with talents.

What problem do you solve?

Teamstory is trying to solve the disconnect within the community by making interactions and discovery effortless and more transparent

We think that it’s actually a bit late that someone is trying to create a community around the startups. But it’s time to shift the thinking to more of a collaborative community to accelerate startup environment globally.Why now?

What are some of the milestones your startup has already reached?

We’ve just surpassed 200 beta signups and gathered interests from business partners within a month. We’re seeing some great interest from the entrepreneurs and startups around the world.

What are your next milestones?

Our next milestone is the closed-beta which will launch in late February. We want to make the product better with our early adopters and fully launch with a great product in the spring 2014.

Where can people find out more? Any social media links you want to share?

http://teamstoryapp.com

http://twitter.com/teamstoryapp

http://angel.co/teamstory

Building A Social Site? You Can Trust Your Users Are Full Of It

Repp, Cincinnati Startup, Guest Post, Social networksYour startup began because you wanted to create the Airbnb for X or the Match.com for Y.  You have visions of thousands, if not millions, of users flooding your site, all of them acting with the best intentions as they rent, share, buy, date, and network.

Well, they’re liars and full of bullshit.

Not all of them, of course. But the majority of them aren’t totally honest. There’s the online dating  girl who posted a picture on her profile from fifteen years ago, the guy who lied about his income and interests, and the opportunistic teen who is selling goods on Craigslist that he just happened to have “borrowed” from a neighbors open garage.  Not only are people lying about small facts, but  whole identities are fictional as 83 million Facebook users  and 20 million Twitter accounts are fake; the odds are good that you’ve had an interaction with a fraudulent individual or social media account in the last month alone.

The scary thing is, opportunities for such fraudsters will continue to grow, a scary proposition for your startup, whether it be a P2P, networking, dating, or any other site that connects people.  When you look at it, our new fangled digital economy is built upon increasing amounts of strangers entering into trust-based transactions, and your new startup sits on top of these transactions, which you should be praying go without incident.

If you’re in the startup ecosystem, you’ve probably spent countless hours worrying about how you and your website best ensure that everything is on the up-and-up with the least amount of effort. There are definitely a variety of ways that startups have tried to keep the bullshitters off their site, each which have their own pros and cons. Some of the popular ones include:

  1. Leverage users social media connections – These days sites are popping up overnight, allowing users to login using their Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts.  On the face, this is great, as it saves time to get in the door and creates a minimal barrier to entry for each new user, which is one of the goals of any founder.  Websites see this as a way to better know their users because at the very least it anchors them to an account that has interactions with others.  If you see that Jane has her Facebook account connected to her Airbnb account, you can look for common connections, possible see more about Jane’s education, and make assumptions that Jane seems like a nice gal. You as a platform owner and as someone checking out Jane might feel great . . . that is until you remember the large amount of fake Facebook accounts and realize how low the barrier to entry for most social networks is.  Now, one starts to wonder if Jane is really Jane and if she’s not, who did you just let stay in your Manhattan loft. Pro: Utilizes technology that is commonly used. Con: Fake accounts and fraudsters can easily make it onto your site.
  2. Disclaim It  – True, it can be a burden for sites, especially startups, to even think about fraudsters on their site, so many, including a lot of dating sites, will just disclaim it.  They’ll say in big, bold type that they don’t conduct background checks or verify their users at all.  While this is definitely easy for the site, as they can collect subscription payments as usual, it leaves the consumer, you know the one without the leverage, being stuck chatting with potential fraudsters. Pro: It is cut and dry for the website owner. Con: Users interact at their own risks.
  3. Vet Them – Some startups will look to tackle this problem head on, spending extra time and money on creating their own vetting system. They may have users send in passport/license photos or run background checks on their users to confirm identity.  These steps really begin to show that a site cares about their users, but some consumers have begun to push back as to fears that this is a bit big-brotherish. Do you want a car sharing site having your passport on file for the one time you’re going to use them? Pro: Provides verification for users, so they know who they’re dealing with. Con: The fear of too much personal information locked up with one site.

While these are just a few of the methods used to verify users and keep out the fraudsters, the bottom line is that you must take the proper steps to deliver a great experience to your users and make them comfortable with your service and others on the site.  You must not overlook the elements that go into your offering, as many issues likely sprout from such decisions that affect your staffing, your liability, your site’s friction, and how much time and effort is necessary to pull it off.

Michael Bergman is the CEO and Co-Founder of REPP, a platform for identity management and self-curated background checks.  His goal is to provide everyone an easy way to take control of their information and every platform a simple solution to their verification and fraud issues.

Michigan Startup: Rippld Get’s $50,000 To Expand Social Network For Creative Professionals

Rippld a social network to promote, collaborate and bring creative together has announced the receipt of a $50,000 micro loan investment to continue working and expanding their network.

This innovative startup for creative professionals is a resident at Wayne State University’s TechTown incubator.

“Friends ask us all the time where to find creative talent,” said co-founder Adrian Walker, who conceived of Rippld with his partner Wilbert Fobbs III when trying to get a fledgling video production company off the ground. “I looked at what was out there in the online landscape and nothing offered the kind of access or information people were looking for. Rippld fills that gap.”

Statewide, Michigan has seen a huge uptick in startups forming in the state or moving into the state. In fact, just this morning we reported on the budding community of 37 startups and innovative companies at Ann Arbor’s TechBrewery, and their newest tenant the team behind PaperDesk.

As for Rippld, Michigan is firmly home of the social startup, in fact, co-founder Lander Cornado-Garcia moved back from Chicago to Detroit to help start Rippld.

“TechTown and its sister incubators have been and continue to be critical to Rippld’s success,” said Coronado-Garcia. “The one-on-one coaching, business plan support and networking capability we accessed through TechTown positioned us to be competitive in our bid for this pre-seed loan and validated the integrity of our business model. We owe this victory in large part to TechTown and its partners.”

More after the break
Read More…

Groupon Buys Social Shopping Start Up Mertado

After a bumpy road in IPO land Groupon is back to acquiring companies and expanding the base of their product line. Groupon is far and away the largest group deals site on the net. Groupon started as a local deals buy in site and since then has grown to a user base of 155 million users, 23 million of which are active participants.

Groupon recently launched a new concept called Groupon Goods that sells cameras, electronic and other goods to their user base. Now it looks like they are looking to expand their social presence.

Mertado lets consumers find and buy products through social networks like Facebook.

“Mertado has shown a great level of innovation in the social commerce space — for example, the launch of Mertado TV, combining lifestyle video content and product selection,” a Groupon spokeswoman told the Chicago Tribune. “We’re looking forward to leveraging the team’s expertise.”

“Groupon has been a pioneer in social commerce in many ways, and when we started talking with them, it became extremely clear that they shared the same set of values as us,” Mertado told users and investors on their website.

source: Chicago Tribune