Rock the Post is a free business social networking site that serves as a bridge between entrepreneurs, professionals and investors to help take projects to the next level. The site targets entrepreneurs, professionals and artists with a range of expertise as well as investors who are looking to support a cause or invest in business opportunities.
Regardless of what stage a project is in, Rock the Post brings the community together to pledge money, time and/or resources to help turn great ideas into extraordinary projects.
For example, a fashion designer may not have the funds to accomplish her lifelong dream of building her own clothing line. By logging onto Rock the Post, she can create a post describing her situation and her fundraising goals. If users on Rock the Post are interested in her clothing line, they can pledge money, time and resources to help her raise the necessary funds to create her clothing line.
Users can choose to keep their posts on the site for 30, 60 or 90 days. If they don’t reach their desired goal within the specific time frame, they can extend the amount of days their post in on the site.
Natalie Wahl, a Rock the Post user, was diagnosed with multiples sclerosis this year and had to quit her job. She decided she wanted to build a blog to earn extra income for her family, so she created the following post asking for help on starting her own blog:
The Rock the Post community pledged their time and resources to Natalie, providing her with useful blogging links and even offering to help her design her own website.
To make a financial pledge to a project or cause, users have to sign up for a Rock the Post account or sign in with their Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn accounts. The site enables users to pledge money using credit cards.
“The problem with most social networks is that most of the time, you can only invest money into a venture,” says Tanya Prive, co-founder of Rock the Post. “Rock the Post takes it a step further by giving projects exposure and allowing users to also pledge their time and resources, not just money.”
Rock the Post plans to add an intuitive news feed that will keep track of projects that users are interested in, suggest other projects based on the users’ interests and allow users to see who views their profile.
Launched in November, Rock the Post has raised $350,000 in funding and currently has users in 116 countries. The site’s business model will be based on advertisements and on premium services that will give users the opportunity to connect with more professionals and search for unique business opportunities.
This article originally written by Veena Bisstram for Mashable as part of the Spark of Genius series.
