Another LinkedIn Challenger--IntroFly Is Smarter Networking within Your Social Graph
[IntroFly launchers Andy O' Dower and Kevin Melgaard.]
Editor's Note: See all our Excelerate Labs coverage here.
WHAT: Helps job-seekers maximize the connections they already have on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for advice and real-life connections that could lead to a great job.
Create a profile, then set goals, track progress and compare progress with others on IntroFly. Search profiles by keywords like "health care" for a list of relevant people across your social networks.
Going live this week: when you send an email through IntroFly's system, your profile picture and link gets shared with the recipient. You will be able to track opens and clicks and set reminders for follow-ups. IntroFly also has plans to let you send messages to anyone in your social networks even if you don't have access to their email address.
B2B play: Universities can integrate their alumni database with IntroFly so students can search their social graphs in addition to the alumni database. School administrators see stats about networking activity and job searches and can identify which students need additional help in the job search.
LAUNCHERS: Andy O'Dower and Kevin Melgaard.
WHY: It's hard to stay motivated when job hunting. Having a great resume isn't enough to get a key person's attention. On the institutional side, alumni associations need better tools for connecting alumni and students and tracking those interactions.
WHEN/WHERE: 2011 / Chicago.
BACKSTORY: Andy and Kevin previously started Beyond Credentials, which Andy describes as resume 2.0. Andy pitched the idea on This Week in Startups last fall, and host Jason Calacanis rated the pitch an 8.5 and the idea an 8. Going through Excelerate, however, they realized they needed to change the model.
“If it’s [ the resume ] not in the inbox of someone important who cares about me, then it doesn’t do me any good," says Andy. "We kind of went back and talked to a ton of people about how they got their job. Everyone always says it's serendipity, but it’s putting yourself in a good position to get an opportunity."
BUSINESS MODEL: For consumers: premium model rolls out this fall, prices TBD. For now, it's free. Universities and for-profit universities can purchase bulk subscriptions for their students and graduates. IntroFly will white-label the tool to for-profit schools and will use "powered by IntroFly" for traditional schools. Pricing to be determined but will depend on size of school population.
COMPETITION: LinkedIn, Zerply [see our profile here], Beyond, Jibe, intheDoor.
CUSTOMERS/GROWTH: Not disclosing, but aiming to have 1M signed up by Jan. 1. Andy adds, "We've gotten a great response from traditional universities."
GOAL: "To help people learn about and land careers that they love by meeting a lot of people," says Andy.
ON SOCIAL NETWORKS: "We’re not looking to create another network by any means," Andy says. "We’re looking to help you leverage all those networks. We want it to be a way to manage and keep track of that process."
ON EXCELERATE: "It’s been awesome," Andy says. "We were really thrilled when we got into the program. Troy Henikoff is one of the best mentors that I've ever had the luck to learn from."
WHO BACKED IT: Excelerate Labs and New World Ventures.
RAISING: $750K, $350K committed.
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: 5
SCREEN SHOTS
Anyone can easily sign up by submitting their email, creating a new password and IntroFly URL.
Create a basic profile listing job desires, strengths and education.
Search your network by keyword under the "Find People" tab. For example, you can see all contacts that list "business" in their profile. Follow that person on Twitter if he does not have an IntroFly account.
IntroFly gives you tips at every step of the way -- including what to say in the subject line -- when sending a message. IntroFly's most important rule: you cannot ask for a job.
Users can track how many people have viewed their profile, the average viewing time and percent of new visits in the "Check Analytics" tab.
FURTHER READING
1. "Why You Need to Take 50 Coffee Meetings" (Both Sides of the Table, Aug. 15, 2011)
2. "Need a Job? Work Your Alumni Network" (The Huffington Post, Aug. 9, 2011)
3. This Week in Startups #59 (TWIST, Sept. 31, 2010)
CONTACTS & LINKS
Andy O'Dower
Email: andy@introfly.com
Twitter: @odower
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/odower
Kevin Melgaard
Twitter:@melgaardfly
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/kevin-melgaard/1a/618/284
IntroFly
@introfly
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/IntroFly
Blog: http://blog.introfly.com
Jobs: Looking to hire Ruby on Rails developers with social API and graph database experience.
-=-=-=-=-
AWESOME STARTUP JOBS
Challenge Post - Solving problems for everyone.
Datastax - Big Data. Big Smarts. Big Fun.
Thumbtack - America's marketplace for local services.
RecoEngine - Tech Buying. Made Simple.
Rapportive - Let's make email a better place