After powering problem-solving challenges for clients like the U.S. federal government, the city of New York, Michelle Obama, Samsung and the World Bank, ChallengePost has raised $4.1 million to develop a new type of platform — one that not only solves problems, but helps point them out.
CEO Brandon Kessler created ChallengePost about two years ago after discovering a blog post that promised $100 to anyone who made a program that would run Windows on a Mac (at the time, Apple didn’t make this easy). Other frustrated Mac users added to the prize money until the pool was up to $14,000, the New York Times had run a story about it, and a programmer submitted a successful solution after just three days.
“I said, We need an eBay around collaborative problem solving,” Kessler remembers. He started ChallengePost and hired the blog’s author as his chief of product.
The startup, which had just two employees up until February, made deals to run an app developer contest for the City of New York and solicit software suggestions for Michelle Obama’s healthful eating campaign within nine months of its launch. Challengers ask the public for their ideas and typically reward winners with cash — picking up affordable work, publicity and fresh perspectives in the process. To date, more than $40 million has been given away in more than 200 ChallengePost contests.
ChallengePost announced on Tuesday that it it had raised the funding round, led by Opus Capital, in order to expand its team and explore a somewhat reverse concept: asking constituents for the problems in addition to the solutions.
While Kessler says he’s not ready to discuss what such a platform might look like, New York City recently ran a campaign using ChallengePost that might provide some hints. The city’s Big Apps Ideas contest asked the public to submit their ideas for apps the city needs where its other contests have asked for fully developed products. A problem identifying solution would likely enable sponsored problem identifying contests like this one as well as user-submitted ideas.
“Right now we’re more of a place where people can solve problems they’re passionate about, but we’re going to be focused on this concept of identifying problems that you’re passionate about as well…,” says CEO Brandon Kessler. “Completing that circle is our biggest focus and what I think is the largest opportunity and the one that is potentially disruptive.”
Image courtesy of istockphoto, yurok
More About: challenge.gov, challengepost, crowdsourcing, funding, NYC big appsFor more Startups coverage:Follow Mashable Startups on TwitterBecome a Fan on FacebookSubscribe to the Startups channelDownload our free apps for Android, Mac, iPhone and iPad
Posted on Tue, 09 Aug 2011 04:04:00 +0000 at http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/Bba_G0H1Czg/
Comments: http://mashable.com/2011/08/09/challengepost/#comments
CEO Brandon Kessler created ChallengePost about two years ago after discovering a blog post that promised $100 to anyone who made a program that would run Windows on a Mac (at the time, Apple didn’t make this easy). Other frustrated Mac users added to the prize money until the pool was up to $14,000, the New York Times had run a story about it, and a programmer submitted a successful solution after just three days.
“I said, We need an eBay around collaborative problem solving,” Kessler remembers. He started ChallengePost and hired the blog’s author as his chief of product.
The startup, which had just two employees up until February, made deals to run an app developer contest for the City of New York and solicit software suggestions for Michelle Obama’s healthful eating campaign within nine months of its launch. Challengers ask the public for their ideas and typically reward winners with cash — picking up affordable work, publicity and fresh perspectives in the process. To date, more than $40 million has been given away in more than 200 ChallengePost contests.
ChallengePost announced on Tuesday that it it had raised the funding round, led by Opus Capital, in order to expand its team and explore a somewhat reverse concept: asking constituents for the problems in addition to the solutions.
While Kessler says he’s not ready to discuss what such a platform might look like, New York City recently ran a campaign using ChallengePost that might provide some hints. The city’s Big Apps Ideas contest asked the public to submit their ideas for apps the city needs where its other contests have asked for fully developed products. A problem identifying solution would likely enable sponsored problem identifying contests like this one as well as user-submitted ideas.
“Right now we’re more of a place where people can solve problems they’re passionate about, but we’re going to be focused on this concept of identifying problems that you’re passionate about as well…,” says CEO Brandon Kessler. “Completing that circle is our biggest focus and what I think is the largest opportunity and the one that is potentially disruptive.”
Image courtesy of istockphoto, yurok
More About: challenge.gov, challengepost, crowdsourcing, funding, NYC big appsFor more Startups coverage:Follow Mashable Startups on TwitterBecome a Fan on FacebookSubscribe to the Startups channelDownload our free apps for Android, Mac, iPhone and iPad
Posted on Tue, 09 Aug 2011 04:04:00 +0000 at http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/Bba_G0H1Czg/
Comments: http://mashable.com/2011/08/09/challengepost/#comments
