The best place to build meaningful professional relationships, according to company founder Derek Andersen, is Commonred.
Whether that statement is true is to be determined.
“I’ve found that people are more likely to help you when you’re genuinely interested in helping them,” writes Derek in a welcome email message that all new users receive.
You can cultivate those relationships on the fledgling networking website through 1) connecting your Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn profiles to find common interests and connections with other users; 2) inviting contacts to join your board of directors; 3) earning points for common threads shared with contacts; and 4) pitching ideas to venture capitalists and other VIPs to explore deeper relationships.
It’s in the fourth bullet where Commonred shines. Rip Empson elaborates this in his latest article for Techcrunch about how you can meet those VIPs.
Traditionally, for those founders and entrepreneurs who may not necessarily have access to VCs or angels, or may not have had success with AngelList, accelerators, or pitching their ideas to media outlets, the road to victory can be a tough one. Which is what makes Commonred’s contests appealing to aspiring entrepreneurs out there.
Featuring a who’s who roster of people both known and mysterious, VIPs are people with scores of contacts and interests and who are dying to explore common threads. Learn about Berrie Pelser, for instance, and discover why people want to meet him.
While Commonred appears to be a great place for you to meet that angel investor for your startup product, it’s unlikely that Joe Facebook User will flock over and create an account. Why should Joe, anyway?