Small Business News

GoDaddy Builds App for Entrepreneurs to Get Idea Feedback

When you’re an entrepreneur there’s really no telling when your next great idea will hit you. Additionally, while you may sometimes instantly know that you’re on to something, other times your idea needs developing and some honest feedback. Traditionally this is where the advice of friends and family has come has been relied upon but a new app is making it so business owners can solicit advance from a much larger crowd of unbiased voices.

Introducing the Flare App

This week domain registrar GoDaddy unveiled an app called Flare that allows entrepreneurs to share their business ideas with others easily. As VentureBeat reports the free app is currently available for iOS and will come to the Google Play store soon. In terms of what the app is like, Flare has been described as being a “cross between Shark Tank, LinkedIn, and Tinder.”

While the Shark Tank and LinkedIn comparisons make a good amount of sense the Tinder one may seem a little out of left field. However the connection to the popular dating app comes from the functionality of Flare where users can swipe right on ideas they like when swiping left to indicate they don’t care for a given pitch. If an idea gets enough positive feedback then the entrepreneur can follow up by asking more questions regarding their specific pitch such as price point, location, etc.

According to GoDaddy’s VP of emerging products Rene Reinsberg, the idea for the app grew out of several inquires new domain registrants had for the company’s employees during their routine “thank you” calls. He says during such calls customers would ask team members, “What do you think of my business idea?” Reinsberg elaborated, saying, “Everyone has ideas, but too often they don’t go anywhere. We created Flare because we recognized the need for a community where people can get impartial feedback on ideas and connect with others to help them turn those ideas into something meaningful. Whether you’ve just had a fleeting thought and want to explore where you might be able to take it, or you’ve been dreaming of creating your own business your whole life, Flare is the first place to go for someone who wants to take the next step.”

Reinberg is also betting that people will join the Flare community simply out of a desire to help others. Although there’s no reward or gain for those offering their honest advice to the app’s entrepreneurs, the concept is that people will lend their knowledge similar to answering questions on Quora or editing a Wikipedia page. Flare is just the latest example of the sharing economy being a big asset for small businesses seeking advice following an influx of advice being doled out on platforms like Snapchat.

With GoDaddy’s Flare still in its first days it’s too soon to tell if the app will be a hit or will provide small business owners with the type of feedback their looking for. Additionally, while you’d hope that such a platform would attract nothing but a helpful audience, sadly no app or website is truly safe from trolls.  Still I have to say that this is an idea I’d definitely “swipe right” on.

Other Articles by Jonathan Dyer