Rob Messing
Marlboro, NJ (USA)
Role(s):
Founder/Owner/Principal
Mergeskills LLC
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Startup
Location:
Marlboro
Industry:
Internet
Year Founded:
2010
Number Employees:
1-10 people
Business Stage:
Growth (not profitable)
Entity Type:
Limited Liability Company
Description:
One Line Pitch: Business matchmaking for professionals - think (URL removed) for business professionals.
Business Summary: (URL removed) is a business matchmaking site for professionals. We are developing proprietary technology which will allow anyone using our site to find other business professionals who they don’t know but want to know, connect with them, and pursue new corporate projects, government projects, new ideas, ventures, start-ups, etc.
Customer Problem: Professionals who use sites such as (URL removed), (URL removed), (URL removed), (URL removed), etc. find it very difficult to quickly and easily find projects that they want to work on or to locate other professionals who they don’t know but want to know in order to pursue new projects, new ideas, ventures, start-ups, etc. The pricing structure for these sites makes it cost prohibitive as well.
Product/Services: MergeSkills takes a scientific, data driven approach to help business professionals find professional matches the first time – every time! MergeSkills members begin by completing a business relationship questionnaire that focuses on core professional compatibility traits such as passion, risk-averseness, skills, industries, willingness to invest, etc. MergeSkills members then complete a similar questionnaire for each type of project they are looking to pursue or professional they are looking to connect with. The MergeSkills matching algorithms take over, providing MergeSkills member with highly targeted and relevant results. MergeSkills members can communicate with other members via the MergeSkills messaging portal which includes email and an integrated instant messaging client.
Business Model: Freemium and Premium subscriptions ($180 annual/$35 monthly discounted to students), advertising, profile highlighting, opportunity posting, sponsored networking events, background verification services, headhunter service.
Competitive Advantage: Our competitive advantage is our scientific, data driven, custom developed business matchmaking engine. While other similar sites utilize traditional keyword based “search engine” technology to drive query results our site is completely unique in that it was designed from the ground up with three criteria in mind: simplicity, scalability, and relevance. Our goal is to continually provide our users with very targeted, relevant results the first time - every time!