2019 Startups to Watch: SquareOffs curing ‘comment chaos’ with two-way conversations
January 14, 2019 | Elyssa Bezner
Editor’s note: Startland selected 12 Kansas City firms to spotlight for its annual Startups to Watch list. The following is one of 2019’s companies. Click here to view the full, ranked list of Startups to Watch.
SquareOffs’ elevator pitch: SquareOffs is a microdebate platform used by online publishers and brands to promote meaningful conversation, increase engagement, and create new revenue.
The launch of a new SquareOffs consumer site is expected to cement the startup firmly as the “YouTube of social polling,” said Jeff Rohr, noting the potential to reach 100 million pageviews per month on partner sites in 2019.
Founder: Jeff Rohr
Founding year: 2012
Amount raised to date: $1 million-plus
Noteworthy investor: Howard Tullman (G2T3V), Leawood Venture Capital, Greenway Capital, KCRise Fund, Missouri Technology Corporation, BMD Partners
Programs completed: Pipeline Entrepreneurs, LaunchKC
Current employee count: 6
“The site will feature all of the top debates going on in news, sports, and lifestyle,” the founder added. “This is going to highlight debates from the partners that we work with, from our own writers, and it would also allow the everyday person to create a Squareoff and share it out.”
A SquareOff is a content type built for conversational debate involving a question with two possible answers — giving the audience an opportunity to pick a side and justify the position, he explained, noting that multiple partners signed on in 2018 who utilize the format in varying ways.
The platform provides pathways for partnering publishers — which include News Press and Gazette Co., TastyTrade, Sports Publishers Group, Dear Abby, and KC-based Andrews McMeel — to take ownership and monetization of conversations relating to their content that are happening on social media sites like Twitter, said Rohr.
Click here to read how SquareOffs is creating its own new niche.
Ruben Espinosa, SquareOffs developer
“The consumer site will be up within the next month,” he said. “We’re already starting to send some of that to our social channels and we’ve been running tests since the summertime with various categories — looking at which ones are doing well, like sports, food and product review and so on.”
The team, headed by Rohr with experience in business-to-business products at tech startup iModules, benefited greatly from the addition of CTO Rachel Smith, said Rohr, adding the science and development background manifested into a impactful versatility.
In 2019, the startup is expected to expand the team to more than a dozen employees, he added, noting building the audience on the platform as well as new partners are the top priorities.
“Our biggest goal is to make news sites more of a two-way conversation,” said Rohr. “You have these comments just sitting at the bottom of an article and they’re not super productive. By asking a question, we sort of frame the conversation and do what we call ‘curing comment chaos.’”
1) Bungii
2) ShotTracker
3) RiskGenius
4) Metactive
5) Pepper IoT
6) Signal Kit
7) Life Equals
8) Bellwethr
9) Homebase.ai
10) Tea-Biotics Kombucha
11) SquareOffs
12) Zohr
2019 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Serial builder uses sensor tech to ‘see’ inside problem-prone properties with Particle Space
Passion for building breathes life into a successful startup and the collective ecosystem, said David Biga. “[Builders] are a critical piece to our startup community,” said Biga, founder of Kansas City-based SaaS firm Particle Space. “If you don’t have people who care to build and offer things to those before you — then why come…
Duo designs Paloma Post greeting cards for more inclusive representation of couples
As she stood flipping through an endless sea of birthday cards, Julie Korona couldn’t find a single one that would send the right message to her then-fiancé, Tyler, she recalled. “All of the cards that I was looking through either said ‘husband’ or were super generic,” said Korona, co-founder of Paloma Post — a newly…
Artist who won rare Jayhawk licensing deal — scoring a $150K payday — set to rebound
Seemingly routine for many Kansas fans, crimson and blue are once again among the colors flooding the canvas of the 2019 NCAA tournament. But for artist Megh Knappenberger, the Jayhawks’ familiar palate has painted an entrepreneurial journey with as thrilling ups and downs as Big 12 basketball, she said. “It’s a pretty special and unique…
Cloud platform Packet opens KC office after $25M funding round in New York
New York-based Packet’s newly established Kansas City office is expected to take full advantage of the area’s wealth of tech talent, said Ihab Tarazi. “There is actually a very good technical base in Kansas City — so here’s validation of that,” said Tarazi, chief technology officer at the cloud infrastructure firm committed to “building a…