What was accomplished

Role

I was the sole founder of Peer2Peer, and own everything from business strategy sales, marketing, research, design, and was aided by a few potential cofounders in our trials on the technical side. Managed a team of 5 people.

Problem

When I was looking for my next opportunity back in 2021, I was freshly reminded how painful it was to use Linkedin for my job search. Whether it’s looking for relationship signals between 2nd-degree connections — I’d often get “ Oh, sorry I don’t know this person well at all. I don’t remember how we got connected,” or trying to assess if someone was a good fit for Shippo, it was superficial “good on paper” at best. Other than reading about influencers’ opinions, I didn’t find Linkedin to be particularly helpful in giving me insights to how people worked, and the kind of professional relationships they’ve developed with others.

Peer2Peer — A meaningful professional network with ex/current coworkers

In comes Peer2Peer, a vouch-based network that generates deeply personal insights based on the vouches one receives from one’s peers.

Market research

Most people were really enthusiastic about the idea, and also had similar sentiments that something needed to be done in this space. Most of the people came in through cold out reach and then word of mouth.

Formulate a plan of action

I put together a memo on why this problem is worth solving for, and began to build towards a beta.

Use job opportunities to get to vouches

Although people are enthusiastic about the idea, we still needed a reason for people to offer up their tight connections. Leveraging the hiring/job hunting touch points is the perfect reason for that.