A Franco-Israeli entrepreneur is hoping to rekindle some of the optimism of the dotcom boom with a new social networking site that combines the mass-audience reach of eBay with the need for grassroots funding for small businesses.
Serge Bueno, who relaunched the SodaStream soft drinks maker in mainland Europe, is hoping that his latest project, called the Tribe, will help the next generation of business leaders get off the ground.
Bueno said: “The idea for the Tribe is very simple. Our world is dying as capitalism is coming to an end. We are trapped. Most jobs are created by small companies and there are less and less of those.”
The Tribe opened its doors on the internet this month but will be launched officially on September 18. It is designed to bring entrepreneurs and business people who have projects that need funding together with a large pool of users who have registered online and are looking for innovative products to buy.
If enough Tribers express interest in a product and make a small up-front payment, its developers will be able to calculate their break-even point and decide whether to press ahead. If the product cannot reach that break-even point, everyone gets their money back.
Anyone can put forward a single idea to the Tribe community for a $100 introduction fee, or an unlimited number of ideas for $500. Bueno hopes to have 50 000 users by the end of the year. Bueno’s ambitions for the Tribe go beyond group buying.
The site will lend cash to projects using a fund created in part from its introduction fees, and it is hoped small investors from among the community will be attracted by the promise of better returns on their savings than are offered by high-street banks.
The Tribe will also sell any products it thinks are especially marketable through its retail store in Covent Garden, London, which will open for business next month. —