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p/kineticMeet co-founders, mentors, advisors, investors, & customers
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Chris Messina

Kinetic - Meet co-founders, mentors, advisors, investors, & customers

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Top Hunter
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We scrapped the Likes, feed, and spammy messages to finally bring aligned professionals together meaningfully. 600+ tech leaders meet regularly through hand-curated introductions and Office Hours over video to accelerate their progress.

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Kris
Maker
Hi, there! Thanks for checking us out - this is Kris, a Co-Founder and CEO at Kinetic. In early April, we started this effort by talking with 110+ professionals about how they network. While they all had LinkedIn accounts, there was a common frustration that while they all had hundreds (if not thousands) of connections, they weren't really connecting on a meaningful level. We realized there was a sizable issue here. Not only where professionals looking to connect more meaningfully but they were also spending a considerable amount of time searching for others, crafting those perfect emails, and crossing their fingers that they get a response of "Yes, I would be happy to meet with you to talk about x." In May, we made our first round of introductions via email - that was our alpha! We quickly realized there are a few key components in making a good introduction that's mutually beneficial to both parties. After a few months of that and launching our MVP, we noticed people wanted to keep the conversations going and have more opportunity to connect with members outside of just weekly introductions. Knowing this, we introduced Office Hours and Coffee Clubs to provide the space to go deeper with industry professionals. To-date, we've made 550+ introductions, with Members holding regular Office Hours and Coffee Club sessions, and our avg conversation rating is a near 4.8/5. We've seen Members find advisors, first hires (that have gone on to find a mentor), MVP feedback, industry insights, and helping bridge corporate and early-venture talent. Feel free to ask any questions and thanks for the support!
Justin Go
Hi Kris! This looks great! I'm currently on a similar platform called https://lunchclub.ai/ What makes Kinetic different and why should I move?
Kris
Maker
@justingo There it is - one of my favorites and (legitimately) glad you asked. There’s a number of key differentiators but let’s chat some of the top ones: 1 - we don’t hang our hat on intros alone. That’s a feature, not a benefit. There’s a bigger problem with how we network being antiquated that we’re tackling and requires a deeper approach than that. 2 - In that same theme, our product is our Members’ progress and that’s directly driven by the quality of conversations they’re having. That means we can’t leave it to AI alone and just hope for the best. We’re talking about people trusting us in supporting their professional development and that’s a really personal matter that requires a personalized approach. 3 - We spent the past 10 months in beta dialing this in. There have been dozens of other platforms and apps that have tried to be the go-to connecting app that have failed for a number of reasons; the common thread putting too much emphasis and weight in the tech while also attempting to tackle too many industries at once. Would love to continue chatting about this if you’re up for it!
Justin Go
@eulent Thanks for the quick and detailed response. I just signed up - will look to see what sets you guys apart first-hand :)
Kris
Maker
@justingo Excellent news and looking forward to hearing how your experience goes!
Ranjan Jagannathan
Kris has built a great community of founders, creators and other community builders. Have had some fun and meaningful interactions on Kinetic Coffee Clubs. If youre the kind of person who wants to experience directed serendipity, you should give Kinetic a spin!
Kris
Maker
@ranjan_j Thank you, Ranjan! You were literally one of our first to give us a try and really helped with the early exploratory convos we had. Thank you for the support and being part of this!
Adam Lofquist
Kinetic allows you to build real authentic relationships like no other product out there. They take the time to find the right match for you and help you achieve your own success. The team behind it is dedicated to building a great company, product and future. What else sets Kinetic apart? The fact that it is a place where you can share your knowledge and learn from others from around the world without needing to worry about being sold to. It is the fact that your introductions are not based on mutual connections but they are based on your actual interests and areas of expertise which is huge. If you are looking for a way to meet amazing people, join Kinetic.
Kris
Maker
@adam_lofquist Wow - thank you, Adam! It’s because of professionals like you we can create such an engaged an rich community supporting our next milestones. Thank you for being part of this and all of your support to-date. Let’s keep it going!
Vitaliy
?makers Impossible to copy invite code, it just put "Applied Automatically" to the clipboard
Kris
Maker
@vitaliy_skrypnyk Thanks for the note! Simply join the waitlist and with a completed profile, we'll approve access with the 14-day trial. Feel free to let me know of any additional questions!
Kris
Maker
@vitaliy_skrypnyk Checking back in - were you able to join the waitlist by completing your profile? Let me know what I can do to assist; I can also be reached directly at kris@joinkinetic.com.
Jeremy Koehler
Kinetics curated intros have been a fantastic tool to meet and network with people I would never have connected with otherwise. I've really enjoyed making so many new high-quality connections! Can't recommend highly enough!
Kris
Maker
@jeremy_koehler Thank you so much, Jeremy! It’s been an absolute pleasure having you part of the community and building this alongside you. We’re just getting started!
Jake
Joined the waitlist, curious how you’re planning on monetizing when the time comes.
Kris
Maker
@jaketruman Access granted! You're all set and please let me know how I can assist along the way. Re: monetizing, we're generating revenue today through a couple of different methods. One of which is our freemium model; Kinetic is accessible to anyone to experience our hand-curated introductions and open office hours with others in the community. For those that want more of that, they can upgrade to Kinetic Pro, what the 14-day trial offers. Today, we see more our Pro members opting for the annual plan versus the monthly plan - a trend we spent the past 10 months in beta hoping for as we've fine tuned our offering. Thanks for the note and please let me know how I can assist along the way!
Andrew Verboncouer
Maker
Thanks for all of the support so far! @eulent and I are celebrating the PH feature/launch on Clubhouse today at 3pm cst/1pm pst. Join us to hear about the journey and the problem we’re solving: https://joinclubhouse.com/event/...
Mike Bubolz
Frankly, I have no experience with any other website like this. That isn't to say that I haven't been a part of start-up orgs or communities. No, I have been involved with them since 07/08' timeframe. Kinetic is just far and away better. In my opinion, there are no other platforms that exist that can really compare to it. Actual connections. Actual Feedback. Actual Insight. Kinetic connects you with people that can make an actual difference in your start-up.
Kris
Maker
@mike_bubolz That’s what we’re here for! Thank you, Mike - this really means a lot! We appreciate you being so active within the community and it’s a pleasure playing a small role in helping you gain new insights as you build your venture. Onward!
Christina Haidemenos
I was introduced to someone via Kinetic who was instrumental in helping me understand the landscape at my new startup and in my role as a CSM that I was newer to (and she was very seasoned in and had been promoted since) - and we've been in contact for many months since. She helped me through conversations with my boss and taught me things I wouldn't have learned otherwise about valuation, and other startup-related knowledge that no one in my current circle had to offer. I am so glad I joined Kinetic to meet her and am excited to make more connections on Kinetic in 2021.
Kris
Maker
@christinahaidemenos We appreciate building this community alongside you! We're just getting started and plenty more experiences like what you've encountered firsthand in the new year. Let's do this!
Hannah Azlan
I’m currently on an introductory call with Kris from the Kinetic team and my cofounder, Lionel and I definitely am loving what I’m seeing so far.
Kris
Maker
@hannah_azlan Thank goodness for coffee :)
Kris
Maker
@hannah_azlan Thanks for joining and looking forward to having you and Lionel part of the community!
Kris
Maker
ProductHunt special: Sign up through the waitlist today by completing your profile to jump the waitlist and get a 14-day Kinetic Pro trial (no cc req)!
Ni ✌🏾& ❤️
@eulent I tried that and the code doesn't work, it just copies the works "Applied Automatically" I continued the sign up and was still added to the waiting list. How can I skip the waiting list?
Kris
Maker
@ni_e_sha - thanks for the note and pardon the confusion! Join the waitlist by completing your profile and you’ll skip the wait with access and a 14-day trial! I’m also watching from our side to grant access. Let me know of any other questions!
Emmy
Tailored, not free for all
Kris
Maker
@emmy_sobieski That’s exactly right. We want to minimize our community’s time to value; if we do our jobs right, with every conversation that’s had between our Members, they’ll walk away confident it was time well spent and were able to make progress in what we they’re working on at the moment. Thanks for checking us out and let me know if you have any questions along the way!
Nate Dame
Pretty neat so far. Met some interesting folks. Easy to join and use, quick way to meet like-minded folks and network.
Kris
Maker
@nate_dame Thank you so much for the support, Nate! Has been great having you part of the community and looking forward to being a continued resource to you!
Michelle Lu
I've been using the Kinetic beta for months now and have met some amazing people! Highly recommend.
Kris
Maker
@michelle_lu4 Thank you so much, Michelle! So appreciate the kind words and your early support has been really instrumental in helping us evolve along the way!
Josh Mandich
Kris has done an excellent job at curating meaningful introductions. From a personal standpoint, one of my intros lead to a business partnership. I have been very impressed with the community of founders / community builders on the network.
Kris
Maker
@jmanchiller Boom - that's what we're talking about. It's a pleasure playing a small role in support you and your venture, and thrilled we can be a continued resource! Thanks for being part of the community, Josh!
Neal Wozniak
Kinetic is such an awesome resource with a great community. In my first conversation I was introduced to an interesting job opportunity at an exciting startup. In recent conversations, I've met founders and experts whose skills and interests dovetailed with my goals in actionable ways. Startup people are busy - very busy - and Kinetic is a perfect vehicle for connecting with like-minded professionals in a low friction way. The opportunities to not only meet, but extend and expand those initial relationships within this community are unparalleled to my mind. It's absolutely worth trying and reserving a spot on your calendar to meet a new, interesting person that could very well be an important part of your future story.
Kris
Maker
@neal_wozniak Thank you for being part of this and giving us a chance this past fall! We’ve come a long way since then and just getting started. One of my favorite stories to-date highlighting the potential of connecting professionals with complimentary experiences is that first meeting you had. So ideal and know the follow up conversations have been just as fruitful. Looking forward to continuing to build this alongside you!
Mao Tianfan
Can anyone send me an invite code: maotianfannow@gmail.com
Kris
Maker
@mao_tianfan No code needed! You’ll have access by day’s end as long as your profile’s complete. Voila!
Nancy Xu
Andrew, this looks great! Congrats on the PH launch!
Anatoly Lobkov
Hi Chris! I am actually experiencing the same difficulty. I just can't copy the invite. I will wait for the solution of the problem to join your wonderful platform
Kris
Maker
@gold_panda Confirming we’ve granted access and activated the trial! Let me know how we can assist along the way and welcome to the community!