Wisdom, a UK-based social audio startup, has launched a mentorship marketplace. It is described as a combination of Clubhouse and Masterclass, a celebrity-focused course platform.
Users can log in to the app to find conversations they want to join (with the possibility to ask questions or listen back on-demand). Streamed talks are saved to the profile of their talk giver automatically.
It is important that conversations are centered on advice. However, advice can cover just about any topic people wish to hear.
According to the startup, it has developed a TikTok-style algorithm that recommends talks to users based upon topic hashtags and behavior data-mining. This includes things like what users click on how many sustained engagement a talk is receiving to help raise quality conversations. The app also has tools to report on unsafe conversations and human monitoring 24/7 in the event of an emergency.
Wisdom had around 10,000 experts sign up to share their knowledge via audio livestreams at launch. This was after around a month's early testing. According to the founder, the app was launched only eight months ago.
Wisdom offers a way for users to verify who they are calling Top Mentors.
It also encourages people with knowledge to share by offering them the opportunity to earn Mentorcoin (a virtual currency) based on their listens and engagement.
Anyone can earn the in-app currency simply by streaming their advice. It is not reserved for power users. Instead, it supports a creator middle class and does not funnel money to a tiny top-slice like some other creator platforms (hi Twitch!). It is.
Mentorcoin can be used to purchase gift cards from Target and Amazon, or donated to charities such as Clean Water Fund. However, the goal is to increase monetization options for mentors to allow them to build a business offering advice on the platform.
It is looking into allowing mentors to offer one-on-one paid conversations. It is currently social audio.
Social audio is a leveller. Not everyone writes well, but everyone can talk. Audio is authentic, I believe. It is possible to hear the emotion and tone in people's voices. This allows them to be vulnerable, according to Dayo Akinrinade, founder and CEO.
You can help people even if you're not on Wisdom. Your library of talks can be saved against your profile. Anyone can listen to your talk at any time.
They will get an alert if they follow Wisdom when you go live. Audio Office Hours is one of the features we are looking at. Why not make it a feature of your LinkedIn or website? Even if you only go live once a week on Wisdom, there will be many people who have privilege and feel they don't have the time to help others.
I see a future in which experts will be able to go live on Wisdom. It might be once per week or once per month.
Wisdom isn't the only startup that sees value in trying out to bring some order to the chaos of chatter available on demand on platforms such as Clubhouse.
It is not the first platform to use advice-giving as its main sauce (see, for example, Anyone). Akinrinade believes that the platform's creator-first approach will make it stand out.
Wisdom is committed to supporting diverse voices.
Our mission is to make mentorship more accessible and open up knowledge. TechCrunch: "I believe knowledge should not be privelege, it should be a default right that everyone can have," she says.
This app has features that help to structure talks so they are accessible to all voices. For example, a timer helps to keep conversations moving and ensures no guest is monopolising the stream.
The app's initial focus is on English-speaking countries such as the UK, Australia, Canada, and the US. That's it.
Akinrinade, who is a consultant in management and previously founded another startup (London-based black dating site Africlick), says that she saw the mentorship issue when she worked at OneTech in the UK.
She also expressed frustration at LinkedIn's professional networking platform for mentoring. The inboxes are overloaded with pick-your-brain requests, which can lead to the death of mentors.
Wisdom's purpose is to help remove such barriers and open up knowledge for all.
A number of angel investors are backing the startup, which Akinrinade explains that she met at Clubhouse.
While I was working on a dating app, I was also a tech founder. But then, we just talked and social audio is so much more exciting than it sounds. She adds that Wisdom was born from this.
