Advice When You Need It

Two years ago I had a conversation with serial entrepreneur Dan Martell about a service both of us needed as we were building our ventures. The problem we were having was a classic dilemma that was only reinforced as young people, (Dan would have been 30, I was 29): we didn't know what we didn't know. But we knew we needed to know it, preferably yesterday.

Dan's answer to this problem is pure Dan, start a company. Yesterday in Moncton, NB, Clarity.fm was launched as a way for entrepreneurs to get the advice they need, when they need it. With over 300 business and community leaders already signed up, it provides a list of people with the right expertise and experience to call on when you're stuck. 

The idea uses an old fashioned one - asking for help, giving advice - and amplifies it with the reciprocity ethos of online social networks. It's potential to connect professionals is such that I can imagine Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn, banging his hand against his head and lamenting, "why didn't we do this?!"

If Clarity.fm is able to cultivate a culture where users feel comfortable calling strangers, this could take off and be really beneficial (a referral service could help mitigate this). You can find me @ http://www.clarity.fm/#/timcoates. Looking forward to your questions!