Simon Crisp, the former EMEA CEO of Kinetic has launched a new online user demand platform that matches consumer needs with qualified service providers, including businesses and brands.
The new service, www.dymando.com is headquartered in Ireland and within its first three days of going live it has listed consumer needs to the value of over €100,000 from users in Ireland, UK, USA and Australia.
Crisp left Kinetic in September 2011 declaring he was going to start up his own business and Dymando is his first venture since Kinetic. He is also a former founder and CEO of Adwalker, the UK-listed mobile advertising solutions provider that was based in Dublin. Prior to this he was the chief marketing of Intrade, the Dublin-based futures exchange while he also worked with MTV Networks, Mindshare and Ogilvy & Mather.
According to Crisp, Dymando’s User Demand Platform is a world first and is the only multi category platform that allows individuals, businesses and service providers to respond to any need that a user may have, in a well-designed, orderly and effective marketplace. Users can sign-up to Dymando for free, enter a “need”free of charge and then receive personalised responses from up to three other users.
“Brands, businesses and service providers will find dymando attractive to use, as it’s a destination where user needs can be amongst the strongest pre-qualified leads available anywhere. Needs can be answered by Business for a micro-payment of €1.99 (equivalent) per need,” says Crisp.
The company was founded bu Crisp and Irish entrepreneur Keith Jordan. The project has been funded by the founders and various business angels from Ireland, the UK and Australia.
“The concept behind dymando is simple but it’s highly disruptive when compared to traditional sales channels. Dymando turns the way individuals and sellers connect, on its head. Instead of constantly pushing products and services onto the individual, Dymando lets the individual state what he or she really need and thereafter the seller can respond,” says Crisp.
“The increased sophistication of consumers and the rise of social media has given individuals more confidence to be demanding of the internet and mobile; Dymando is a platform that can let people list their needs and in turn Business has a new destination to sell a product or service. Dymando’s User Demand Platform benefits all parties involved. We think Dymando is a marketers dream,” he adds.
“The technology behind Dymando is sophisticated and the platform algorithm automatically places our users needs into relevant categories. Additionally, anybody can apply a custom tag into dymando in order to track a relevant keyword or phrase when it appears in a need.
“Our strategy is to build a serious user base in our homeland of Ireland to the end of February and then enter the UK market, thereafter the USA by the end of the third quarter. Our ambitions for Dymando are serious, we want to be seen as a global player, we want it to be relevant to every and any individual or business; an EBay for the next generation, if you will…that’s the plan, anyway.”