With the rise of platforms such as Kickstarter and GoFundMe, it has become increasingly clear that the power of the crowd can be the ultimate catalyst when it comes to turning new ideas into reality. Now there is a platform called HeroX that is taking this model and ramping it into overdrive by combining crowdsourcing with collaboration and competition.
Founded back in 2013, HeroX is a "crowdsourcing platform that brings together global communities of problem solvers to deliver breakthrough solutions to social, economic, and strategic challenges." In other words, people anywhere in the world can issue a challenge that will directly address a current problem or opportunity. A social community is then formed around the challenge as those who think they have the best solution begin submitting their entries in an effort to win cash prizes. The idea is that the creativity and innovation surrounding the challenge will ultimately activate the circumstances that will lead to a breakthrough solution. As the company explains, its goal is "to harness the collective mind power of a community to innovate upon any problem or opportunity."
The idea for such a unique crowdfunding model was born out of the success of the XPRIZE, which is the inaugural incentive prize competition of the XPRIZE Foundation. After years of receiving letters from people pitching their own competition ideas, the XPRIZE Foundation teamed up with City Light Capital to create the spin-off HeroX.
Now HeroX is helping democratize the innovation model of XPRIZE, by taking on projects for The Rockefeller Foundation, the City of San Diego, Forbes, NASA, XPRIZE, Land O'Lakes, and hundreds of others. These projects cover a wide variety of industries and issues, and include everything from improving the health of Canada's aboriginal communities, to solving Cario's stiffing traffic congestion. In tackling these pressing issues, the platform has amassed a global reach of over 1 million investors in 190 countries.
With many of the world's greatest breakthroughs coming from outsiders instead of experts, HeroX helps to open the doors for game-changing innovation.
This post is sponsored by HeroX.
Strategic Crowdsourcing Platforms
HeroX Combines Crowdsourcing with Competition and Collaboration
Trend Themes
1. Crowdsourced Problem Solving - HeroX is revolutionizing the way global communities of problem solvers address social, economic, and strategic challenges.
2. Collaborative Competitions - HeroX is combining competition and collaboration in its crowdsourcing model to create a social community around a challenge, harnessing the collective mind power of a community to innovate upon any problem or opportunity.
3. Incentive-based Innovation - HeroX's spinoff from the success of XPRIZE foundation, which believes in providing cash prizes for significant breakthroughs, is democratizing innovation and incentivizing innovation at large.
Industry Implications
1. Healthcare Industry - HeroX can be used in the healthcare sector to tackle pressing health issues or create new breakthroughs by incentivizing the public and experts alike.
2. Tech Industry - HeroX has the potential to disrupt tech development by pooling knowledge and creativity from global communities to address problems and opportunity in the tech sector.
3. Transportation Industry - HeroX can help address pressing transportation issues like traffic congestion or public transportation under-utilization by incentivizing online communities to create innovative solutions.