[Advertisement feature by WeGather]
Amongst the white noise of the internet, it can be difficult to find the information you’re looking for, let alone ascertain that what you find is both substantiated and credible. WeGather is facilitating highly focused, expert-led conversations online, where professionals, researchers and avid learners can discuss any topics of interest, and be remunerated for their expertise.
We sat down with founder David Price to find out more.
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In your own words, what is WeGather’s mission and what makes you personally passionate about it?
Everyone, no matter their background or professional sphere, wants to engage with experts and like-minded people when it comes to topics they find interesting and important. WeGather allows validated experts and enthusiasts to create public content on the platform, ensuring a quality of content that supersedes most of the discussion forums that can be found on the internet. Our mission is to facilitate valuable relationships between experts, fans and followers so they can contribute to, and engage with quality content in a streamlined and financially supported manner.
Discussion is one of the most powerful tools we have as a global community to learn, grow and develop solutions. In some ways, the internet has enabled a kind of interconnectedness that transcends geography on unprecedented scale. It has created opportunities for healthy, proactive conversations. However, when it comes to social media and social networks I believe many of these opportunities for meaningful connections are missed. WeGather is already making a significant difference in people’s lives. If it succeeds at a large scale it would likely have an immensely positively impact society as a whole.
What encouraged you to build WeGather?
When I began to use the online tools that promise to connect us, it didn’t take long to realise that while I was developing more and more ‘connections’ through social networks, only a small fraction of these relationships were meaningful. Not only was I not engaging with these people in conversation, I was passively consuming the content they produced on isolated platforms within a fragmented online sphere. The internet gave me the power to connect with pretty much anyone in the world, and yet I still couldn’t zero in on my specific interests or the people that share them. As such, I was inspired to build a tool that could bring people together in a more purposeful way, and stimulate global discussion all at the same time. Now, it doesn’t matter what you’re into, with WeGather, you can explore it in a way you never could before.
What was your previous work experience and how did it prepare you for this venture?
My experience working for a private equity firm gave me a lot of insight on how capital is controlled and taught me to identify the qualities of successful businesses early on in their life stages. I had also launched and run a number of technology startups, meaning I wasn’t a stranger to the fast-paced, high-pressure culture that inevitably comes along with an entrepreneurial venture. Any seasoned entrepreneur knows how hard it is to begin something from scratch; especially when burdened with an over-realistic perspective. My decision to start this business was grounded in firm belief in the WeGather product. I’ve had to learn and adapt a great deal to make this vision possible, and I have no doubt that there is much more learning to come.
How does WeGather stand out among competitors in the space?
WeGather straddles two spaces: fan-funding of content and social media. We’re really the only company that does this. We enable experts and creators to deliver content and engage with their audiences, whereas other platforms in the fan-funding space prioritize just the facilitation of funding. From a social media perspective, we are unique in that we only allow validated experts and enthusiasts to post public content, so as to ensure that everything live on the platform has been appropriately vetted for quality and reliability. Most other providers use algorithms that are driven by popularity rather than quality, meaning users cannot be certain they’re reaching the best possible content.
In the grand scheme of things, fan-funding is a very nascent market. The traditional revenue model used by the likes of Facebook and Google has recently come under criticism, with surveys showing that people would be willing to pay for more relevant online content. We want to really leverage this demand and in doing so, connect millions of potential creators, fans and followers in every domain.
What’s one thing you’re still learning?
I feel I am always learning in almost every aspect. At a more meta-level I am still learning how to transform my actions to include new insights – it can be easy to fall back into old patterns despite new learning.
What’s the most valuable life hack you’ve learned so far?
The Wim Hof Method and intermittent fasting.
What is it, big or small, that makes you the happiest?
Spending time with my wife and young daughter.
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For more information, visit WeGather’s campaign here.
