Rallyhood Raises $1.3M to Spread Social Productivity
By Nathaniel Mott
On August 13, 2012
Most project management tools aren’t made for normal people. Startups and enterprises alike may be using Asana, Basecamp, or any number of solutions to get their work done, but the category isn’t particularly popular among the masses. Austin-based Rallyhood wants to become the solution that pushes the everyman from a paper-and-pen task management “system” and into the digital age.
The company has raised $1.3 million from former Dell CFO Tom Meredith, Indiana Pacers owner Herb Simon, Calendar Holdings’ Mark Winkleman and Paul Hoffman – CEO and CFO, respectively – as well as Capital Sports and Entertainment co-founder Bill Stapleton and is leaving public beta to help people get things done in their neighborhood.
Founder and CEO Patti Rogers started Rallyhood in 2010 after “endur[ing] the unexpected challenge and blessing of breast cancer.” Rogers explains in the company’s About page that her community’s response to her ordeal inspired her to create Rallyhood, a tool designed to “create an easy way for groups (friends, family and community members) to come together and do something good.”
In the age of “dragon” parents and ever-busier social schedules, a tool like Rallyhood may finally have the chance to break into the mainstream. Parents are going to need a full-powered solution to manage their home lives, and Rallyhood straddles the line between professional features and mainstream design well enough to be that solution for many people.
The service, like many others, operates on a freemium model. It can be used for free, but users can pay between $10 and $60 per month to access advanced features and add more users and “Rallies.” $60 per month seems steep, but I know a number of parents that would be happy to pay the price and use Rallyhood to make their lives easier.
Currently sitting at 7,500 users, Rallyhood has partnered with the Girl Scouts to make sure the children are meeting their Samoa quota reach parents and volunteers, turning Thin Mint overseers into customers that may then use Rallyhood for other aspects of their lives.
The pervasiveness of having a project management system could be key to Rallyhood’s success. In the same way that nobody is born addicted to coffee, nobody is born to work with a project management system. But, after that first sip – or click – they’re hooked and can’t imagine getting through their day without coffee or project manager.
Neighborhoods are booming with new tech that promises to make lives better and easier for everyone. Nextdoor has answered the “How do I know what’s going on in my neighborhood?” question, and Rallyhood is hoping to become the answer to “How are we going to get this done?”
Nathaniel Mott is a staff writer for PandoDaily, covering startups and technology from New York.
