When we last spoke with Reppr, a startup connecting companies and people eager to spread the word about their brands, the venture had been gearing up to launch their website. Now, the Boston-based venture is using feedback from its 100+ customers and expanding its services with an upcoming app.
Manny Lubin, co-CEO at Reppr, told us, “[In March] we were just a splash page… Now, we’re at a point where our hiring platform has received 5,000 applications for over 100 companies in 4 months of being live with our product.”
He added that even in the last month, as college students have settled into life on campus, Reppr has seen an uptick in its number of users applying to rep brands across the country. And the venture has attracted companies like Boston’s own Tablelist and Vice Cream.
“When you’re running an ambassador program, it gets ugly with spreadsheets and email chains that you can’t keep track of,” Lubin said.
That’s why in a few weeks’ time, Reppr will be releasing the beta version of its mobile app. Serving as a complementary component to its site, the app will bring brand managers and ambassadors together to foster “structure, collaboration and automation” within a brand ambassador program.
“The Reppr app is going to be like a virtual room where a brand manager can communicate with their ambassadors, individually or as a group,” Lubin said. “Ambassadors can collaborate and share their ideas with one another - and they can include their brand manager in that conversation for feedback if they want.”
"We’re our own best case study."
Within the app’s virtual rooms, or "Reppr Feeds," users can also upload information and photos to inspire other brand ambassadors. Lubin told us, “The app will let them work together - whether it’s to replicate what other brand ambassadors are doing or team up with people who are repping the same brand for a tabling event."
While Lubin was using his venture’s own service to find people to represent the Reppr brand, he realized managing and keeping in touch with hired brand ambassadors brought its own problems. He said, “We’re our own best case study. We run into every problem we need to fix, and the app is the result of that.”
Reppr is currently focused on finding more brands to test its beta app for free when it comes out at the end of the month. While companies using Reppr to recruit new brand representatives pay a fee per ambassador hired through the service.
