Looking for Feedback on Start Up Space

[redrob]

I’m building Start Up Space, and I’d love your take on it. Think of it as a coworking lounge for early-stage teams, only it lives online and actually feels alive.

• Every profile can be customized with themes and badges, and there’s an XP/levelling system that keeps momentum high without feeling gimmicky.
• Posts support rich media, hashtags, and @mentions, and real-time notifications help conversations stay active instead of fizzling out.
• You can go live with your next product demo or Q&A, keep chat + reactions in one place, and then check simple engagement stats afterward to see what landed.
• Events are built in—perfect for masterminds, launch parties, or weekly stand-ups — and there’s a daily lottery mechanic that keeps people dropping in between events.
• Founders can monetize without duct tape: list digital or physical products, spin up subscription tiers, manage multi-currency balances, and get paid out inside the platform.
• Direct messaging with read receipts makes it easier to move from “nice idea” to “let’s actually collaborate.”
• Under the hood, things like content filtering, 2FA, and secure payments are quietly working so the community stays professional and safe.

I’m trying to create a space that rewards participation, celebrates progress, and gives us founder-to-founder leverage. If that resonates, I’d love feedback—what would make this indispensable for your team? Anything you’d want to see before you’d bring your community over? Appreciate any thoughts (and brutal honesty).
Here's the site Whispsocio

 

[fisicx]

I've read your post twice and looked at your site and still don't get it.

Why would I need rewards if I'm collaborating with a colleague about the the size of a cardboard box or something?

 

[Mark T Jones]

I think the key challenge for you is moving this from idea to functioning business - many have tried, few have succeeded.

I've been involved with many start up communities over the years - physical & online. Without exception the biggest challenge by far has been getting & retaining motivated participants.

Getting them to say 'great idea' - easy.

Getting them to join/turn up - Not too hard at first, but increasingly difficult over time.

Getting them to contribute time/money/effort/knowledge - incredibly challenging.

I'm assuming (hoping) your target audience is younger than my miserable self - but have you done research that shows your audience are motivated by beta badges and XP thingumies?

 

[redrob]

WhispSocio is a social media platform that combines what founders love about Facebook, X, eBay, Twitch, YouTube, and OnlyFans—then rewires the incentives so creators actually benefit. Every action earns XP: posting updates, streaming, launching a paid video, selling physical or digital items, running group discussions, or just showing up for your community. Levelling up isn’t cosmetic fluff: it unlocks new profile themes, better spotlight placements, reduced marketplace fees, enhanced streaming tools, and additional perks I’m rolling out. What people can do inside WhispSocio today:

• Build pages, groups, and blogs to anchor your community.
• Host live streams or upload videos, with optional paywalls or subscriber tiers.
• Sell anything from physical merch to digital cosmetics or premium posts.
• Run a storefront and handle pay-outs without hopping platforms.
• Keep all those interactions in one feed, so your audience doesn’t splinter.

The idea is simple: other platforms take your attention, charge you to reach your own audience, and keep the upside. WhispSocio pays you back with XP, perks, money and visibility every time you contribute. If there’s something you want clarified or prioritized, let me know—I’m all-in on making “reward the user” more than just a tagline.

 

[fisicx]

That’s all great for social media. But you are targeting those needing a coworking space. Totally different audience.

A business collaboration tool doesn’t need xp points and Amazon vouchers.

And selling online means finding the right marketplace. If nobody has heard of your platform having a shop is pointless.

 

[fisicx]

PS: not saying your new platform isn't very good. It's just not very clear who you are targeting and how you plan to market and monetise.

Do you have a demo of one of your shops?

 

[redrob]

WhispSocio is a full-featured social network built for anyone who creates—artists, vloggers, makers, small business owners, local communities, and yes, founders too. The difference is that WhispSocio actually rewards you for keeping the platform vibrant. Every time you post, host a stream, sell something, or help a conversation grow, you earn XP. Levelling up unlocks real perks: advanced profile customization, boosted exposure, better marketplace rates, new creator tools, and more rewards that are on the way. You’re not competing to “win badges”; you’re being thanked for the effort that powers the community. So if you’re tired of platforms that take your content, charge you to reach your own audience, and give nothing back, WhispSocio is the alternative. It’s social first, open to everyone, and designed to make sure the people doing the work reap the benefits.

Totally hear you on “a shop is pointless if nobody’s heard of the platform.” Every marketplace starts there—including the ones we all use today—and the only way up is by listening to early voices like yours. That’s exactly why I’m here: to surface blind spots, hear the scepticism, and keep shaping WhispSocio in a way that feels worth your time. My goal isn’t to launch another site that just extracts content and cash. It’s to build a social platform that truly rewards the people doing the work—whether that’s posting, streaming, selling, moderating, or just keeping conversations alive. Nothing about WhispSocio succeeds unless those users feel the difference. So thanks for the honesty. I’m going to keep refining based on what I hear. If there’s something specific you’d need to see or a worry I haven’t addressed, let me know—that’s the kind of feedback that actually moves this forward.

 

[redrob]

PS: not saying your new platform isn't very good. It's just not very clear who you are targeting and how you plan to market and monetise.

Do you have a demo of one of your shops?

Appreciate you calling that out. I don’t have a public shop demo yet—that’s that's something I could look into to prototype next so people can actually see how selling works end‑to‑end.

 

[redrob]

• Primary fit: Gen Z and younger Millennials (roughly 18‑34). They’re already juggling TikTok, Twitch, Discord, YouTube, and marketplaces, so the “everything in one place” pitch resonates. They’re also the cohort most motivated by visible status, badges, XP, and early-access perks. A 2023 Deloitte Digital study on Gen Z loyalty programs found that users in this age range are 2x more likely than older cohorts to change behaviour for gamified rewards. Likewise, Niantic’s 2024 Player Motivation report showed XP systems and status markers as top engagement drivers for 18-29-year-olds.

• Secondary fit: Creator/side-hustler crowd in their late 20s to early 40s. They’re less swayed by badges alone, but tangible perks (better fees, extra reach, unlockable monetization tools) still work—especially if framed as professional advantages rather than “gamification.” Accenture’s Creator Economy research (2022-2024) notes this group values platforms that reduce tool fragmentation and pay them fairly reward systems are tolerable when they translate into revenue or visibility.
  
  
• I'm still doing research on this, but it is mostly going to be the younger side that's going to benefit mostly from this type of site.
  
  
• TikTok is the main place I'm looking at for information.
  

 

[fisicx]

I suspect therefore that this is the wrong place to garner opinions. Most members here are older business owners and not really your target user.

The problem you still have (as @Mark T Jones suggested above) is getting members on board and then monetising. Sometimes a simpler platform launch can get more traction. Too many features can overwhelm people. Leave the shop until later.

 

[Mark T Jones]

Whichever way you go, the fundamentals of marketing remain:

- Know who you are talking to.
- Deliver a message that screams one key benefit to them - you can add detail later.

 

[fisicx]

@redrob - in your market research did you get everyone moaning about having to use lots of different SM platforms? Are they struggling to manage their TikTok, FB and OnlyFans feeds?

Consider also that people use different platforms for different things with the big advantage of all is they have a potential audience of millions.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Your opening statement says

I’m building Start Up Space, and I’d love your take on it. Think of it as a coworking lounge for early-stage teams, only it lives online and actually feels alive.

but your site says
Your Activity Gets Rewarded
The first social network where every post, like, and comment earns you Experience Points. Level up, unlock exclusive rewards, and showcase your achievements.

There seems to be a disconnect between your concept and what you have delivered!

Reading the home page, I cannot work out what you actually offer, let alone how this is start up space!

 

[BusterBloodvessel]

I genuinely, honestly, and truthfully..... have no idea what this is.

Is it a website/social media, for business start-ups? To network and share ideas between new business owners? That's how your initial post read - unless it's just me.

Or is it just another social media platform, but the difference being you get kudos/credit/rewards for posting stuff? As that's what your later posts seem to infer.