The Bat-Signal is out across the state of Iowa for all types of heroes, and bHeroic is the startup behind the shining light.
Born not in the streets of Gotham City but in the Des Moines community at Startup Weekend 2011 (See our previous post Startup Weekend Des Moines: The winner is ‘Unleash Heroes’), bHeroic, also known as Unleash Heroes, is a free social game that encourages ordinary heroism by tracking and rewarding acts of volunteerism.
Unleash heroes is one of seven entries in the Dream Big Des Moines contest, which seeks the top tech-based business ideas in central Iowa. The top vote-getter in an online poll of those seven entries wins a $5,000 prize and a spot in the statewide Dream Big Grow Here contest, which has a $10,000 prize. Votes for Dream Big Des Moines can be submitted until 11:59 p.m. on Aug. 31 at Dream Big Des Moines’ polling page.
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As a Foursquare of sorts for volunteering, bHeroic lets users search for service opportunities or “quests,” in their community, register for the task and earn Hero Points after completing each quest. Users view and share their list of quests and for each Hero Point under their belt, they can redeem rewards of the virtual (ranks and special powers) and real-world (freebies, discounts and special experiences from various local businesses) varieties.
Robert Hidajat founder of bHeroic (left, photo from Twitter) said non-profit organizations can use his service to attract new volunteers and “retain and motivate existing volunteers to do more,” and the real-world rewards can encourage local businesses to use this service as a platform to give back to the community.
According to the government’s Volunteering in America website, Iowa ranks number two in the nation in volunteering, giving Hidajat an army full of potential to take on quests in the Des Moines area.
“Heroic acts, like volunteering, seem to be second nature to Iowans,” Hidajat said in an email interview. “It is awesome for us to be able to tap a huge and diverse pool of volunteers to learn and get help from.”
Look for the bHeroic web application to be released in private beta at the end of September and in public beta at the end of October, in conjunction with the timing of Thinc Iowa. Plans of iPhone and Android applications are also in the works, so the service can provide a faster, more robust experience for heroes anytime, anywhere.
Note: Silicon Prairie News is a media sponsor of Dream Big Des Moines
