Though SquareOffs’ mission may be about choosing one side over another, picking two sides is an asset when it comes to location, as the company operates in both Kansas City and New York.
Have you ever been part of a debate where you were so convinced your point of view was right, but didn’t feel you had an adequate chance to prove your point? SquareOffs gives you the opportunity to make your voice heard.
A new kind of online poll, SquareOffs gives each side of any topic the chance to prove not just that their side is right, but why it is right. Audiences of several sites in the sports, politics and publishing arenas are already taking advantage of this feature that uses multimedia tools like images and video to explain their position.
Born after a spirited argument between CEO Jeff Rohr and a friend, SquareOffs provides four key objectives for their clients: 1. increased engagement 2. increase in new readers 3. increased revenue through use of integrated advertising and 4. additional insight, which they achieve with the help of a partnership with demographic measurements platform Quantcast.
The best of both cities
With headquarters in Kansas City, SquareOffs is well aware of how friendly the Midwest is to startups.
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“For one thing the cost of living is a lot lower, so we can get more bang for our buck,” said Rohr.
It also helps that they are able to take advantage of features like Google Fiber availability and KC Startup Village membership. But while KC makes the operations and development side of things easier, it is necessary to have a presence in the global publishing capital as well.
“With my team in New York, they’re kind of boots on the ground in the biggest home for publishing in the world,” said Rohr. “You know, you can throw a rock and hit a publisher anywhere in Manhattan.”
New York clients drive Kansas City development
For Rohr, SquareOffs’ day-to-day goals revolve around “us listening to what our customer is saying.”
In New York, this means getting direct feedback and staying up on the latest industry news as Director of Enterprise Partnerships Josh Coleman handles the sales and marketing side of things, frequently attending publisher related conferences.
Back at the home base in Kansas City, SquareOffs attunes their three week development stints to what’s going on in new York. Rohr is involved with all of the product development, along with back end, front end, mobile, designer, and user interface teams. In addition, there’s a small group of writers to compose the polls for the majority of SquareOffs’ clients.
SquareOffs expands features in KC, partnerships in NYC
When it comes to getting more attention, it helps to have a presence in New York. The company recently attended some big tech conferences, the Brand Innovators Brand Week and the NYC Tech Breakfast. They also partnered with creative management agency 180 South Group, whose work with multiple brands offers the opportunity for some interesting original content.
Back at home in Kansas City they are working on an exciting new feature for bloggers.
“One of the big things we’re working on now is a WordPress plugin that allows WordPress users to add a SquareOff right when they’re adding an article, so the every day blogger can take advantage of our platform,” said Rohr.
“You can throw a rock and hit a publisher anywhere in Manhattan”
The plugin will offer lots of useful extras, like allowing publishers to have a separate polls page for readers who want to view multiple polls at one time. Perhaps most enticing, though, are the data analysis tools that will be offered, which go far beyond WordPress’ regular Stats page to offer information on things like how many Facebook shares leads to an exact number of new readers, time spent on the site, and demographics.
SquareOffs has many other exciting advances in the works, including some more upcoming partnerships that Rohr can’t disclose yet. But as SquareOffs continues to grow, they do plan to expand their marketing and sales staff in the Big Apple.
At this point SquareOffs’ effort is centered around one thing.
“Our main focus right now is continuing to get the word out there,” said Rohr.
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This story is the first in our series 2City Startup about Silicon Prairie companies that operate in two cities.
Natalie Hamingson is a writer with ten years of experience publishing to online media, covering everything from music, to politics, to motorcycles, and now startups. For samples, check out her portfolio and blog.
