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Helium, Inc.

Product Name

Helium Debate

Market Segment

Consumer

Funding

Series A: Venture funding led by Signature Capital.

Competitors

No direct competitors. Secondary competitors include any media outlet where debate plays out, from leaders such as The New York Times to new online powerhouses, such as MySpace and YouTube.

Product Description

Helium is a directory of real-world knowledge powered by ordinary people. Helium combines user-contributed content with the ordering capabilities of peer review, making it easy to gain insight from subjective content. In Helium Debate, users submit arguments on any topic within the pro or con position, which receives many A vs. B peer-review comparisons. The result is an ordered list of pro arguments presented against an ordered list of con arguments on any subject.

Market Opportunity

People debate daily within community sites, blogs and online media. About 26 million Americans per day used the Internet for news or information about politics in August 2006. American adults seeking political news and information online grew to 75 million in 2004 from just 34.5 million in 2000, according to eMarketer.

Demo Says

Helium creates a free and open market for ideas, attaching economic value to reputation and quality. This newest service embraces public debate and creates an arena where ideas can be voiced, challenged and rated in an environment that separates meaning from the noise of online argument. As the blogosphere becomes increasingly opinionated and loud, Helium provides a platform for civil discourse where transparency and credibility rule the day.