One of the few things that differentiates nReduce from other founder meetups (Hackers & Founders, 106 miles etc.) is the online platform they have built to manage weekly video checkins (before & after videos) and private groups where other founders can choose what other startups to pair with and share constructive feedback on what groups are building.
Rather than meeting another founder briefly over a beer and having an inkling of whether they are killing it, you can very quickly see based on the weekly checkins who is making real progress and who you want to engage with further. Plus, founders who engage deeply with other founders on their platform get more community points (think karma) that unlocks other benefits like mentor access.
Now they are exposing these very valuable weekly progress reports to potential investors. Much as Suster writes in his "Investing in Lines, Not Dots" post (http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2010/11/15/invest-in-line...), investors want to see how you progress. Seems like a big value add to the seed investing ecosystem.
Rather than meeting another founder briefly over a beer and having an inkling of whether they are killing it, you can very quickly see based on the weekly checkins who is making real progress and who you want to engage with further. Plus, founders who engage deeply with other founders on their platform get more community points (think karma) that unlocks other benefits like mentor access.
Now they are exposing these very valuable weekly progress reports to potential investors. Much as Suster writes in his "Investing in Lines, Not Dots" post (http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2010/11/15/invest-in-line...), investors want to see how you progress. Seems like a big value add to the seed investing ecosystem.