Marketplace for Advice - 5-Minute Calls with Experts

A New Marketplace for Advice: Anyone Launches Updated Apps

Anyone, an audio application focused on creating a “marketplace for advice” through brief, five-minute phone calls, is releasing updated versions of its iOS and Android applications today. This launch follows a six-month period of operation within a limited, closed beta program, and signals the beginning of large-scale user onboarding.

The Core Concept: Concise, Verbal Guidance

Founded approximately 18 months ago, prior to the pandemic, Anyone operates on the principle that advice is most effectively delivered verbally, in a concise, one-on-one format, and within a defined timeframe.

The developers recognized that video communication can be distracting and difficult to schedule, while text-based advice is often time-consuming and susceptible to misinterpretation. A focused phone call, however, can quickly and efficiently provide valuable insights.

The Five-Minute Limit

To maintain focus and efficiency, each call is automatically terminated after five minutes – a firm stop with no exceptions. This design aims to minimize unproductive conversation fillers.

Funding and Investment

The team has secured around $4 million in funding to date, primarily through a $3.6 million seed round led by Berlin-based Cavalry Ventures. Additional investors include Supernode Global, Antler, and prominent angel investors such as Atomico’s Sarah Drinkwater and Sameer Singh, and ustwo’s Matt “Mills” Miller.

The Rise of Online Audio

The success of podcasts and the recent surge in social audio platforms like Clubhouse and Twitter Spaces demonstrate the enduring appeal of online audio. This trend reflects a growing sense of “Zoom fatigue” among remote workers who crave meaningful connections beyond video conferencing.

Anyone’s Approach: Focused and Uncluttered

However, many social audio spaces can be chaotic. Anyone distinguishes itself by prioritizing short-form, topic-specific audio experiences.

Why Five Minutes?

The five-minute duration is intentionally designed to be short enough for busy individuals to readily accept a call from someone new, while still allowing for the exchange of useful advice within 300 seconds of focused conversation.

This format inherently precludes group or conference calls, maintaining a one-to-one connection.

Promoting Diversity in Advice

Anyone’s CEO believes this “intimate” and concise format can encourage greater diversity in advice-giving, making it more comfortable for individuals from underrepresented backgrounds to share their expertise. Currently, the app boasts a 50:50 gender split among advisors and 25% representation from people of color.

Facilitating New Connections

“It’s not about compressing long meetings, but about enabling conversations that would never have happened,” explains CEO and co-founder David Orlic. He points out that standard calendar applications typically default to 30- or 60-minute meeting slots, suggesting current tools aren’t optimized for quick advice exchanges.

A Marketplace for Bitesized Problems

Orlic emphasizes that Anyone is designed for “five-minute problems,” as opposed to the 30- or 60-minute issues already addressed by existing solutions. He believes there’s a significant need for a platform that facilitates these quick, targeted conversations.

Encouraging Continued Engagement

The intention is to leave callers wanting more, fostering demand for additional five-minute conversations and driving transactions within the marketplace.

“Callers often consult multiple advisors, seeking diverse perspectives on the same issue. They then synthesize these insights into a more comprehensive understanding,” Orlic notes. “It’s like building an advisory board for yourself.”

The Origin Story

The platform’s concept arose from the founders’ realization that pivotal career decisions were often influenced by brief, impactful conversations – moments of advice that resonated years later.

“None of us had extensive networks when we were starting out,” Orlic recalls. “Alfred is from a small village in Sweden, I grew up in an immigrant family, and Sam is from a working-class background in Leeds. We realized our careers were shaped by these chance encounters where someone offered critical advice.”

The Power of a Five-Minute Chat

He shares specific examples: Alfred received advice that led to a decade-long career at Google, Sam gained guidance on starting a company, and Orlic was encouraged to pursue an MBA. These experiences inspired them to create a platform that democratizes access to such valuable advice.

Accessibility and Inclusivity

Anyone’s marketplace aims to make these transformative moments accessible to everyone, allowing users to connect with experts on the network for a fee.

The app’s slogan, “imagine if you could call anyone in the world,” reflects an ambitious vision, though the user base is currently far from achieving global reach.

The “Phone Book of the Future”

“We’re building the phone book of the future,” Orlic states, “a place for unique, one-to-one, five-minute experiences – something truly different from most social audio platforms.”

Intentional Constraints for Better Experiences

He highlights a trend of apps intentionally imposing limits to shape user behavior, citing examples like Poparazzi (which discourages selfies) and Thursday (which limits app usage to one day per week). These constraints aim to improve the user experience and encourage real-world interactions.

The Marketplace Model

The marketplace component of Anyone is another intentional limitation, as calls are not free by default.

Charging for advice helps filter out unserious or abusive users and incentivizes experts to share their time and knowledge.

Pricing and Quality Control

Anyone users set their own call fees, ranging from free (with voucher codes) to $5 to $500. Users can also donate their fees to charity. The app includes safety mechanisms to confirm the intended fee and prevent accidental charges.

“It’s reasonable to put a cost on the scarcest resource – someone’s undivided attention,” Orlic argues. He distinguishes between mere “access” to people and genuine, focused attention.

A New Way to Connect

With its streamlined infrastructure, Anyone aims to facilitate conversations that wouldn’t otherwise occur, connecting individuals in manageable, billed units.

Advisor Profiles and Vetting

Anyone users listing themselves as advisors must create profiles detailing their availability, experience, location, and fees. They also specify the topics they’re comfortable advising on.

Co-founder Alfred Malmros’ profile includes examples like “Quitting a dream job” and “Thriving as an employee,” providing potential clients with a sense of the advisor’s personality and expertise.

Ensuring Quality and Trust

The platform employs a “vetting and verification” process for all advisors to mitigate the risk of imposters or low-quality advice. Advisors also receive training on providing effective guidance and avoiding biases.

A rating system is in place to maintain quality across the marketplace.

Early User Base

Anyone’s early adopters include creators, founders, and investors, particularly those seeking networking opportunities limited by the pandemic.

The platform has also attracted individuals considering career changes, seeking advice on pivoting to new fields.

Potential for Growth

“When making big life decisions, people want to connect with others and gather diverse perspectives,” Orlic explains. “There’s also a willingness to pay for guidance during these transitions.”

Expanding into New Areas

Orlic envisions potential applications in areas like mental health, providing a non-intimidating entry point to therapy. He also sees opportunities for civic engagement and public awareness campaigns.

Dogfooding and Success

The Anyone team has been using the app to gather advice on building the startup itself. Orlic reveals that an investor advised him to pitch this story to TechCrunch – a suggestion that proved successful.

Current Status and Future Goals

The app has 1,000 test users and a waitlist of 12,000, who will be onboarded in the coming weeks. Network growth is a key priority.

Orlic emphasizes the importance of network effects and the expertise of angel investor Singh.

Viral Potential and Privacy

The five-minute format may encourage users to share positive experiences on social media, although the privacy of calls limits the potential for viral content.

All calls are end-to-end encrypted, and recordings are anonymized and stored for 30 days for safety and dispute resolution purposes.

Competition and Differentiation

Larger platforms could potentially replicate Anyone’s concept, highlighting the need for continuous innovation and community building.

Industry Validation

Claude Ritter, managing partner at Cavalry Ventures, stated: “What sets Anyone apart from other audio apps is the quality and connection of 1:1 advice. The team saw the potential of audio and the emergence of the creator economy long before the hype. We’re impressed by what they’ve accomplished to date and by their mission to build the phone book of the future.”

Key Metrics and Business Model

Approximately 9,000 five-minute calls have been made on the platform. The goal is to reach 100,000 calls within a year.

The business model involves taking a 20% commission on each advice fee.

Navigating the Creator Economy

Orlic acknowledges the potential for pricing challenges as the platform grows, citing the risk of predatory pricing from larger competitors. However, he believes that focusing on quality and community will be crucial for success.

A Unique Positioning

“We think it’s very cool that we’re doing an opinionated, one-to-one, five-minute, audio-only platform because that gives us a unique positioning,” Orlic concludes. “This is what excites the team – seeing these stories come out of it, stories that wouldn’t happen on a broadcasting or Clubhouse-style platform.”

Ultimately, Anyone represents a reimagining of the “quick call” in the age of mobile connectivity, offering a structured and accessible way to connect with experts and gain valuable advice.