The best open innovation communities on the web — Crowdspring, Innovation Exchange, TopCoder, etc. — all specialize in niche markets. Whether their community is comprised of creatives, developers, or business executives, the success of the open innovation platform is directly tied to the talent and loyalty of the community members.
Instead of focusing on a professional discipline to build its community, BrainMatch focuses on a different demographic: students. Student talent has historically been leveraged in very traditional ways such as internships or entry-level jobs. What is different now is that many of the skills that businesses need in a digital economy leverage skills, tools and talents that are native among students of all ages.
Competitive high school students are high performers — they have to be to get into good colleges. Additionally, students are also no stranger to the world of work. The difference BrainMatch offers is in the opportunity. Instead of offering a student the chance to earn money by delivering pizzas or sweeping floors, BrainMatch offers students the chance to earn money by using the technologies and tools that they use in their daily lives to contribute something meaningful to a business, while building their portfolio of real world work experience.
Finally, BrainMatch’s solution is designed to facilitate students in their quest for higher, meaningful education. As a result, project awards paid out on BrainMatch are deposited in a student’s 529 account for safe-keeping, allowing them to put the money aside so it will be there waiting when it’s time to begin college.