Matchbin on the Move into New Market

As newspapers across the country struggle to adapt their business models, a fast-growing Utah company is bringing print publications new tools to streamline operations and generate revenue. Thanks to efforts by USTAR's Northern Utah Technology Outreach and Innovation Program, Matchbin is on the move into the radio station market as well. 

Six years ago Matchbin, then known as Barterfarm provided software that enabled goods and services to be exchanged over the internet.  It later evolved from Barterfarm to Matchbin, a Web 2.0 business creating local, content-driven community websites that enable traditional media outlets to engage their efforts productively on the internet. 

Just like most young companies, Matchbin faced the challenge of not having the marketing resources to research new profitable markets. Before USTAR engaged with Matchbin, the company was in the newspaper industry.  "USTAR provided Matchbin with the realization that the radio segment could be just as profitable" says Jeff Allen, COO of Matchbin.  

USTAR first learned about the company in late September 2008 and committed to providing Matchbin the research and strategic thinking needed to succeed in the radio industry. USTAR laid out a ninety-day work plan in order to evaluate if the radio market would be profitable for Matchbin. Within that timeframe, USTAR met with Matchbin on a regular basis, providing them with updates on their research. 

According to Allen, USTAR came in and performed a general market analysis, identified the segment that Matchbin should pursue and chased down all the details needed. "USTAR opened a tremendous opportunity for us; we would have not been able to enter the radio market without USTAR's help."   

After only three months of working with USTAR, Matchbin now has one radio station website signed up and is using the tools USTAR provided to sign up other stations in the near future. In Allen's opinion, "USTAR was most effective at performing general market analysis, identifying the right strategy for Matchbin to pursue and providing Matchbin with the right tools to go after this new market."  

One of their early stage struggles was to find a market for their high-tech product.  Jim Allred (New Media Director, Rome, News-Tribune) suggested a system to develop custom newspaper websites. Since then, their efforts have been concentrated in trying to serve that market. Matchbin's evolution into a Web 2.0 business was a big step for the company in 2006.  It now offers an "all inclusive" solution for the newspaper industry, allowing publications to bring in more revenue through the internet.   

Matchbin's business model is quite unique. They can provide a scalable solution to multiple media outlets, enabling them to create communities around their websites.   

Matchbin's goals for 2009 are to continue to grow in the newspaper business and begin penetrating the radio market.  Growth is anticipated for the company over the next year.  Matchbin expects to create jobs in engineering, marketing, sales, finance and management, growing the company from a 35-employee organization to a 120-employee organization.  The road to success becomes clearer to Matchbin as more newspapers and radio stations are adopting their platform.   

About Matchbin: Based in Bountiful, Matchbin is enabling a new market and large set of users by powering the world's first network of online community marketplaces. Matchbin provides a hosted technology platform for online communities by providing the infrastructure and technology that allows existing, branded communities to publish and manage various types of hyperlocal content enabling them to thrive in the internet age. For more information on the Matchbin solution, visit www.matchbin.com 

ABOUT USTAR

The Utah Science Technology and Research initiative (USTAR) is a long-term, state-funded investment to strengthen Utah's "knowledge economy" and generate high-paying jobs. Funded in March 2006 by the State Legislature, USTAR is based on three program areas. The first area involves funding for strategic investments at the University of Utah and Utah State University to recruit world-class researchers. The second area is to build state-of-the-art interdisciplinary facilities at these institutions for the innovation teams. The third program area involves teams that work with companies and entrepreneurs across the State to promote science, innovation, and commercialization activities. For more information, go to www.innovationutah.com or follow http://twitter.com/Innovationutah.