Posted on Jan 24, 2014
Name some ways Rallypoint can stay free in the future without filling our screens with Ads.
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I was thinking RP could have a "Donate" button in the bottom of the screen. Advertising is a way but lets think outside the box for a minute.
Obviously, RP executives must have maintenance fees in order to upkeep this website. We can't deny that they would probably like to get back the cash they invested, and pay outstanding loans, consequently have a steady income and get rich.
Obviously, RP executives must have maintenance fees in order to upkeep this website. We can't deny that they would probably like to get back the cash they invested, and pay outstanding loans, consequently have a steady income and get rich.
RallyPoint
Freedom
Edited 11 y ago
Posted 11 y ago
Responses: 11
Suspended Profile
RallyPoint raised $6.6MM with two Seed funding rounds from Angel Investors and one Series A Venture Capital funding round.
This is not some shoestring website or nonprofit organization. The investors obviously intend to earn a substantial return on investment so don't expect them to be content running RP based on mere donations. There is profit to be made - that cannot be come from donations - perhaps by charging recruiters as described in the attached Forbes Magazine article - and perhaps by a variety of other creative means not yet described -
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MAJ Joseph Parker
Sandy: As usual you hit the bulls eye. LCDR Nordman is correct, too (although he is a bit off). However, no sense in doing an AAR on RP's startup here. We aren't on the inside. Sure wish somebody had given me $6.6M on my last startup, though!
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LCDR Doug Nordman
I've been called worse, but in what context do you mean "a bit off"?<br><br>I'm not sure that Rally Point has the traction to charge us members, especially with other military-friendly sites offering freemium access. Instead of RP dithering over that challenge, I'd prefer they start running ads now and generate some revenue so that they can keep working the problem. Almost half of their site's page is white space on my monitor, so it's going to waste anyway.<div><br></div><div>I'm impressed, though, that RP's icons display the different versions of the oak leaves for our services.<br></div>
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CSM Charles Hayden
1LT Sandy Annala LT, you have been subdued on RP recently and now appear as a font of business information. I/we are pleased to be on RP with you!
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Suspended Profile
CSM Charles Hayden. My apologies . . . been way too busy in office to keep up.
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SSG Parra; great job on thinking outside the box. I really like your idea of having a donate button. If the RP leadership agrees, maybe trying the donate button first to see if the needed funds are collected, if not, then go with advertising. Unless someone has a better idea to avoid advertisements. I personally would not like to see RP members getting charged membership fees.
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SrA (Join to see)
I actually wouldn't mind paying membership fees. Of all other military sites, I really like this one.
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Its not about getting back the cash they invested or paying for loans, it is to offset and cover current and future operational costs, the site can't run on hope and faith, the funding has to come from somewhere, and we can't expect CPT K and MAJ W to foot the bill the entire time.
A donate option could be viable, but if you start making members pay, why would they stay when they can move some where else for free, or even go to other sites that are pay sites with more options.
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SSG William Patton
I belong to 2 other sites for military personnel and veterans and both charge for membership. It is not a lot, but one is $175 for a life membership and the other is $250 for a life membership. One is very similar to this site where you can discuss pertinent topics, but it allows members to showcase their military accomplishment with on line shadow boxes. It also pays tribute to our fallen brothers and sisters for the last 170 years. The other site provides memorabilia related to the military and our service. If we have to advertise to keep the O-3 and O-4 from spending their money, then that is the cost of keeping this site operational.
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PO1 William Bargar
I am a member of Military.com which is free. And I am also a member of TogetherWeServedNavy which I paid a life time membership of $125. TWS recently got USAA on board to help with expenses, but the problem is what about those who already paid the $125 lifetime membership? When others today only have to get a USAA credit card to get FREE Lifetime Membership. Consider ads from MILITARY FRIENDLY and VETERAN OWNED companies. Might go DIRECTLY to the BRANCHES and ask them for ad support. Rally Point could be a GREAT RECRUITING TOOL for the Armed Forces.
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MAJ Joseph Parker
<p>Ladies and Gentlemen: If this site is going to have a "donate" button, it may as well go public and sell shares on the stock market. As 1LT Annala so ably pointed out, RP is a CORPORATION. Anybody here donated money to DuPont lately to help them out? </p><p><br></p><p>Charging membership is counter-productive to what RP is trying to do: build a large pool of active and former military members. They are getting lots of members, now RP has to build the revenue side. SSG Felix P almost has the idea. The RP people won't get rich with this, but they do need to cover debt and future expenses. They also need to be a little more flexible. </p>
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SSG William Patton
PO Bargar, I like your idea of RP being used as a recruiting tool. If it could be programmed to allow access for those young women and men thinking about military service, they could get an idea from those of us who are serving and veterans, what military life is like. I would never trade my experiences from military service for anything. I would do it again, even having been in combat in Viet Nam, without hesitation. The military gave me a sense of pride, self discipline, and taught me how to work as a member of a team and how to take orders. Those are attributes I do not see in many young people today. Funding from the services to promote military service could help defer the costs for the owners of this site.
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