ChallengePost rewards problem-solvers

Similar to InnoCentive, new site offers cash awards for innovative solutions to problems

Have you recently thought up an excellent plan for terraforming Mars? Are you a politically-minded person prepared to completely rethink the New York State Legislature at the drop of a hat? Or are you just an ordinary software engineer with time on your hands to work on extra projects you find interesting?

If these questions get you thinking of creative solutions already, this new company might interest you.

Privately funded New York-based startup ChallengePost launched today, according to their Tumblr, bringing to light science and technology problems large and small, while offering incentives for the solving of those problems.

Still in its beta stages, the site currently features about 20 challenges, varying widely in size, difficulty, and prize to give an idea of the breadth of problems the site would like to encompass. Terraforming a planet and redesigning a legislature, though the most eye-opening of the challenges featured, probably won’t be solved anytime soon.

On the other hand, the site includes plenty of more realistic contests that challenge programmers to design software solutions. This challenge, for example, is simply asking for a design for “the ultimate iPhone App for Entrepreneurs.” It will pay off too. The winner receives $2000, second-place gets $1000, and honorable mentions earn $100 each.

Though still in its infancy, ChallengePost very much resembles InnoCentive, a Massachusetts-based corporation that hosts an online community of companies posting problems for highly creative individuals to solve. Right now, InnoCentive’s website offers problem solvers up to $1,000,000 in cash rewards.

Backed by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and $500,000 in funds raised from angel investors, what new strategy is ChallengePost bringing to the table? According to Founder and CEO Brandon Kessler, his website will be more tailored to the individual and non-profits, whereas InnoCentive targets corporations and large companies.

ChallengePost is still in its early stages, but its identity is already taking shape in just the way Kessler describes. More personal and friendly-appearing than InnoCentive, ChallengePost may be the new home for intelligent and creative individual reward-seekers.