ENGAGEMENT TRACKING

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims the benefit of and priority to U S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/157,298, filed March 5, 2021, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to a networked ecosystem platform, and more specifically, to a method and system for building an «-sided network of things with at least one of the things curating interaction between at least two other things within the «-sided network.

BACKGROUND

[0003] Social media platforms or other public and private networks allow individuals to communicate with each other. These platforms usually provide various tools that facilitate communication between members of the platforms. Some of the tools that these social media platforms provide include group functionality, where members of the platform can form sub groups. Members within a sub-group can broadcast messages to every other member within the group. Members within the sub-group can also view other members within the sub-group. The social media platform also provides messaging tools that allow any two or more members to send and receive messages. Any two or more members within the sub-group can interact with any other member using the messaging tools. The messaging tools are typically private between members so interactions between members in the sub-group that use messaging tools is not visible to owners or administrators of the sub-group. Only messages broadcast to the sub-group at large provide owners and administrators of the sub-group with a sense of member connectivity within the sub-group. Unfortunately, broadcast messages are usually not a good indication of member connectivity.

[0004] Thus, there is at least a need for owners and administrators of the sub-group to at least capture or gauge member connectivity between members of the sub-group using at least the private messaging tools between members of the sub-group. SUMMARY

[0005] According to some implementations of the present disclosure, a system is provided. The system includes a non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer executable instructions and a control system including one or more processors configured to execute the instructions to: (a) detect actions indicative of activities within a multi-sided network, the actions being performed by at least one user of the multi-sided network; (b) determine activities associated with the at least one user based on the detected actions; (c) calculate a rating for the multi-sided network based at least in part on the determined activities; and (d) generate a report including the calculated rating.

[0006] According to some implementations of the present disclosure, A system for implementing a multi-sided network of things is provided. The system includes a non- transitory computer readable medium storing computer executable instructions and a control system including one or more processors configured to execute the instructions to: (a) create a first thing associated with a first type of role; (b) create a second thing associated with a second type of role based on an invite associated with the first thing, wherein the first type of role and the second type of role are user roles; (c) create a third thing associated with a third type of role, the third type of role being a company role associated with at least one of the user roles; (d) store the first, second, and third things in an associative structure; (e) wherein the first, second, and third things are data structures including broadcast beacons, type of role, and a profile.

[0007] The above summary is not intended to represent each embodiment or every aspect of the present disclosure. Rather, the foregoing summary merely provides an example of some of the novel aspects and features set forth herein. The above features and advantages, and other features and advantages of the present disclosure, will be readily apparent from the following detailed description of representative embodiments and modes for carrying out the present invention, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0008] The disclosure will be better understood from the following description of exemplary embodiments together with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0009] FIG. 1 illustrates a system for implementing a multi-sided network, according to some implementations of the present disclosure; [0010] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating steps for tracking activities in a multi-sided network, according to some implementations of the present disclosure;

[0011] FIG. 3 illustrates an example dashboard for an individual, according to some implementations of the present disclosure;

[0012] FIG. 4 is a screenshot of a portfolio of companies curated by an ecosystem builder, according to some implementations of the present disclosure;

[0013] FIG.5 is a screenshot of a company profile, according to some implementations of the present disclosure;

[0014] FIG. 6 is a screenshot of members of an ecosystem, according to some implementations of the present disclosure; and

[0015] FIG. 7 is a screenshot of a messaging platform, according to some implementations of the present disclosure.

[0016] The present disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms. Some representative embodiments are shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail herein. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the disclosure is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

DETA1EED DESCRIPTION

[0017] An entrepreneur typically takes on greater than normal financial risk to bring a business into existence and then to continually operate and grow that business. Entrepreneurs sometimes seek partnerships with support organizations, which can include, for example, incubators, accelerators, innovation hubs, etc. These support organizations can be nonprofit organizations, for-profit organizations, or programs that provide services to entrepreneurs. A non-limiting example of a service can be providing office space, at little or no cost, to entrepreneurs. Accelerators expedite growth of developing companies by providing the companies access to mentorship, investors, etc. Accelerators and incubators typically cater to start-up companies with a minimum viable product and help new and startup companies grow by providing classes (e g., management training, workshops, etc.), office space, or other services like accounting or legal services that may be too expensive for a fledgling business. The problem for entrepreneurs is further exaggerated after they leave or graduate an accelerator or incubator because they can still benefit from help from the accelerator or incubator’s ecosystem, but they no longer have access to the accelerator or incubator’s member ecosystem as it was comprised when they were brought into the network, and most certainly as the member network has grown since the company’s formal completion of the accelerator’s program. [0018] Entrepreneurs may not always be aware of potential support they may receive within their social circles or local environment. As such, there are individuals or companies geared towards connecting entrepreneurs, startups, or some other business with support organizations (e.g., accelerators, incubators, etc.) and/or with other individuals. The individuals who play this role are ecosystem builders. Ecosystem builders typically have a community of individuals and companies. Their goal includes continually bringing together their community so that the individuals and companies within the community can find synergistic opportunities to facilitate and accelerate growth, and to create new opportunities. For example, the ecosystem builders can have a community that includes government officials, public officials, universities, chambers of commerce, investors, private foundations, public foundations, large corporations, small businesses, startup companies, nonprofit organizations, incubators, accelerators, researchers, attorneys, accountants, subject-matter experts, mentors, advisors, etc.

[0019] Currently, ecosystem builders tend to use email, spreadsheets, personal or professional one-sided social media networks, phone calls, text messages, etc., to interact with members in their community. The interactions describe point-to-point connections from the ecosystem builders to specific members in their community. The ecosystem builders use these point-to- point connections in an informal way to bring the members in their community together to participate in events (e.g., a conference). The ecosystem builders hope that during the events, the members in the community network with each other and find areas where one member can help another member. Relying on point-to-point interactions to obtain responses to invitations (RSVPs) for attending these events to facilitate stronger network connections within the community is very inefficient and time-consuming. Furthermore, ecosystem builders have to individually follow up with members in the community after the events to determine whether new connections were made between members, whether the new connections ended up forming an ongoing relationship, etc. These follow-ups are time dependent, thus forcing ecosystem builders to sometimes commit to continually probe or follow up on a same member’s activities multiple times over a week or a month. The follow-ups can be intrusive at times, and members may not be as forthcoming if the ecosystem builders are seen as bothersome. And yet, if ecosystem builders do not continually probe or follow up, they may be thought of as ineffective by the rest of the community seeking help or advice, while they themselves may find themselves outside of the communication loop. [0020] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a multi-sided network for a less intrusive monitoring of activity between members in an ecosystem builder’s community. In some implementations, the multi-sided network is a three-sided network. The different sides of the three-sided network include three different roles — a builder role, a member role, and a company role. An ecosystem builder is assigned the builder role in the three-sided network. The ecosystem builder, being in the builder role, is responsible for a first ecosystem within the three-sided network. The ecosystem builder invites individuals to the three-sided network, and specifically, to the first ecosystem within the three-sided network. The invited individuals can take on the member roles or the company roles on the three-sided network. The invited individuals can enjoy access to features of the three-sided network and/or the first ecosystem. The ecosystem builder can curate features of the first ecosystem available to the invited individuals. The invited individuals, once part of the three-sided network and being in the member role or the company role, can be invited to join other ecosystems by other builders within the three-sided network.

[0021] The ecosystem builder, being in the builder role, is a curator and can determine who gains entry to the first ecosystem and what information members associated with the first ecosystem can access. For example, the ecosystem builder can allow all or some of the members of the first ecosystem to see a membership list of all of the other members of the first ecosystem. Individuals in member roles or entities in company roles can have profiles. A member profile can include a name of the member, a title of the member, the member’ s primary location or base of operations, website(s) associated with the member, a mobile phone of the member, one or more email addresses associated with the member, a list of professional or technical skills possessed by or associated with the member, the member’s willingness to invest or mentor, and/or any other information field describing the member’s potential contribution to the community or ecosystem. Within the member profile, members can indicate to the other members, companies, and builders within the ecosystems that they are open to engaging in any opportunities for the benefit of one or more parties. In some implementations, members can provide their availability and willingness to engage to the rest of the ecosystem through a featureset that also includes an on/off switch indicating availability and willingness to engage others. For example, members who wish to provide mentorship to another member or company may indicate such interest using the featureset which in turns reflects in the members’ profiles. Member roles and builder roles can be cast as user roles, i.e., being directed to individuals. [0022] A company profile can include a name of the company, an industry for the company, a logo for the company, a tagline for the company, information about the company, vision and mission of the company, revenue of the company, year the company was founded, number of employees in the company, website address, office location, fundraising status, local currency, company valuation, investment ask, percent investment committed, investment raised to date, profile background image, a collection of documents related to the company (e.g., pitch deck and financial statements), or any combination thereof. The ecosystem builder can curate features of the first ecosystem or how members and companies interact within the first ecosystem. For example, the ecosystem builder can determine whether members can search for other members and/or companies, whether members can schedule meetings, whether members can provide written feedback, whether members can view documents, whether members can send and/or receive messages, whether members can share company profiles to other members or companies outside the first ecosystem, whether members outside the first ecosystem can request access to the first ecosystem directly from the ecosystem builder, etc. Furthermore, members are often considered a strong and reliable source for referring new companies to the ecosystem builder of the n-sided network. Many ecosystem builders rely on these referals of newly discovered companies from members to continouously populate their community ecosystem with a fresh supply of new companies to engage with. In some implementations, members can invite companies to the first ecosystem in the same way as the ecosystem builder, however the companies that members invite are considered or marked as referrals to the ecosystem builder. The ecosystem builder then determines whether to make these referred companies visible and engageable to the the members of the first ecosystem. [0023] In some implementations, members can be classified by the ecosystem builder at the moment the member is invited or after the member has been invited and granted access to the first ecosystem (i.e., the builder’s community). This classification can be customized as a tag with the classification’s name on it. Every ecosystem associated with a builder has a unique set of members that have a symbiotic role within that ecosystem. By enabling the builder to classify these member with a customizable tag or label, the ecosystem takes on a unique shape or structure. For example, accelerator ecosystems are typically comprised of private startup companies (entities) having founders (people), investors (people), corporate partners (such as people working for another established company willing to work with the startup company in a customer-supplier relationship), and mentors (people willing to donate their expertise to help a private startup compny and its founders or team). As a result, every member user of the platform may have a unique signature of tags associated with them depending on how they were classified by the ecosystem builder. These tags offer a way to express the value they can offer other members of the ecosystems. For example, a member labeled an investor by a builder is thought to have investor qualifications and interest by the private startup companies and thus may be a member of interest to them.

[0024] The present disclosure provides systems and methods that allow designated individuals (e.g., owners, administrators, or ecosystem builders) access to metadata concerning two or more other individuals or entities (e.g., companies) within a multi-sided network. Deciphering the metadata allows the designated individuals to better gauge connectivity between the two or more other individuals or entities within the network.

[0025] According to some implementations of the present disclosure, a multi-sided network with properties similar to, or the same as, the three-sided network described can be implemented by a system 100 illustrated in FIG. 1. To simplify discussion, the singular form will be used for components identified in FIG. 1 when appropriate, but the use of the singular does not limit the discussion to only one of each such component. The system 100 includes a client device 102, a server 104, and a database 106. Each of these components can be realized by one or more computer devices and/or networked computer devices. The one or more computer devices includes at least one processor with at least one non-transitory computer readable medium.

[0026] The client device 102 is a computing device associated with a user (e.g., a builder, a member, etc.). The client device 102 includes servers, laptops, desktops, workstations, smartphones, tablets, etc. The client device 102 includes a network interface for connecting to the server 104. The client device 102 allows the user to access a multi-sided network associated with the server 104.

[0027] The server 104 is a computing system for implementing the multi-sided network. The server 104 can include a cloud computing system with one or more networked computing devices in one implementation. The server 104 can store parameters and information in the database 106. The server 104 includes an application programming interface (API) 110, a membership engine 112, a things engine 114, and an activity engine 116. Each of the API 110, the membership engine 112, the things engine 114, and the activity engine 116 is a combination of hardware and software configured to perform specific functionality as described in the following paragraphs.

[0028] The API 110 of the server 104 facilitates communication between the client device 102 and the server 104. In some implementations, the API 110 also facilitates communication between the server 104 and the database 106. The API 110 packages data packets to (and from) the client device 102, so that there is a bidirectional information flow between the server 104 and the client device 102. The API 110 provides information to the client device 102 such that visualizations associated with the multi-sided network can be displayed on the client device 102. For example, the client device 102 can display a profile associated with a member using information obtained via the API 110. In some implementations, the API 110 is a web service compatible with hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) and machine readable file formats such as extensible markup language (XML) and lavaScript object notation (JSON).

[0029] The membership engine 112 of the server 104 manages profiles associated with users of the multi-sided network. The membership engine 112 can also be involved in authenticating users logging into the multi-sided network. The membership engine 112 can authenticate the user of the client device 102, identifying the user as being in a builder role or a member role. The membership engine 112 can use username and password pairs during authentication to determine that the user of the client device 102 is permitted to access the multi-sided network. In some implementations, a token associated with the client device 102 is used by the membership engine 112 for authentication. A token recognized by the membership engine 112 includes a role assignment (e.g., a builder role or a member role). The membership engine 112 can include other roles, such as a company role. The company role is associated with at least one member role. For example, an individual can be a member of the multi-sided network, while also being a member of a company. For the individual to have access to modifying a profile associated with the company, the individual’s membership status should be associated with the company. For ease in managing company profiles or other characteristics of companies in the multi-sided network, the multi-sided network can include team roles. Team members of a specific company can modify the profile of that specific company. The team roles allow associating one or more members to a company role.

[0030] The things engine 114 of the server 102 implements a scalable beacon technology for tracking user activities on the multi-sided network. The things engine 114 standardizes storing information within the server 104. Standardized information storage enhances speed of retrieving information within the multi-sided network and improves information processing speed when two elements of the multi-sided network are interacting with each other. The things engine 114 represents users of the multi-sided network as “things.” A thing is a data structure for uniform representation of elements within the multi-sided network. The things engine 114 represents data files within the multi-sided network as things. The things engine 114 represents companies registered in the multi-sided network as things. The thing data structure includes an associated unique identification (ID) associated to it at the time of its creation or at the moment of using it. The unique ID becomes the name of the thing that is being used or actioned. There is a defined set of actions that are possible with the created thing. The unique ID is combined with the action and stored for later retrieval in real or near real time. The thing data structure can thus operate like a beacon of sorts that broadcasts a status of a member so that other members can determine in real-time whether the member is online or offline.

[0031] The activity engine 116 of the server 102 keeps track of activities within the multi-sided network implemented by the server 102. The activity engine 116 can track messages exchanged between members, adding new members, removing old members, introduction between members, etc. A message sent from one member to another member is stored as a thing, and any reply message is stored as a thing. The activity engine 116 is thus able to track and associate messages with different members. In some implementations, having messages as things enables quickly forming network associations such that, for example, a message existing between two members serves as a connection or edge between those two members. Organizing the multi-sided network using things can enable quickly developing a network map or graph to determine an activity level, growth, or utilization of the multi-sided network. Using messages as edges between members can provide a builder an idea of the interconnectivity within an ecosystem of the builder. The things engine 114 and the activity engine 116 in combination can track activities within the multi-sided network more efficiently due to having a more uniform storage method (e.g., via the thing data structure) that facilitates quicker accesses to the data structure. This method of data organization improves computer and network technology by allowing more real-time data propagation of information (e.g., status information, activity information, etc.) throughout the multi-sided network.

[0032] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram for a method 200 for tracking activities in a multi-sided network, according to some implementations of the present disclosure. At step 202, the server 104 detects actions indicative of activities within the multi-sided network. The detected actions are performed by the user of the client device 102. Examples of actions that can be detected include clicking on a portion of a screen of the client device 102, clicking on a banner on the screen of the client device 102, typing a message in a provided textbox on the screen of the client device 102, a voice command provided to the client device 102, viewing a member profile, searching for a member based on specific attributes or criteria inputted via the client device 102, sending a direct message to a member via the client device 102, requesting access to a company’s document repository or status updates via the client device 102, requesting to mentor a company via the client device 102, requesting a member to be a mentor of a company via the client device 102, etc.

[0033] At step 204, the server 104 determines activities associated with the user of the client device 102. The detected actions are indicative of the activities within the multi-sided network. Activities are macro level operations on the multi-sided network. For example, the user of the client device 102 can click through multiple prompts and enter text in various text boxes in order to populate a member profile associated with the user. The detected actions in this example are clicking specific areas on the screen of the client device 102 and entering text at specific text boxes displayed on the screen of the client device 102. The activity in this example is updating a member profile.

[0034] Activities can be classified as network activities or engagement activities. Network activities are activities relating to management of an ecosystem of a builder. For example, a builder can add members to the ecosystem, remove members from the ecosystem, receive mentor requests, receive help requests, create groups, etc. Engagement activities include activities between members or other things within the ecosystem of the builder. For example, introductions between two or more members in the ecosystem, exchanging instant messages between members, exchanging direct messages between members, a member requesting a meeting, a member accessing a profile of a company or another member, a member accessing files or links provided on the multi-sided network, etc.

[0035] At step 206, the server 104 calculates or determines a rating for the multi-sided network based at least in part on the determined activities of step 204. In some implementations, the activities are ranked by order of importance or ranked by tiers. For example, a three-tiered system can include a first tier, a second tier, and a third tier. The first tier can include an introduction, messages between members, and a meeting request. The second tier can include viewing profiles, updating profiles, and adding documents or files to share on the multi-sided network. The third tier can include viewing files on the multi-sided network. When determining the rating, activities in the first tier can be weighted more than activities in the second tier, which can be weighted more can activities in the third tier. In some implementations, the rating can be provided as a quantitative value based on the weighted combination of the determined activities. In some implementations, the rating can be provided as a qualitative indication of the tier that best represents the weighted combination of the determined activities.

[0036] In some implementations, the rating is determined based at least in part on the size of the multi-sided network. The size of the multi-sided network can be determined based on a number of things present in the multi-sized network, such that the rating is quoted per capita (i.e., per number of things in the multi-sided network). In some implementations, the determined rating is indicative of a health of the multi-sided network. In some implementations, at step 206, the server 104 determines a rating for the ecosystem of a specific builder. The determined rating for the ecosystem can be indicative of the health of the ecosystem. When the rating of the ecosystem is provided as a per capita value, the builder of the ecosystem can compare the rating of her ecosystem to ratings of other ecosystems in the multi-sided network.

[0037] In some implementations, the rating is determined based at least in part on overlapping or common companies, constituents, or members of the multi-sided network. For example, the rating can be determined by specific companies and members indicated by name and unique system account within each network and/or group who may be overlapping or common to other such networks or groups. The quantity of such overlapping or common companies and members from each network and/or group to another network and/or other group and/or the engagement and activites of each overlapping or common companies and members of a network and/or group can determine such a rating. The engagement activities of such members and companies and their presence in such networks and/or groups can also determine the rating. [0038] Networks can grow exponentially when taking into account network effect where members of a network can invite those within their social circles to join the network. Exponential growth of networks can be taxing on hardware resources. For example, as a network expands, more storage devices may be needed to accommodate the size of the network. More processing power (e.g., faster processors, faster computing devices, and/or parallel computing paradigms) may be needed to maintain adequate network performance. In the multi-sided network, as the number of things in the network grows, the determined rating can be used to gauge whether hardware is being used efficiently. The determined rating can also be used by the builder to gauge whether to encourage more activities by members in the multi sided network. In some implementations, the multi-sided network is running in a cloud environment, and the determined rating is used to determine resource allocation for virtual machines running the multi-sided network. Runtime resources allocated to service inactive things in the multi-sided network can be managed such that more active things are prioritized over the inactive things.

[0039] At step 208, the server 104 generates a report based at least in part on the determined rating. The report can include the determined rating. The report can include a list of things in the multi-sided network and/or the ecosystem of the builder that reduce the rating. For example, inactive members that do not engage with other members in the ecosystem of the builder can reduce the rating. In some implementations, the inactive members are singled out for the builder to check in on. In some implementations, the inactive members are singled out for removal from the ecosystem and/or the multi-sided network. The rating can be compared against a threshold, such that when the rating is below the threshold, then recommendations to engage inactive members is suggested to the builder. In some implementations, the server 104 generates messages for the inactive members based on message templates.

[0040] In some implementations, the inactive members are selected based on previous activities of the inactive members. For example, an inactive member that has been introduced to other members or that has sent and received messages from other members is treated differently compared to an inactive member that passively navigates the multi-sided network. Messages can be generated for the inactive member that merely looks at profiles but does not interact with other members to encourage more active participation. In some implementations, inactivity is determined based on logoff and logon statistics of the member. Activity level can be determined based on a last logon of the member or based on a last logoff of the user. For example, a member that last logged on a month ago can be indicated as inactive. The month is used as an example, but other time durations can be used, e.g., one week, two weeks, three weeks, two months, etc.

[0041] The generated report can be displayed on the screen of the client device 102. Based on ecosystem rules set up by the builder of the ecosystem, the report can be provided on a dashboard for only the builder, a subset of members of the ecosystem, or all members of the ecosystem. In some implementations, the report includes activities that contributed to the rating. The activities can include, e.g., new member additions, mentor requests, member engagements, groupings made by other builders that affect companies in the ecosystem of the builder, etc.

[0042] In some implementations, a company in the ecosystem of the builder is represented as a thing. The thing representing the company has a company role, as described above. Members within a team role associated with the company can edit the profile of the company. The company role can be associated with a dataroom. The dataroom is a file storage or directory structure where members in the team role associated with the company can place files for sharing with members of the ecosystem of the builder and/or the multi-sided network. Each of the files in the dataroom is represented as a thing. In some implementations, the files include papers, video files, audio files, etc.

[0043] In some implementations, a company is added to the ecosystem based on an invitation to join the ecosystem. A team member populates information on the company profile. Once populated, the company is added to the ecosystem, and members of the ecosystem can view and interact with the company profile. [0044] In some implementations, once the company is added, the builder can add the company to a group. The group can have an affiliation tag. When the builder adds the company to a group, the company profile is automatically updated to include the affiliation tag. Even though the builder does not own the company profile and cannot make changes to the company profile, by adding the company to the group, the builder can affect an affiliation associated with the company. The company profile can have space for badges, logos, text, etc. Tag is used here generally but can be a badge, a logo, text, etc. In some implementations, the builder can drag and drop company icons into one or more groups. Affiliation can be used to promote the builder’s brand and/or the company’s brand to members of the ecosystem of the builder. [0045] FIG. 3 illustrates an example dashboard 300 for an individual, according to some implementations of the present disclosure. The dashboard 300 identifies the individual 302 to which the dashboard 300 pertains. The dashboard 300 also provides suggestions 304 to the individual to provide missing profile information. For example, in FIG. 3, the suggestions 304 request primary location of the individual 302 be populated. The dashboard 300 also includes a section 308 for recent members added. The section 308 includes cards (e.g., cards 308-1 and 308-2) providing information about the recent members. For example, a member photo, a member name, a member role (e.g., mentor), an associated organization, time elapsed since the member was added, etc., can be provided. Card 308-1 indicates that the member Sarah is a mentor, and the card 308-2 indicates that Andrey is associated with ClauseMatch. The dashboard 300 includes a section 310 which includes cards showing recently viewed members. [0046] The dashboard 300 includes an ecosystem analytics section 312. The ecosystem analytics section 312 can include activities determined by the activity engine 114 (FIG. 1). For example, the ecosystem analytics section 312 can provide a number of times the profile of the individual 302 has been viewed, a number of times company or organization profiles associated with the individual 302 has been viewed, a number of times data room access has been requested, a number of times data room access connections have been made, a number of data room documents that have been viewed, a number of times informational videos have been viewed, a number of meetings that have been scheduled, etc. These activities can be determined for a set timeframe (e.g., for a week, two weeks, a month, two months, a year, etc.). Some of the activities displayed in the ecosystem analytics section 312 can be used in determining the rating discussed above in connection with step 206 of FIG. 2. A navigation menu 314 can be used to explore different areas. The home symbol is currently selected in the navigation menu 314 to display the dashboard 300. [0047] FIG. 4 is a screenshot 400 of a portfolio 402 of companies curated by an ecosystem builder, according to some implementations of the present disclosure. The screenshot 400 also includes grouping of these companies, which affects the companies’ visibility to members of the ecosystem associated with the builder, as described in connection with FIG. 2. The portfolio 402 allows the ecosystems 404 associated with the builder to be viewed by the builder all at once or by specific ecosystems. A side panel is provided in the screenshot 400. The side panel can include a panel section 406 that lists startups and pending invites. The side panel can further include a panel groups section 408 and a panel filtering section 416. The panel filtering section 416 allows sorting companies by different criteria (e.g., industry, stage, fundraising, founder type, etc.). From the panel section 406, “Your Startups” is selected hence the screenshot 400 displays a list of companies. A first company is listed having a logo 412-2, a description 412-3, and a fundraising status 412-4. Also included in the first company is a group indication 412-1. The group indication 412-1 is an example of a badge assigned by the builder. Similarly, a second company is listed having a logo 414-2, a description 414-3, a fundraising status 414-4, and a group indication 414-1. The group indications 414-1 and 412- 1 correspond to at least the groups listed in the panel groups section 408. A briefcase symbol is currently selected in the navigation menu 314 to display the portfolio 402. Embodiments of the present disclosure allow for real-time updates of the screenshot 400. Applying any sortings from the panel filtering section 416 can be performed from specific data fields within the things data structure as discussed above in connection with FIG. 3.

[0048] FIG. 5 is a screenshot 500 of a company profile, according to some implementations of the present disclosure. The company profile can include information 510 about the company. The information 510 can include a logo, year founded, number of team members, fundraising, etc. The company profile can include media 508 (e.g., videos, sounds, etc.). The company profile can include team members 504, affiliation 506 with a group and/or a builder, or mentors 502 in the company.

[0049] FIG. 6 is a screenshot 600 of members 602 of an ecosystem 604 according to some implementations of the present disclosure. Ecosystem managers 606 (e.g., those with builder roles for the present ecosystem) can be viewed. Members can be viewed based on member descriptors 608. Member descriptors 608 include, for example, portfolio, investor, corporate, government, nonprofit, university, mentor, etc. A member list 610 is presented based on selected options. Furthermore, members displayed can be curated by filters 612 including, for example, title of the member, industry or sector to which the member belongs, languages that the member speaks, member skills, technology, etc. A human symbol is selected in the navigation menu 314 to display the members 602.

[0050] FIG. 7 illustrates a screenshot showing two members communicating via text messages. A callout symbol is selected in the navigation menu 314 to display the messaging options. As discussed above in connection with FIG. 2, contacts or messages between two members is stored as things, allowing for easily tracking network connections between different things within the multi-sided network.

[0051] Although the present disclosure discusses the multi-sided network using an example of a three-sided network, in some implementations, the multi-sided network is a two-sided network or can be a collapsed three-sided network. For example, the builder role of the ecosystem builder can be performed by any member of the multi-sided network. That is, fuctions associated with the builder role as described above applies to any one of the member roles, thus collapsing the builder role with the member role. An ecosystem builder in a two- sided network or a collapsed three-sided network is merely in the member role and can assume the builder role as a natural occurrence. For example, the ecosystem builder’s natural emergence in assuming the builder role is more a function of procative networking with other existing members and individuals who are not yet members of the ecosystem, private network, or group. By having the ecosystem builder in a member role being able to invite these other members or individuals, the result is the creation of more groups featuring engagement at varying levels within each group. The ecosystem builders can have a community that includes government officials, public officials, universities, chambers of commerce, investors, private foundations, public foundations, large corporations, small businesses, startup companies, nonprofit organizations, incubators, accelerators, researchers, attorneys, accountants, subject- matter experts, mentors, advisors, personal contacts with special skills, etc. That is, the builder role can also be collapsed with the company role, so that there are only members who are associated with companies (i.e., having both member and company roles) or members who are not associated with companies (i.e., having only a member role). The collapsed three-sided network or the two-sided network can have member roles and company roles, with one or more of the individuals in member roles organically assuming the role of ecosystem builders based on their purported network activity, even though there is no specificied builder role in the multi sided network.

[0052] Although the disclosed embodiments have been illustrated and described with respect to one or more implementations, equivalent alterations and modifications will occur or be known to others skilled in the art upon the reading and understanding of this specification and the annexed drawings. In addition, while a particular feature of the invention may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application.

[0053] While various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. Numerous changes to the disclosed embodiments can be made in accordance with the disclosure herein, without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the above described embodiments. Rather, the scope of the disclosure should be defined in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.