NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Friday, November 9, 2012

The world is brimming with good ideas, but presenting them to the people who are in a position to make them happen presents a formidable challenge. OneLeap, launched earlier this year, is a web-based networking platform designed to fix this situation by bridging the gap between entrepreneurs, investors, influencers and top-tier executives, while raising money for charity in the process.

OneLeap’s aim is to reduce the six degrees of separation between people to, well, just one leap. Charity is at the core of the concept. Entrepreneurs sign up to use the service and pay a modest sum of money to a contact for advice and other introductions. OneLeap will take a 20 percent commission and the rest goes to the charity of choice of the person contacted.

OneLeap promises that users will hear back within 10 days, or they will get their money back. In order to apply, entrepreneurs use their LinkedIn account and answer a few questions to see if the service is a fit for them. A reply will be sent within 48 hours. Only when accepted will the user be asked to make the donation and then get the chance to write a short introduction letter to their targeted contact.

In order to maintain accessibility, there is a wide range of fees, from as low as US$5 to $250, which, according to co-founder Hamish Forsyth, a former senior adviser in the UK Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit, is the highest price paid so far. “But most people are much less expensive,” he told Gizmag.