SquareOffs

Founded in 2012 by Jeff Rohr, who serves as CEO, and Rachel Smith, the company's CTO, SquareOffs operates a social opinion network designed to enhance how publishers, advertisers, and influencers engage with their audiences. The platform's genesis addresses the prevalent toxicity in social media feeds and article comment sections, aiming to foster healthier, more constructive online discourse. Jeff Rohr initiated the project while still at his full-time job, accumulating vacation hours to dedicate to its early development. This period involved creating paper mock-ups and presenting them to major networks in New York to validate the concept before building it.

SquareOffs provides a tool for creating embeddable, interactive "microdebates." This format presents a question with two distinct sides, prompting users to vote and, crucially, to comment on why they chose a particular side. This structure is designed to move beyond simple polling to facilitate deeper, on-topic conversations directly on the publisher's site. The core business model targets digital publishers of all sizes, from individual bloggers to large news organizations, as well as brands and marketing agencies. Revenue is generated through a subscription-based model, offering plans like the "Basic Plan," which provides analytics, customization, and moderation tools. The platform also helps publishers increase revenue through higher engagement, which translates to more page views and longer site visits.

The company's product, the SquareOff, can be embedded within articles, featured on a dedicated polls page, or used as a standalone post. It is available as a WordPress plugin for seamless integration, and the company has also developed mobile apps for both iOS and Android. Key features include analytics for tracking engagement and readership, customization options to match a publisher's branding, and extensive content moderation tools. These moderation capabilities use a combination of AI-powered toxicity scoring, a flagged words filter, and social moderation where users can flag inappropriate comments. By keeping conversations on-site, the tool helps partners build their audience and improve SEO. Over its history, SquareOffs has secured more than $2 million in funding from investors including KCRise Fund, Leawood Venture Capital, and Howard Tullman's G2T3V.

Keywords: audience engagement, content monetization, social polling, digital publishing tools, interactive content, online debate platform, reader engagement, content moderation, user-generated content, social opinion network, embeddable widgets, brand engagement, publisher revenue, WordPress plugin, lead generation, community management, interactive polls, audience insights, civil discourse, digital media solutions