RallyPoint

RallyPoint is a privately held American company founded in 2012 by military veterans Yinon Weiss and Aaron Kletzing at Harvard Business School.[1] The company is a professional network serving the US military and its veterans, and has been called "LinkedIn for the military,"[2][3][4][5] empowering military personnel to take greater control over their own careers. The community allows current military members and veterans to connect, explore career opportunities both inside and outside the military, and engage on topics important to the military.

RallyPoint
TypePrivate
IndustryProfessional Networking
Founded2012
HeadquartersBoston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
Key people
David Gowel (CEO)
Yinon Weiss (Co-Founder)
Aaron Kletzing (Co-Founder)
Brandon Charters (VP Accounts)
Ryan Callahan (VP Marketing)
Websitewww.RallyPoint.com

The company's Board of Advisors includes former Army Chief of Staff General George Casey, former Air Force Chief of Staff Norton Schwartz,[5] former Navy Admiral John Harvey, and former Army Lieutenant General Benjamin Freakley. Its board of directors includes Bob McDonald, the eighth United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and Ellen Levy, former head of Corporate & Business Development at LinkedIn.[6][7]

In April 2012, RallyPoint won $10,000 for placing as runner-up in the Harvard Business School Business Plan Competition[8] and on October 23, 2012, RallyPoint won $100,000 from MassChallenge after competing against over 1,300 other ventures.[9] The company raised private funding after both of these events,[10][11] and went on to raise $5M in venture capital in late 2013,[12] and an additional $5M of capital in late 2015.[13]

RallyPoint was launched out of the Harvard Innovation Lab at the Harvard Business School,[14] and is currently headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.

History

The company's two co-founders, Yinon Weiss and Aaron Kletzing, first met in Iraq in a remote combat outpost northwest of Baghdad in 2008.[15] Several years later, the two ran into each other again as students this time at Harvard Business School. After discussion of the difficult transition from military to civilian life as well as the transition from job to job within the military, the two decided to create RallyPoint as a platform for the military community to connect based on the common bond of service.[3]

Company

Website

RallyPoint is a professional network available to all US military members and veterans,[16][17] described by Forbes as "LinkedIn on steroids for members of the military."[18] To create a verified account one needs to either sign in with a .mil email address, send in proof of service, or receive an invitation from a verified member.[19] Unverified members may also use the site, but have more limited access.

Information of users and connections is sorted based on the military structure, such as rank, specialty, duty position, and duty location.[20]

With use of civilian job and company pages, members can be put in contact with mentors, veterans, and civilian recruiters for transition out of military life.[21] According to the Huffington Post, RallyPoint is "solving two problems by creating both an easy-to-use professional network within the military, as well as the most technologically advanced employer-to-servicemember matching network in the country."[22]

RallyPoint's revenues stem from civilian companies, universities, and organizations that wish to strengthen their brand within the military community.[23]

RPx

Starting in 2014, RallyPoint began running an annual conference geared to bring together RallyPoint members, leaders, and business partners. The inaugural event was held on August 16, 2014, at the Raleigh Convention Center.[24] The event included speakers such as General (Ret.) Norton Schwartz, Admiral (Ret.) John Harvey, US Army Reserve CSM Luther Thomas Jr., Constellis Holdings CEO Craig Nixon, Student Veterans of America CEO D. Wayne Robinson, and veteran industry leaders from places such as Time Warner Cable and Pentagon Federal. The event also included numerous awards to RallyPoint members, including the first ever Member of the Year, which was awarded to SSG Robert Burns. The keynote speaker was Jeff Tice, a former F-16 Air Force pilot who was shot down in the 1991 Gulf War and held POW for 46 days.

References
  1. McGregor, Jean (12 Nov 2012). "New social network aims to help military members plan their careers". The Washington Post. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  2. Empson, Rip (13 Nov 2012). "Iraq Veterans Launch RallyPoint: A LinkedIn For The Military (And Life After)". TechCrunch. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  3. Landry, Lauren (16 Aug 2012). "Two Harvard Business School Grads Create RallyPoint: LinkedIn for the Military". StreetwiseMedia. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  4. Cruz, Victor (12 Nov 2012). "Iraq War Vets Have the Right Stuff: LinkedIn for the Military". Wired.com. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  5. Carlyle, Erin (2 Jan 2013). "Forbes Up And Comers: Joe Poulin, Cody Hopkins, Aaron Kletzing". Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  6. "RallyPoint, A Military Social Site, Adds LinkedIn Pioneer To Board". 24 February 2015. Retrieved 24 Mar 2015.
  7. "Veterans, active duty military, tap social media network for support". 2 Mar 2015. Retrieved 24 Mar 2015.
  8. "Harvard Business School Holds 16th Annual Business Plan Contest". HBS, Inc. 25 April 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  9. "2012 MassChallenge Winners". MassChallenge, Inc. 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  10. Landry, Lauren (18 Dec 2012). "RallyPoint Raises an Additional $1 Million from Angel Investors". StreetwiseMedia. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  11. Wagner, Kurt (1 Aug 2013). "Meet 3 serious LinkedIn imitators". CNN Money. Retrieved 14 Aug 2013.
  12. Alspach, Kyle (4 Nov 2013). "RallyPoint raises $5M as military networking site passes 100K members". Boston Business Journal. Retrieved 4 Nov 2013.
  13. Engel, Jeff (30 Dec 2015). "RallyPoint Networks, a LinkedIn for Military Vets, Adds $5M". Retrieved 25 Feb 2016.
  14. "Long Term Residents". Harvard Student Agencies. 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  15. Gallagher, Matt (2 October 2012). "Business Lessons from Iraq: Post-War Military Networking". Time Inc. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  16. Karol, Gabrielle (24 May 2013). "RallyPoint Aims to Connect Vets, Service Members with Jobs". Fox Business. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  17. Twomey, Matt (27 May 2013). "Jobs for Vets: RallyPoint, Others Put Sights on Ex-Military". CNBC. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  18. Adams, Susan (31 May 2013). "RallyPoint Wants To Be LinkedIn For The Military". Forbes. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  19. "Frequently Asked Questions". RallyPoint Networks Inc. 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  20. Burke, Adrienne (1 July 2013). "RallyPoint: Building a Social Network to get 2 million veterans back to work". Yahoo Small Business. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  21. Doyle, Alison (19 May 2013). "RallyPoint - Professional Networking for the Military". About.com. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  22. "The Harvard Business Plan Competition's Answer To Veteran Unemployment". TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. 1 August 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  23. Robson, Seth (12 November 2012). "Vets launch military-only networking site". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  24. "RPx Rallypoint: Military Networking Event". cbs46.com. 8 Aug 2014. Retrieved 28 Aug 2014.
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