There’s a platform that I feel everyone should be using: Avontage.

Let me tell you why: Avontage is a software platform for local businesses to come in, connect, collaborate, trade, and barter your services. Read this snippet from their about us page:

We are a local software company aiming to democratize local business marketing. The way we’re doing that is by building a local community platform where our members can collaborate, sell or exchange their services, gain each other as customers, and help grow their businesses while saving money.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B7t3I12AwG2/

Who doesn’t love bartering services?

You can find other like-minded people with whom to trade services. Are you a freelancer? During your slow season, you can put up offers for Avontage bucks. Using those Avontage bucks, you can get other services, such as facials, massages or even experiences.

I sat down with Sean, the founder of Avontage, to talk more about his platform and how one can use this software to benefit one’s services.

Hi, everyone. I am here with Sean from Avontage, and we’re going to be learning more about his platform. Sean, can you tell us more about Avontage?

Sean: Sure. Avontage is a software platform for local businesses to come in, connect, collaborate, trade, and barter your services. It’s a place where you join, post your offers and use your excess capacities – meaning your slow times, unbooked hours, and empty seats – and turn them into value by connecting with other business owners in an effort to grow your business without spending any money.

Okay. Can you tell us more about yourself, your background, and how you got started?

Sean: Sure. I’m a software engineer and an ASU computer science grad, so technology has always been one of my passions, and I am always looking for ways to solve problems. I came up with the idea for Avontage because, when I was growing my first business, I was trading and exchanging my services with other business owners in the community, and it was a behavior that I realized existed amongst a lot of the local small business owners. We always tended to want to trade services. I thought, “There has to be a platform, a trusted community, where business owners can trade their excess capacities to connect and grow their business without spending money.” That’s how I came up with the idea, and we launched it last year.

How would you say businesses can benefit from using your platform?

Sean: Any local service business looking to grow or launch typically has slow times, empty seats, and non-booked hours, and in a typical scenario, they are going to waste. On our platform, you actually come in and post an offer, and you use those empty seats or unbooked hours – what we call excess capacities – to trade with other services and help you grow your business, very similar to Airbnb and Uber, where they took empty rooms and empty cars and turned them into value for the owners. We’re taking that excess capacity – those empty time slots – and we turn them into value for the business owner to help them grow their business.

Are there any upcoming projects you see?

Sean: Sure. 2020 is actually an exciting year for us. Our mobile apps are in the app stores now, both for Android and iPhone, so everyone – when you get a chance, go download them. This was an exciting launch at the beginning of the year for us. We feel like it is going to help with engagement and help our users utilize the platform more often.

The next thing is building our team, growing the company, and focusing on providing even more value for our individual members in the Phoenix metropolitan area.

Besides Phoenix, what other markets do you hope to expand to in the future?

Sean: Phoenix was our launch market, being this is our home… Phoenix, Scottsdale, East Valley… and we’ve grown to over 1000 members so far. Once we hit around 4000-5000 businesses here, we’re looking at Las Vegas, Portland, Salt Lake City, and Seattle to be our next markets. Eventually, hopefully, nationwide all over the U.S.

Okay. Perfect. Thank you so much, Sean, for sitting down with me and telling me more about Avontage.

Sean: Thanks, Demi.

I highly recommend this platform as I have gotten golf lessons and done escape rooms. If you sign up and post 2 offers, you will receive 200 Avontage bucks – also, bonus points if you can mention that I referred you so I can receive some bucks as well!

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