Respondent: The Real Survey-Taking, Cash-Making Platform

We all face financial struggles in today's world. We might not want to say it but life is expensive right now and it can often feel like you’re playing catchup and we live in a world where every third add on your phone is about some sort of quick cash app, or every person on social media seems to have some quick fix to your money problems of you sign up for their thing or do this or that. So it can be hard not to want to try them, see if you’re that one lucky person, I get it. Heck, I’m recently out of college, and the debt. It hurts. It physically hurts. 

And…

If you’re like me, maybe you earned a few bucks before you got too bored or too frustrated or decided to move on to another app, but you weren’t that lucky person. 

So why am I telling you to sign up for another?

Well, because Respondent isn’t an app. It’s not some quick cash thing that’s popped up in the last few years. Respondent is a market-based research company that’s been around since 2015. Started by a young man named Jack who, like me, can’t stop learning and looking for more ways to make things just that little bit better than they are now. Jack saw a problem and built a solution. Today, Respondent is still a small company with a team of 100 people based in New York. They partner with businesses as large as Microsoft and Google and as small as the mom-and-pop shop you went to for coffee last week. Their goal, make it easier for companies to find people who want to make a difference by participating in projects and research in their community. 

Here’s an interview with Jack about Respondent’s Origins 

www.respondent.io

An Interview With Respondent's CEO and Co-Founder: Jack Pratten

We chatted with the man behind Respondent. Find out about Jack Pratten's upbringing, the making of Respondent, and what's in store for the future.

What do I love about Respondent?

Well, as a lifelong learner and someone who is always looking for new ways to serve, Respondent helped me streamline my connections with about half the work. It doesn’t pay my bills, and it probably never will, but I’ve met so many new people, found so many of the brands I now swear by, and learned so much through it. 

I found Respondent and started participating back when I was in high school, during which time both my health and COVID-19 kept me isolated in hospitals or my house. I was desperate for human connection and a way to make a difference and get involved, which was how I stumbled onto the platform. A few weeks after signing on, I partnered with a company that was looking to research one of the medical conditions I had. In this virtual Zoom group that ran for 8 weeks, I met 16 other people with the same condition, and 3 of them were around my age, and to this day, we are still friends. 

Being able to participate in the study was absolutely what got me hooked and yes the $30 a week for my attendance at the meeting and usage of their platform throughout the week helped, but knowing that I was helping to create someone that would not only be usable, accessible and desire by my community, but that I was doing it alongside others just like me was the most gratifying experience. 

In the 5 years since this study, I’ve continued to apply for projects through Respondent, and I’ve been able to work on some amazing ones, from focus groups to product trials and developments, to in-person events and engagement opportunities. As an individual, I love it, and as a business owner, the benefits are undeniable. I wouldn’t call it passive income, and if I were more consistent, I could probably make more money, but it's not about the money for me. It's about serving my community, about knowing that what I have to offer is actually going to make a difference. 

So I encourage you to check out the platform and to start making a difference in your community. 

Sign Up Here

And if that’s not enough, here’s a quick overview of how it works and some pros and cons I’ve encountered throughout the years. 

How it works:

Once you create your profile, you’ll get a dashboard of available projects in your area that you can filter through to find ones that interest you. At the top of your dashboard, you’ll have a handful that will be marked as your “Best match” options (I definitely recommend applying for these). Once you find one that interests you, you’ll click in and see the terms and conditions, and you’ll answer a handful of questions that will get sent to the company. 

If you are selected, you’ll get a notification on your dashboard with the contract and further steps from the company about how and when it's happening, payment, and so forth. At that point, Respondent is out of the equation because they’ve done their job and connected you, a verified participant, to the company, which has also been verified. 

Pros:

There is not a scam in sight or on site, because the companies have to get verified, you are safe as the participant, and everything is done under contract, so you’re also legally protected. 

The best match filtering program helps increase not only how much you can get paid, but also increases your chances of getting picked. 

The dashboard allows you to track each project you’ve applied to, so you know exactly what the return on your effort is. 

You get to make a difference. 

You get connected in your community. 

You are valued.

You usually get to keep anything the company sends you, and you usually get to keep access to any of the platforms you get access to for any study. 

Cons:

It's not a quick cash, quick fix solution, and it won’t pay your bills. It takes real and consistent effort to build a profile and show researchers that you are worth working with. 

Certain projects can be time-consuming to apply for, and you have to apply regularly to keep up an active profile. 

You can go months sometimes without getting selected, even if you are applying regularly. Sometimes there is simply a lull in projects, and this can get frustrating.