“I enjoy building things where people can come together to solve problems,” says Sarah. “I like to find situations where I can be part of a team and have a positive impact, which is another way of talking about communities. I’m always looking for ways to further people’s connections to other people.”
In her first full-time job after Harvard, Sarah joined one of the biggest technology teams out there – Microsoft – where she became a product manager for the Microsoft Office. Leaving that post for business school, she was ready after graduation for the online wave, leading the product and marketing teams for Epinions, Inc., the pioneering consumer reviews and rating service (which later became Shopping.com before being acquired by eBay in 2005). “Epinions had a really big idea,” she affirms. “For me, it was interesting to see how the Web dramatically changed who could publish to a large audience. With Epinions, anyone could write a review and have it read by millions of people.”
The notion that anyone could have a voice online seemed like “crazy talk” in 1999, laughs Sarah, but has since become an integral part of Internet use, as evidenced by the exponential growth of blogs, YouTube, Yelp, social networking sites, and other forms of online expression. “Over the last 12 years,” she continues, “online communities have become more pervasive and representative of our real life communities. On Epinions anyone could go online and offer their opinions to strangers. At Nextdoor, we want to use technology to bring back a sense of community to the local neighborhood, one of the most important communities in our lives.”
Nextdoor.com is Sarah’s new focus – an online website where people can create private social networks for their own neighborhood. “Nextdoor is a natural progression of online communities,” she explains. “Thanks to technology, we’re connected to many more people now. But most people still only know a few people on their block. Many feel disconnected from their local community on a daily basis and feel they are at a disadvantage in times of crisis. We saw that as an opportunity for innovation. Why can’t technology be used to connect you with the people who live right next door?”
As co-founder and vice president of marketing for Nextdoor.com, Sarah says the company has created an easy, secure way for neighbors to connect and communicate with each other in a trusted environment. “All neighbors must verify their home address before they can join and view any information on a Nextdoor neighborhood website,” Sarah highlights, “This helps neighbors feel comfortable sharing information with each other.”
Although the company has just launched, response thus far suggests that Nextdoor.com is meeting a real need. Hundreds of neighborhoods in 26 states have already launched Nextdoor and are finding innumerable ways to use it, from listing things they want to sell to seeking recommendations for reliable landscapers and contractors, and from finding babysitters to looking for a lost pet. Most importantly, Sarah stresses, Nextdoor is making it easier for people to get to know each other.
“We are using online technology to connect neighbors so they can come together to improve their neighborhood in the real world,” she says. “We want to bring back a sense of community to the neighborhood and improve people’s lives.” After all, she points out, “The best social networks mirror the best ways we connect in real life.”
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