Two Undergraduates Develop Online ‘Reputation Marketplace’

Stephen Malina ’15 and Matt Ritter ’15 worked with the Digital Arts Leadership and Innovation (DALI) Lab and the DEN Innovation Center to develop the first market-based platform for experts in different categories to be discovered. The two hope that Repcoin could become a network as successful as Venmo, Facebook, and other current social websites.

In November, Malina and Ritter presented Repcoin at The Pitch, sponsored by the DALI Lab and the DEN, before a live audience and a panel of judges. The two were the winners of the audience-choice award.

On Repcoin, people sign up as experts in various categories and investors give them “reps,” a virtual currency that increases their credibility in the arts, athletics and other fields and gives them a platform on which to be discovered. These investments can grow as experts gain experience. Eventually, Repcoin’s reputation scores will be displayed as badges next to users’ comments and content all over the web.

“Repcoin has the ability to fundamentally change how online interactions occur, with users gaining a legitimacy that is nonexistent in our current online experience,” Ritter says.