The person who could change your situation is usually two people away, and nobody in between has a reason to connect you. Mateus, a founder in São Paulo, has sent 40 cold emails to supermarket buyers in Mexico and heard nothing. Somebody in Monterrey knows exactly the right person, but would never know Mateus exists.
What exists and what is new
Closest: general bounty platforms and referral fees for jobs. Bounty sites pay for tasks done, and referral fees pay only when someone is hired. New: escrow tied to one specific outcome, a meeting that both sides confirm happened, with a double opt-in so the target is asked first and nobody is ambushed.
The data it runs on
The request itself (who you need and why, anonymised before it circulates), the connectors' own declared networks and past intro history, and the confirmations from both people after the meeting. No contact lists are uploaded and no target is contacted without a connector who personally knows them.
1. The mission
Make the right introduction a fair trade. People who open doors get paid for real outcomes, and anyone, anywhere, can reach the one person who matters, without spam and without the target ever feeling used.
2. Why people can't resist it
Skin in the game. Putting $300 down feels serious, and connectors take a serious request seriously.
Easy money for a favour you would do anyway. Connectors earn for a two-line message to someone they know.
No downside. If the meeting does not happen, the money comes back. Both sides confirming makes it feel safe.
3. How it works for real
Request: a frontier LLM (Claude or GPT via OpenRouter) turns the founder's notes into an anonymous brief, removes names and company, and screens out spam, harassment and personal-life requests.
Routing: embeddings over connectors' declared industries, cities and past intros pick who sees the brief; a fast cheap model (Gemini Flash or DeepSeek) translates it into the region's language.
Double opt-in: the connector messages the target personally. The target sees only the anonymous brief and says yes or no. Identities unlock only after yes.
Escrow: email login with a smart wallet, USDC on Base held in an escrow contract, gas sponsored. Release requires both confirmations; refund or keep-open on decline; disputes go to a human.
Scheduling: calendar links with time zones; confirmations are a one-tap prompt to both people after the meeting time.
4. Cost per use
Brief writing and screening: about $0.02. Routing and translation: about $0.01. Escrow deposit and release on Base: under $0.02 in gas, sponsored. A full bounty costs a solo builder well under $0.10 to run.
Free: post one bounty, browse the board, become a connector. Paid: Intro Bounty takes 10 percent of successful payouts only, nothing on refunds. Teams pay $29 per month for multiple open bounties and private connector pools.
5. Growth loop
Every bounty is shared into group chats and communities to find connectors ("Know someone in Mexican grocery procurement?"). Every target who said yes sees how it works and often posts a bounty of their own. Connectors who earn tell other well-connected friends.
Each connector keeps a reach map of the circles they can personally reach. Every Monday it fills with matching bounties, and each confirmed intro adds to their earnings and trust score, which unlocks bigger bounties the next week.
6. Risks and guardrails
Spam: one request per target per 90 days, connectors limited to 3 active intros, new connectors stake a small deposit, AI screens every brief.
Consent: the target is always asked first and can block categories forever. Names are never shared without both yes answers.
Fake meetings: both sides confirm separately, and the founder and target cannot be the same person or linked accounts.
Money: licensed on and off ramps, no custody by the app, clear refund rules. General information only, not financial advice.
7. MVP build order
Bounty form and anonymous brief generator.
Escrow contract on Base Sepolia with deposit, release on two confirmations, and refund.
Connector accept flow and target yes or no page.
Public board of open bounties with share links.
Connector reputation and the "while you were away" timeline.