This Week’s Best In Beta

Which startup is going to be the next big thing? Investors, bloggers, job seekers, and inspiring entrepreneurs everywhere are dying to know. Hundreds of startups enter private beta each month, and that’s far too many for any one person to keep up with. Fret not! Each week, I share some of the hottest new startups in this column, Best In Beta. Let’s discover the next big thing together!

Truthly

Let those who have time for games send each other disappearing messages, titillating photos, etc. I barely had time for such horseplay in high school, and definitely have no room for those distractions in my adult life – it’s hard enough to keep up with legitimate, personal and professional interactions. Thanks, but no thanks. I’m far more interested in constructive exchanges, making real progress in my development as a human being.

Friends and family, coworkers – people in our closest circles – help us learn about ourselves and grow our character. Trouble is, because we care for each other (and care deeply about maintaining good relationships), we often find it difficult to tell one another the hard truths we’d be better off by hearing.

Tough love is, well… tough to give, isn’t it?

For example, we’ve all been in bad relationships or seen people we love in bad relationships. It’s impossible in these situations to tell someone what we really think about a bum partner, because we know if the relationship lasts, we’ll be the one on the outside. Yet, given our shared history and intimate knowledge of each other, we’re the ones best positioned to prevent heartbreak. What to do?

Truthly is a mobile app that makes it possible to hear the truth from the good folk previously mentioned who are in the best position to tell it like it is. How? By sending anonymous messages.

Connect with both your phone and Facebook contacts on Truthly, and start sharing withheld feedback. Solicit anonymous advice or speak your mind when you feel the urge – without fear of damaging bonds.

This is a great arrangement. The anonymous thoughts of familiar people carry more weight than the opinions of strangers. At the same time, anonymity eliminates the risks that come with speaking potentially hurtful truths.

Without boring the crowd with personal details, I can think of one disastrous event in my life (cough, previous marriage, cough) that might have been averted if information I learned too late from just about everyone had been given to me beforehand. Truthly would have been the perfect vehicle for this to happen.

Want a way to communicate more freely with your closest friends and family without straining your relationships? Truthly is in private beta at the moment. Sign up to be among the first to use this anonymous feedback tool at truthlyapp.me.

Photo Credits

Truthly