This July, I interviewed Beatrice Zatorska, the co-founder and CEO of Smart Tribe. Beatrice is based in London, but Smart Tribe is a global platform that has users from multiple countries. Smart Tribe is a new online platform that helps connect individuals in academia and industry professionals. The goal of Smart Tribe is to unleash science by matching talent and technology. By making connections between different individuals, Smart Tribe can help with networking, problem solving, job hunting, academic and industry partnerships, launching new technologies, and more.
Can you tell me about yourself and why you started Smart Tribe?
Beatrice co-founded Smart Tribe with Kris Jack. Although they have different backgrounds, they represent both the academics and industry professionals that are using their new platform. Beatrice has 20 years in industry working as a management consultant. She specialized in working with emerging technologies which often came from scientific research. Kris represents the academic side and holds a PhD in computer science. He previously worked as the chief data scientist for Mendeley and Elsevier.
Beatrice and Kris started Smart Tribe to bring together people from different backgrounds and ultimately offer a way to find unique solutions to new problems. Original and outside perspectives from either academia or industry can be extremely beneficial when launching a new project, networking, or developing novel tech. Smart Tribe connects users from across the globe using a specifically designed AI that matches people based on their goals and interests.
Together, Beatrice and Kris developed Smart Tribe to foster communication and collaboration between those in academia and people working in different industry sectors. Their goal is to unleash science, solve problems, and better the world by making meaningful connections.
What is Smart Tribe and how does Smart Tribe work?
Smart Tribe is an online platform which makes smart introductions between academics and industry personnel. People from either sector can join and create a free profile at https://smarttribe.io/. As a user, you can create a bio and share your goals and needs. Each month you can elect to be connected with another user, and Smart Tribe uses an innovative AI to match you with a new connection. Smart Tribe allows you to connect with other users based off your interests. It can be used for networking, learning about different industries, problem solving, consulting, and more.
What can Smart Tribe offer users?
One of the benefits of Smart Tribe is that is has global reach. Currently, many academics and industry professionals work in silos, and their network is usually limited to others in their field. Additionally, their network is often geographically limited to those in their workplace or surrounding area. With Smart Tribe, people from across countries and continents can connect with each other and find a way to tap into the exciting science coming out of different sectors.
One thing Smart Tribe can be used for is networking and job hunting. Currently, there are not enough academic jobs for the amount of PhDs academia produces. Smart Tribe is a useful tool for those PhDs looking to transition into industry. Most people find jobs through their network, so Smart Tribe can help academics increase their professional network. It is also a great tool for academics who want to learn more about different industry positions and roles.
Smart Tribe can be useful for industry professionals looking for expert consultants or academic scientists. Industry personnel can find academic experts in specific topics, hire them as consultants, and build partnerships. Expert consultants can provide valuable skills and assist with different projects. With this platform, consultants can come from all over the globe from different fields. Academics can offer unique insight and guidance to different problems. Additionally, using Smart Tribe is a great way to tap into the exciting and novel science coming out of academia. People are no longer bound to their local networks, and can discover new science coming out of different parts of the world.
On the other hand, academics may be able to find industry partners. This can help academics looking to find outside funding, commercialize tech, or launch new products. Scientists within the university setting may not have access to proper resources or have their own business or become entrepreneurs. They can use Smart Tribe to find industry professionals to assist them with things such as finding investors, launching new technology, management, and more.
What are the goals of the company going forward?
Since Smart Tribe is a relatively new platform, it is still expanding. Each month, the platform grows by thousands of users from the Unites States, United Kingdom, Europe, and more. There will also be new features coming out in the near future. Going forward, the company wants to understand more about the interactions and connections taking place on Smart Tribe and what users are getting out of these. Additionally, Smart Tribe is putting out some free webinars on different topics such as the importance of social skills in industry and entrepreneurship.
Smart Tribe is already a great resource for keeping on top of the latest research and can allow you to meet experts in different fields. The global reach of the platform also enables you to expand your network and meet people from across the globe. Despite being relatively new, people are already making connections and transforming the way we talk about science with Smart Tribe. By using an innovative approach to connect individuals, Smart Tribe is not just an algorithm, but instead a passionate and innovative community.