SupportLocal, the latest innovation from serial entrepreneurs Justin Sanger and Aaron Lacheta, won't launch until early April, but is already garnering plenty of attention. Sanger and Lacheta have been in the local interactive space for fifteen years, together founding three companies.  Their last company, LocalLaunch, an award-winning local search platform for small business, which was based in Chicago was acquired by Denver based Dex One in 2006. SupportLocal could be their most successful venture yet. 

A "community to give and get local business recommendations from the people you know and trust," the platform is designed to change the way that people find local businesses.  By replicating the relationships and interactions that occur in the real world, the recommendations you receive come solely from your personal friends - and are therefore more reliable and accessible than, say, what you might find on Yelp or Google Reviews. 

Sanger and Lacheta researched the way that people interact with review sites, and found that most don't find value in the reviews on public sites or post them because they don't know who the audience is. "You're much more likely to share your opinion on something if you feel that you are helping your friends or family," says Sanger. SupportLocal is designed with the "two-way handshake" model - similar to friending people on Facebook, rather than the one-way follow of Twitter. 

The site demonstrates a high awareness of what consumers value and respond to, with a polished design and extremely user-friendly interface. Bringing together social and search, SupportLocal re-creates the real world "word of mouth" recommendations we all seek and use and puts it into an accessible space that can be referenced at any time. 

We're excited to see the launch of this Denver startup, and will continue to cover as it goes live! Here's a sneak peek at the site: 

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