Dads are stereotypically quirky figures. So, what possessed three dads to leave big business and successful careers to form a fun, hip social platform? Really, it came down to a desire to do something greater.
“There’s a growing frustration with social media across the country. People are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with privacy violation, incessant ads, and unhealthy community,” explains Peter McClung, CEO of The Jump.
“It’s time we raise the standard, so we decided to build something better for our communities.”
Building a better platform for groups
While The Jump is still a young company, the multi-million dollar platform reflects the talent and vision of a veteran development and marketing team. Sports leagues, clubs, churches, performing arts groups, co-ops, schools and more are already leveraging the app to streamline communication, increase transparency, and foster healthy relationships. Soon, the American Heritage Girls—a youth organization—will join the platform, using it as its primary communication tool for all 50,000 members.
Here’s how The Jump works:
Given that The Jump is all about connecting groups of people, it makes sense that homeschool co-ops have been quick to recognize the app’s value. To learn how The Jump can help transform your co-op’s efficiency and community, read on.
Reason 1: reduce text and email clutter
As a former homeschooler myself, I used to be involved in a homeschool debate club. I remember moms in our club constantly communicating in massive group email and text chains, trying to coordinate club activities. It was an endless stream of messages and it was impossible to keep track of it all. It never failed, group leaders fielded the same questions over and over, messages were often missed, and various families fell through the cracks.
The Jump alleviates those traditional pain points, utilizing a social-media style platform. All of a sudden, group email and traditional messaging is replaced by a collaborative and organized solution. Members can post a question and anyone in the group can comment to help or ask questions. Messages are grouped and communication is clear—eliminating redundant questions and saving time.
Reason 2: helpful resources
Every group is different. On The Jump, co-op’s have a wide-range of resources and tools at their fingertips, making it easy to customize an experience that works for groups of all sizes and activities. Beyond standard features like direct messaging, photo sharing, videos, gifs and links, the app also provides tools for creating sign-ups, posting files, adding calendar events, podcasts, checklists, polls and more. Members can quickly create and share YouTube videos, favorite Amazon products and Spotify playlists, too.
With the app, parents can forego piecemeal programs like Eventbrite, Survey Monkey and GroupMe, in favor of a single platform that allows a community to bond in a single place.
Reason 3: no distractions
If you’re using a Facebook group to support your homeschool co-op, it’s a wonder that anyone can concentrate! Ads, notifications and a steady stream of posts are there to jockey for a user’s attention, the second they log onto the platform. That’s not an accident either. Facebook was designed to serve up content that sucks users in for as long as possible. As Facebook original President Sean Parker openly admitted, the network intends to “consume as much of your time and conscious attention as possible.”
In contrast, the user experience on The Jump is much cleaner. There’s no centralized feed, so users only see content specific to their co-op without being sucked down another rabbit hole. Furthermore, while The Jump will always be free to use, it’s completely ad free. If you want your co-op on a platform free of distractions, The Jump is your destination.
Reason 4: rely on a platform that values you first
Since advertisers pay social media companies billions of dollars to market on their platforms, social media is designed to cater to advertisers’ needs first. For the user, that means that Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and others programs mine every piece of user data imaginable and then sell it to advertisers. 
On The Jump, people are the first priority. Since the app is completely ad free, your data will never be sold out to the highest bidder and you won’t ever have to dodge predatory ads. The Jump’s goal is to support what you’re already doing in real life, all while respecting privacy and giving users the tools they need to build a healthy community.
If you’d like to learn more, check The Jump out at thejump.com or visit The Jump’s YouTube channel.
