The Flip Side

The Flip Side is on a mission to bridge the gap between liberals and conservatives.

Every day, our editorial team combs through dozens of sources – left, right, and center. We focus on one topic and select the most thoughtful and well-articulated pieces to highlight each morning in a 5-minute curated email.

While our newsletter is already making a tangible difference in people’s lives – helping them understand and connect with family, friends, or coworkers with whom they disagree – we always knew it was just the first step. 

We’ve spent the past year researching and speaking with engineers, designers, academics, and community moderators about how best to design an online community where meaningful discussions can take place. 

Our newly launched TFS Forum uses human-centered design and a custom ranking algorithm to reward thoughtfulness and bipartisanship, rather than trolling or clickbait. Pioneering a new approach to news and user-generated content, we will not be ‘just’ another platform, but rather curators of content and conversations. 

A less divided future begins with all of us getting on the same page – literally. 

Google has organized the world’s information, but information without context is turning us all into blind men describing an elephant

And then of course there’s cable news and the latest viral news story on social media

In an oversaturated and partisan media environment, we’re either making incomplete, biased choices about what news to consume ourselves, or we’re allowing tech platforms to choose our news for us based on their own values and algorithms. 

Big tech’s algorithms are great when it comes to deciding which TV show to watch next, or what recipe to make next weekend for dinner with friends. But when it comes to understanding the war in Ukraine, the Fed’s dual mandate, or new immigration policies… we think you deserve better.

If Google News, Facebook Groups, and Reddit got together to create a new platform, it would be The Flip Side

These platforms together quench our thirst for knowledge and social interaction. Each is great at what they do, which has made them highly successful. In fact, we at The Flip Side use them all the time! But we would never rely on any of them alone to get the full picture of our nation’s most pressing issues. Each is missing a core element. 

Google News doesn’t provide enough context or a way to connect with others. (After all, what is politics without our fellow citizens?) And Facebook and Reddit fail to provide any context at all and fall short on moderation.

A new way to keep up with and talk politics

Our newsletter provides both sides of the most important current issues. In a free daily email, our nearly quarter million subscribers get the most thoughtful points from the left, right, and in-between, pulled from across 30+ news sources and painstakingly agreed upon by our team of lefties and righties to ensure equal-bias and content accuracy. 

And now with the introduction of our new forum, we’re no longer limited to the media's talking points of the day. In TFS Forum we can ALL be a part of the conversation. Our new premium membership, which gives readers access to the forum and exclusive content, is for anyone who enjoys thoughtful, nuanced discussions.

Why TFS Forum is unlike anything else

• We focus on one new topic a day
• We begin with a summary of liberal and conservative viewpoints both sides can trust
• Our team includes conversation prompts that nudge community members to share their knowledge and unique perspectives
• We're building a custom ranking algorithm and reputation system to incentivize and prioritize thoughtfulness and bipartisanship
• We have a bipartisan team of moderators, and make all moderator actions public

Our premium members agree

“There's so much good conversation going on here, I don't know where to jump in”

“I'm impressed by the thoughtful intellectual comments”

“I like all the suggestions on what makes a good post, and people seem to be using them. I even liked the prompt I got suggesting my post was too long so I edited it.”

“Very impressed with the moderation and discussions so far”

“I am so excited that you have implemented this Forum! I’ve been using it for the past few weeks, and it’s truly wonderful to be able to have these reasoned discussions with others who are as passionate about improving our systems as I am.”

From free to premium

Our new premium membership gives readers:

• The Flip Side daily newsletter, ad-free!
• The Week-in-Review every Saturday, which summarizes the past week’s editions to save even more time
• The Deep Dive every other Sunday, which covers a topic in-depth
• And of course, full access to TFS Forum

We have over 237,000 subscribers across all 50 states, the majority of whom are college-educated and represent the full spectrum of the active voter base:

This is their morning routine today:

1) Wake up

2) Get coffee

3) Open TFS newsletter

4) Read our curated content

5) Raise fist in annoyance / agreement / anger

With the launch of TFS Forum, we’re deepening this routine:

6) Click on Forum button

7) Engage in thoughtful discussion

8) Feel calmer and more hopeful

We’re one step closer to achieving both improved political discourse and a sustainable business model

We were already generating $11-14k in monthly revenue from premium memberships and sponsored ads before introducing TFS Forum. Many of our current readers are excited about this next phase, and can't wait to sign up for premium membership as rollout continues. 

Starting in Q1 2023, we’ll also begin targeted outreach to:

• New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and National Review subscribers
• Forums where debates are taking place today such as Reddit’s ChangeMyView, Intelligence Squared, and Kialo
• Political and advocacy organizations
• High school and college campuses
• Civic groups such as Braver Angels, Citizen University, and Living Room Conversations

The era of horizontal networks is ending. The future is niche

Google, Facebook, and Reddit are catering to too many use cases and needs, and Twitter’s fate is uncertain. Just as there are libraries, coffee shops, concert halls, bars, and restaurants in the ‘real world’, there are now different digital venues for different kinds of social gatherings and interactions. This is a pivotal moment in the market and larger zeitgeist, as millennials and gen Z are finally ready to move beyond the big platforms.

The time is right for teams with large and engaged audiences to capitalize on these trends and build vertical networks

We're launching a B2B tool in 2023. Our goal is to become the platform of choice for legislators, educators, and civic groups to solicit thoughts and feedback from their constituents, students, and members.

Interest in politics is at a high point, yet there is no efficient and (let’s be real) good-looking tool for elected officials to engage with their constituents, or for educators to provide students with a 360-degree view of the news and debates of the day. 

What we're hearing when we check in with our readers:

“I'm Congressman Blake Moore from UT-01 (freshman term) and I (a) appreciate your publication, and (b) recommend it to folks during townhalls frequently. Keep it up!”

“I work in state government and my office sometimes shares the flip side so we know what to expect from constituents. So, thank you!”

“I use this for my Civics and Constitutional Law course. The Flip Side does not only meet, but goes beyond expectations. Thank you!”

“I teach Government to 11th & 12th graders and it’s my go to for their current event evaluations. Keep it up.”

“I teach principles of organizational communication and interpersonal communication to young military officers and I like to use the Flip Side to discuss audience attitudes toward various news topics. It’s very useful and it’s a nice, quick read of different sentiments.”

The B2B tool, launching at the next election cycle, will be the basis for massive organic growth and new revenue models including hosting ticketed debates, conferences, and workshops.

We’re raising a $1M seed round so we can:

• Expand our team and operations: Editorial Assistant, Designer, Community Manager, B2B Outreach Coordinator
• Invest in product and UX design, marketing, and business development

• Grow to 500,000 newsletter subscribers and 12,000 premium members in the next 6 months → $1.4 million ARR*
• Grow to 3,000,000 newsletter subscribers and 100,000 premium members in the next 24 months → $12 million ARR*
• Reboot and reimagine online communities for everyone

We need people like you – who recognize and value the importance of this work – to join us on this journey, creating positive change while making money along the way.

*Forward-looking projections cannot be guaranteed.

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