Impossible.com

Impossible
Type of site
 Social network
Available in English
Owner I AM POSSIBLE Limited
Slogan(s) a global community here to help
Website community.impossible.com
Alexa rank 328,154 [1]
Commercial Yes
Registration Required for logon
Launched May 15, 2013 (2013-05-15) (beta)
Current status Active

Impossible is an altruism-based social network which invites people to give their services and skills away to help others.[2] The online venture was described by Vanity Fair magazine as a "commerce-free online community".[3] Created by Lily Cole, the site allows users to post something they would like to do or need so that others can grant their wish, creating a culture of giving.[4] As of May 2013, Cole presented the app's beta in conjunction and with the support of Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales at a special event at Cambridge University.[5] The site has since been launched in the UK and US.[6][7] It is the first Yunus social business in the UK.

Funding and support

The site received a grant of £200,000 from the Cabinet Office’s Innovation in Giving fund.[8][9][10][11] Other investors include Lily Cole herself and Kwamecorp founder Kwame Ferreira. Donations of services from Muhammad Yunus, Brian Boylan, chairman of Wolff Olins, Tom Uglow, creative director for Google’s Creative Lab, office space and "angel investor"[12] role from Jimmy Wales, and legal services from Herbert Smith Freehills have bolstered the social network.[13]

The site has operated at a loss throughout 2014 and 2015, as it disclosed posted losses of around £150,000 in 2014 and almost £250,000 in 2015.[14]

References

  1. ↑ "impossible.com info". alexa.com. Retrieved 15 Dec 2014.
  2. ↑ "From the catwalk to Cambridge... again: Lily Cole returns to university". London: Daily Mail. 2013-05-15. Retrieved 2013-06-10.
  3. ↑ Collins, Amy (April 2014). "Lily Cole on Her Commerce-Free Online Community, impossible.com". Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Impossible".
  5. ↑ Pithers, Ellie (2013-05-17). "Lily Cole debates the gift economy at the Cambridge Union". London: Telegraph.Co.Uk. Retrieved 2013-06-10.
  6. ↑ News, Richard Peckett, Metro World (11 March 2014). "Lily Cole on launching gift exchange site Impossible.com: 'Value not money'".
  7. ↑ "US Launch of *impossible* - Berkman Klein Center".
  8. ↑ Eady, Piers (2014-03-21). "Multi-millionaire supermodel Lily Cole given £200k of taxpayers’ money to set up gift exchange website". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 2015-01-04.
  9. ↑ Pithers, Ellie (2013-11-23). "Mission Impossible: Lily Cole's new social network". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2015-01-04.
  10. ↑ Orlowski, Andrew (2014-03-25). "Improbable: YOU gave model Lily Cole £200k for her Impossible.com whimsy-site". The Register. Retrieved 2015-01-04.
  11. ↑ Fiveash, Kelly (2013-11-26). "Supermodel Lily Cole in Impossible partnership with Jimbo Wales, YOU". The Register. Retrieved 2015-01-04.
  12. ↑ Zeitgeist Minds, presented by Google, Becky Anderson in conversation with Lily Cole, Model, Actress and Founder, impossible.com & Jimmy Wales, Founder, Wikipedia.org, 2012.
  13. ↑ "Mission Impossible: Lily Cole's new social network," The Telegraph, 23 Nov 2013.
  14. ↑ "GIRL ABOUT TOWN: Are three celebs seeing their business bubbles burst?".
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