Successful Facebook Start-Ups That Go Beyond the Game App

NEW YORK (MainStreet) -- The so-called Facebook (FB) economy has allowed numerous startups to capitalize on the social media giant's success, but you don't necessarily have to create the next most-downloaded game app to build a business on Facebook's back.

What's more important is recognizing that when it comes to interacting with your friends and family it's not just about sharing photos, likes and status updates. From professional networking to consulting and education services, there may be no better way to position your startup than right in the middle of Facebook's 900-million user community. This growing cottage industry of companies is tailored to a person's social media presence, and without the proliferation of Facebook these businesses might not have existed in their present -- and successful, form.

Networking
"If you have a business that has a social component baked in on day one then Facebook is an incredible platform to tap into," says Rick Marini, CEO and founder of BranchOut. "What I mean by that is if you're product is enhanced by a community using it together."

BranchOut, essentially the LinkedIn (LNKD) of Facebook, is a networking service that allows Facebook users to connect with friends and family for professional reasons. In less than two years, BranchOut has reached 30 million registered users and a job board with over 3 million job posts.

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BranchOut is free for users, but makes money by charging companies and recruiters to post jobs.

The idea for BranchOut came to Marini after a friend was looking for a sales introduction to specific company. Marini couldn't remember which friend of his worked for the company (he has over 2,000 Facebook friends). He asked one of the engineers at his previous gig to build a widget that would show where all of his Facebook friends worked.

"Two years ago there were some people that were thinking I don't want to mix personal and professional. When you are the first mover in any market you're going to have to create awareness and educate the market. In January, I would say we hit that critical mass tipping point when enough people realized the power of BranchOut," Marini says.

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