Sugar Packet grabs $350K for Favortree: A community app for sharing goods and services

Favors…we all do them for each other. A new app coming out of Los Angeles called Favortree, from Sugar Packet, Inc., aims to turn the action into a game.

The company is co-founded by online community pioneer Micki Krimmel of Neighborgoods and Daniel Hengeveld. The duo are also behind LA Startup Club, helping entrepreneurs get the mentorship they need to get to the next level.

You can only pre-register for Favortree today, but the team gave TNW an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at what we can expect once the app goes live (click for larger size):

The funding comes from the Knight Foundation, and Sugar Packet is also getting some of the most well-known community names on board as well as advisors, Get Satisfaction co-founders Lane Becker and Thor Muller.

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Here’s what Krimmel had to say about the unique gamified favor experience will work:

Similar to Farmville, the more you help, the more your virtual tree grows. And the rewards extend beyond the virtual. Every time you help a neighbor, you are strengthening your local community.

The company says it plays in the arena of “Collaborative Consumption”, which has players such as Airbnb, Zimride and Getaround . By leveraging people you know through existing social networks, there are no limits to what you can collaborate on.

Here’s what Damian Thorman, Knight Foundation’s national program director had to say about its investment and Favortree’s possibilities for disruption:

Knight is interested in investing in breakthrough ideas that bring communities together to work on common challenges and opportunities. The simple act of sharing with the people who surround you can be a powerful step toward building trust and stronger communities. Favortree is a fun and easy way connect with neighbors and enable them to help one another.

The types of apps that seem to get the most traction lately are ones that let us do things that we can’t currently do on existing social networks. For example, Karma, which was purchased recently by Facebook, allowed you to send gifts to people that you’re friends with.

➤ Favortree