Confused and frustrated with the obscurity, unreliability, and at times dicey job and networking opportunities of Craigslist; a college student collaborated with his peers to create a site that would meet the needs of students and professionals across various fields.
Tavares Fennell, a 27-year-old film student at Pierce College, wrestled with several ideas and concepts that would allow students working on class projects to connect with the proper people.
These thoughts culminated in the co-founding of Moofaces.com.
Fennell’s cinema teacher introduced the class to many websites where they could search for actors or models needed for class projects, but none that were to his liking.
“I thought to myself: what the heck, wouldn’t it be a lot easier if we could talk directly to the heads of theater departments or to the student actors at different schools?” said Fennell. “Such a connection would be more reliable compared to Craigslist.”
After testing the concept with smaller websites during the summer of 2007, Fennell and his team worked towards a more polished website: Moofaces.com.
Since its launch in 2010, the website has reached more than 5,000 users, working with such companies as MTV Networks and Reebok and celebrities like Brooke Hogan, Snoop Dogg and Russell Simmons.
Fennell and his team members, Ozlem Bilis, Brandon Gibson and Richard Maya, named the site after Moodle, a software package used by colleges and universities.
“I had a dream and thought it would be cool to use a play on words for the name of our site,” said Fennell.
Users of the site are able to connect and search people by their professions to help accomplish projects by matching their interests, capabilities and goals.
“Moofaces.com is a place where ‘who you know, matters’,” said Fennell. “It’s a place where creative arts students can seek assistance on their class projects and jobs; professionals don’t go to Craigslist or Facebook, they go to places where they can find people with experience and who they trust.”
To access the site, individuals have to create a username and password.
After gaining access, users have a plethora of options to explore.
Fennell is motivated by witnessing people utilize the site to network and advance in their careers.
“The site is not meant to be another Facebook or anything of the sort,” said Fennell. “It’s all about networking and helping people pursue their careers a little easier.”
