Quintesocial comes to Portland
A new online social networking business creates personalized events calendars for busy boomers
Sarah Smith is social director of Quintesocial in Portland.
contributed photo
Sarah Smith loves finding fun things for people to do — “I’m an event junkie,” she says — so she’s a natural for her job with Quintesocial, a new online social networking service that connects Portland-area residents to local activities and events based on their interests.
Like trying new restaurants? Want to join a hiking group? Looking for volunteer opportunities? If you join Quintesocial (membership fee is $8.95 per month), Smith — the company’s social director for Portland — will scour the area for activities and events, then create a calendar of events tailored for you.
It’s her job, she says, “to look under every rock and cranny to find events that are fit for the membership.”
Quintesocial’s target market is the baby boomer population, Smith says.
“It serves a number of people — new empty nesters, people in transition with work, recently divorced or single, and people who are just feeling kind of stuck,” she says.
Quintesocial also saves its members time, she adds. “I tell you, I spend a lot of time looking for really unique offerings. They run the gamut from free to ticketed events … to be able to offer that wide a variety is really a benefit.”
Based in South Carolina, Quintesocial made its national debut in Portland on March 1, and it is scheduled to start in June in two other markets — Denver and Charlotte, N.C.
How did Portland become Quintesocial’s first market? “That would be me,” Smith says, explaining she moved here from South Carolina in 2000 and thus was tapped to launch the company after a friend developed the business software.
Here’s how Quintesocial works: New members sign into the website and create profiles of themselves outlining their interests. Then with a click of the computer mouse, they can view a personalized calendar of events based on their profile information.
In addition to compiling lists of events and activities, Smith creates members-only events — for example, group walks, a wine club, a lecture at the Portland Art Museum and special events at the Japanese Garden. Some Quintesocial events are open to the public; others are invitation-only events just for members.
In the future, members who travel to other Quintesocial markets will have access to those events as well, Smith says.
At the end of April, Quintesocial had about 100 members in the Portland area, which includes Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties and Clark County in Washington, Smith says.
She says members don’t have to worry about Quintesocial sharing profile information — it all stays in the network. “Me as your social director, I don’t even have access to it,” she adds.
Smith, 40, specialized in events management before joining Quintesocial — she interned with the Mt. Hood Jazz Festival in 2001, ran the Portland Jazz Festival, worked on bicycling events and started an event company.
She and her husband, who have two children, like the spontaneity that Quintesocial allows them. “What we find appealing is we schedule a sitter, and we can scan resources quickly to make fast plans,” she says.
Social contact
Website: Sign up and get more information at quintesocial.com.
Phone: Call Quintesocial toll-free at 1-888-558-1682.