Maestro Market Launches Online Platform to Connect People With Their Ideal Experts and Heroes

SAN FRANCISCO, CA and NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - Dec 10, 2012) -   Maestro Market, a unique and first of its kind platform that connects people with their ideal experts, or even heroes, today announced its official launch. The new platform facilitates a variety of engagements (e.g., in person, using Skype, via telephone, etc.) between talented experts and anyone interested in learning a skill, solving a problem, getting inspired, gifting an experience or indulging a desire. The experts span numerous categories including parenting, writing, women in business, social media, blogging, entrepreneurship and many more. The company is also announcing initial partnerships that will help to drive both supply of and demand for its growing list of maestros.

"Our book group was so thrilled for the opportunity to Skype with Meg Wolitzer about the latest book of hers that we read together, The Uncoupling," said Jennifer Von Wahlde of the Connecticut Book Club. "Meg is a captivating writer and an even more engaging conversationalist. During our Skype chat, not only was Meg open to answering all of our questions, but also she questioned us and made us feel like we were getting to know a new friend better. The entire experience is well worth repeating!"

"Direct access to experts who are profoundly accomplished in their field can be a powerful, educational and memorable experience. Maestro Market's experts are people you want to engage with and then apply their knowledge and experience to your everyday life," said Ian Shea, founder and CEO of Maestro Market. "We are excited about the launch and to make readily available the once-rare opportunity to connect with an expert. Our growing list of partners and categories promises to continually increase this unique access."

There are multiple ways that consumers, experts and partners can use the platform. 

• Consumers visit Maestro Market in search of experts who have specific offerings around their knowledge. Individuals can then book an existing offering or even reach out to the expert to suggest a customized experience. 
• Experts use the platform to share, monetize and market their knowledge, and to grow their audience in new ways. 
• Platform partners are able to expand brand awareness, create new revenue streams, and develop deeper levels of engagement within their online communities.

Maestro Market is introducing the first of a series of partners in the following categories and will be announcing many more in the coming months.

• Parenting - Mom's Choice Awards® is a US-based company with global reach that has among its honorees an esteemed panel of judges who are experts in the areas of education, family planning, parenting, child rearing and families with children of exceptional or special needs. The organization will have a branded partner page on MaestroMarket.com and partner tools on their site to help make matches directly within their community, which will greatly contribute to the list of available experts in the parenting category and beyond.
• Women In Business - Go Girl Finance, a site helping women take control of their financial well-being with a focus on budgeting, investing, finances, and career, is expanding the list of experts in and around women in business.
• Writing - Pubslush, a crowdsourcing platform for aspiring authors, is engaging Maestro Market to provide access to the experts who will help their community bring their book projects to fruition.

Maestro Market is also launching a series of unique gift guides just in time for the holidays and also for other special occasions. These carefully curated pages of experts cover numerous categories and include baby showers, gifts for mom, gifts for dad, gifts for grads, gifts for the budding entrepreneur, gifts for teens and many more.

The Maestro Market platform is based on what many are calling the sharing economy or collaborative consumption, which in its simplest terms extracts value out of something that people already have -- in this case that is talent and expertise. This economic model is built on sharing, swapping, bartering, trading or renting access to products or services as opposed to ownership.

About Maestro Market
Based in San Francisco with additional offices in New York City, Maestro Market is a unique and first-of-its-kind platform giving people the power to find and connect directly with their ideal experts, or even heroes -- to learn a skill, solve a problem, get inspired, gift an experience, or indulge a desire. The experts span a number of categories including parenting, writing, women in business, social media, blogging, entrepreneurship and many more. Experts use the platform to share, monetize and market their knowledge, and to grow their audience in new ways. Platform partners are able to expand brand awareness, create new revenue streams and develop deeper levels of engagement within their online communities. For more information or to find an ideal expert, visit http://www.maestromarket.com.

About The Mom's Choice Awards®
The Mom's Choice Awards® (MCA) evaluates products and services created for children and families. The program is globally recognized for establishing the benchmark of excellence in family-friendly media, products and services. The organization is based in the United States and has reviewed thousands of entries from more than 22 countries. For more information, visit http://www.momschoiceawards.com. 

About Pubslush
Pubslush is a publishing platform for authors to raise funds and gauge the audience for new book ideas, and for trendsetting readers to pledge their financial support to bring books to life. Through a publishing imprint, powered by readers, Pubslush acquires high potential books from the platform, and for every book sold, donates a children's book to a child in need. For more information, visit to http://www.pubslush.com.