Betterfly, which launched into beta in May, provides consumers with detailed profiles of “Betterists” in more than 1,000 categories, from piano teachers to weight loss coaches to Spanish tutors to yoga instructors. Basically, the site lists any teacher can teach a self-improvement skill.

Users can search by more than 20 variables such as location, appointment availability, client reviews, friends’ recommendations and value. Instead of featuring a business, Betterfly lists the individual “Betterists, making the site more appealing service providers. For example, the site will list the actual hair stylists or personal trainers rather than salons or gyms they work for.

For providers, Betterfly provides customizable web pages where they can list qualifications and services, as well as the ability to post instructional videos and lesson plans, create blogs, and allow clients to make appointments on the site’s booking system.

Betterfly’s founder Joshua Schwadron says that he thought of the idea after he moved to New York a few years ago and wanted to find a local piano instructor and found it difficult to find a well-reviwed local instructor on sites like Yelp and Citysearch.

And Betterfly is steadily seeing traction with its service Since May, Betterfly has accumulated 100,000 users of the service. And the company just raised a round of funding from Chicago-based investment firm Lightbank.

Schwadron says that Betterfly has already attracted a wide range of high-quality “Betterists” such as Rebecca Brody, a dating specialist who appeared on MTV’s Made; Graziella Baratta, a former Miss United States 2008 and now offers fitness and dance instruction; and several PGA tour golfers who offer golf lessons.

The site is similar in theory to Seattle-based Teachstreet, which also focuses on connecting independent teachers with students. But Betterfly seems to provide a broader group os service providers such as hair stylists, fitness instructors and more.

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Authors: Leena Rao

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