Local businesses, helping local businesses.
A free network for verified Marion businesses. Announce events and offers. Co-host events. Trade pop-up space. Built in Marion, for Marionites.
No platforms. No algorithms. No spam. Just real local businesses doing what they already do informally — but with a tool built for it.
The opposite of every "local business platform" you've been pitched.
We're not chasing scale. We're not selling ads. We're not hoarding your customers' data. The consortium is small, closed, and built for the kind of give-and-take that local businesses already do informally.
- Not Yelp. No customer review aggregation. Your reputation isn't our product.
- Not Nextdoor. No public posts, no community feed, no neighborhood drama.
- Not Facebook Marketplace. Members coordinate with each other. Customers come through your existing channels.
- Not a SaaS lock-in. Free at launch for verified members. Cancel any time. Your customer list never leaves your control.
- Not for everyone. Verified local businesses only, by application. We're slow on purpose.
What's free now, what's coming.
The Consortium starts free for verified Marion businesses, full stop. As we add deeper features over time, those will live in paid tiers. Founding cohort members never pay for what's free today.
What's included now
Promo board, shared events, pop-up swaps, custom QR codes, daily digest, AI next-move suggestions. Verified members only, ~15-mile radius from downtown Marion. Apply below.
What we're building
Quarterly in-person events at a Marion gathering space. Renovation project coordination. Expanded verification tiers. Deeper Blobfish dashboard integration for clients. Pricing TBD.
Your free tier never sunsets
Everything in the "today" card stays free for founding members forever. New paid features will be optional add-ons, never a forced upgrade. The free tier never sunsets.
An entire network. One tab.
Mobile-first. No app to install.
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🎯
Promo board
Offer a discount, free trial, or bonus. Other members accept and forward to their customers.
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📅
Shared events
Broadcast an event. Other members opt in to amplify it to their own audience.
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🔄
Pop-up swaps
Trade space and time, bilaterally. Yoga in their tasting room. Pop-up market in your parking lot.
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🔲
Custom QR codes
Real, scannable, with Blobby in the center. Auto-tracks redemptions when scanned — no manual count.
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⚖️
Reciprocity bar
Gives vs. receives, gently visible. Never enforced. Members balance it because they want to.
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📬
Daily Digest email
One 8am summary of everything that happened. Or real-time. Or none. You pick.
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💡
AI "next move"
One suggestion a day, based on what you said you can offer. The kind of nudge a smart assistant gives you.
Open it like a small-town newspaper.
We get it. You're busy. You don't have time to check the Consortium every single day. That's why we created the Daily Digest: every morning at 8, we send you a single email with everything that matters — who's asked you for something, what other members are doing, and the day's best move. Read it, act in one tap, close it.
Four steps. Then you're in.
Apply
60-second form below. Tell us who you are and where your business is.
We review + call
Within 1–2 business days, we review your application and call to verify identity. Real conversation, not a form-letter response.
You're in
Magic-link login. A pixel-art blobfish named Blobby walks you through setup in about 90 seconds.
Send your first thing
Pick a template, send a promo or event to other members, and your network is live. The first acceptance feels great.
Join the founding cohort.
Tell us about your business. We'll review and call within 1–2 business days. No commitment, no contract — if it's not a fit either way, we'll say so politely.
What people usually ask.
What does "verified" actually mean?
Real business, real local address, owner-operator answers when we call. We talk to every applicant personally before approval — no automated checks at launch. The point is that every other member knows you're real, because we did.
Is it really free?
Yes. The free tier is real and never sunsets — founding-cohort members are locked in for life. We'll add paid tiers later for deeper features (in-person events, renovation coordination, expanded integrations), but those are optional add-ons, never replacements for what's free today.
Why not just use Facebook or Instagram?
Because those platforms aren't built for cross-business coordination. Their algorithms don't care if your customers find your partners — they only care about your spend. The consortium is built specifically for the give-and-take that local businesses already do informally.
How small is too small?
If you have customers, you're big enough. Solo operators welcome. The consortium is shaped for the one-person-with-twelve-jobs kind of operation as much as for businesses with staff.
What's the time commitment?
Zero required. You set notification preferences during onboarding — daily digest, real-time, or off. Some members log in daily, some weekly. The consortium works at your pace, not the other way around.
Do I have to be a Blobfish Systems client to join?
No. The consortium is open to any verified local business, whether or not Blobfish builds your software. Existing Blobfish-build clients (like The Harding Centre) get the same membership, just integrated more deeply into their custom dashboard later.
Where does my data live?
Your customer/audience list never leaves your control. The consortium platform never asks for your contacts. When you accept an offer, we generate the message text — you send it through your own channels (SMS, email, whatever). That's it.
What if a partner doesn't deliver on a promo?
Tell us. The verified-only structure exists exactly to prevent this kind of thing — every member is real, vouched-for, and accountable to each other. Repeat issues mean we have a conversation; serious issues mean a member loses access.
When is the launch?
Founding cohort enrolling now. Once we have ~10 verified Marion businesses signed up, we open the dashboard. If you apply today, you'll be among the first members.
Ready to find out who else is in?
The verification call is the easiest sales call you'll ever have. We're not selling — we're meeting you.
Apply for membership →