Crainstorm is a crowd-sourced brainstorming tool. Enter our virtual brainstorm room and meet face-to-face with a community of marketers, entrepreneurs and creators.

There are two ways to use Crainstorm: as a host, you can focus test or request ideas and as a contributor, you can get paid to produce ideas or feedback

Using Crainstorm as
a Host

Crainstorm helps businesses gather ideas and input quickly and affordably. You can schedule a virtual brainstorm or focus test in a matter of days – not weeks. Select your contributors from a list of applicants, and you can get feedback with a budget of a few hundred dollars instead of thousands of dollars.

How to Host

Using Crainstorm as
a Contributor

As a contributor, you can get paid to generate ideas or provide feedback to hosts. Browse upcoming Crainstorm sessions and apply for the ones that interest you. Once confirmed, complete any pre-work then meet with the host and fellow contributors face-to-face in our
virtual brainstorm room.

How to Contribute

Get started with hosting

Sign up to create a new account. Fill in the mandatory fields to complete registration.

If you’d like to use Crainstorm to gather ideas or feedback for yourself or your business, start by setting up a virtual brainstorm. Log in and click on Host a Brainstorm, then fill out the Logistics: Title, date, time, duration, timezone, maximum number of contributors and budget (Learn how Crainstorm pricing works). 

Next, fill out the Brainstorm Details: Description of what you’d like to achieve in your brainstorm session, relevant background information and reference materials.

Click Create to post your brainstorm to Crainstorm. You’ll be asked to provide a credit card to fund the brainstorm with the budget you set. Once funded, you can wait for users to apply, or you can click on the Invite Contributors button to invite popular users to apply for your brainstorm. 

Get tips on hosting successful brainstorms.

Once you’ve created your brainstorm, you can edit the Brainstorm Details by logging into your account, clicking on My Brainstorms, and then Brainstorms I’m Hosting. You can also click on the Invite Contributors button to invite popular users to apply for your brainstorm.

You cannot edit brainstorm Logistics once you’ve scheduled your brainstorm. If you can no longer host your brainstorm at the scheduled time, cancel your session and create a new one. You won’t be charged for cancelling a brainstorm before it happens.

Contributors may now apply for your brainstorm session – you’ll receive an email notification when they do. It’s up to you to log into your Crainstorm account to Confirm or Decline their application.

You can also invite popular users to apply for your brainstorm – click on the Invite Contributors button on your brainstorm’s event details page. We’ll email these users to let them know they’ve been invited to attend your brainstorm.

Get tips on choosing contributors.

When it’s time for your brainstorm to take place, log into your account, click on My Brainstorms, and then Brainstorms I’m Hosting. You’ll see the Brainstorm Room button next to your session is now active. You can enter the virtual brainstorm room up to 15 minutes before the scheduled start time. Use this time to make sure your camera and microphone are working correctly.

Once you’re in the virtual brainstorm room, you’ll see video of all participants on the left. You will also have a shared whiteboard that you can use to post images, doodles, text or sticky notes. Use the shares Notes/Ideas area at the bottom to log ideas. Use the Reference Files area to upload documents to share with the group. To share your screen with the group, click on the screen sharing icon under your video.

As the host, you can remove anyone from the brainstorm room within the first 10 minutes of the session. The removed individual will not be paid.

You’ll have the opportunity to review your brainstorm contributors as soon as your brainstorm ends. Please take the time to do this – your feedback helps others find quality brainstormers in the Crainstorm community.

When you schedule a new brainstorm, your payment method is charged the amount of money you set for your brainstorm budget. These funds are held in escrow with Stripe. Once your brainstorm is complete, Crainstorm keeps 25% of the funds for service fees and the remainder is split amongst your brainstorm contributors. Funds are automatically released to contributors’ PayPal accounts following the brainstorm.

If you had to remove a contributor from your brainstorm, they will not be paid. Instead, their payment will be split by the remaining contributors.

Learn how Crainstorm pricing works.

Learn how Crainstorm pricing works

Get started with contributing

Create a new account. You need to fill in the mandatory fields to complete registration, but it’s a good idea to fill in the optional fields too. That way, when you apply for brainstorms, hosts can get to know you better.

To start participating in brainstorms and getting paid for your ideas, login and click on Apply for Brainstorms. Scroll and search upcoming sessions that are currently hiring contributors. Check this page regularly, as new brainstorms are posted all the time.

Learn how Crainstorm pricing works.

When you see a brainstorm that you’d like to contribute to, click Apply and provide a note to the host explaining why you’d be a good fit for the brainstorm. The host will be notified that you’ve applied for the brainstorm, and they can Confirm or Decline your application.

Learn more about contributing to brainstorms on Crainstorm.

If the brainstorm host accepts your application for their brainstorm session, you’ll receive an email notification. Log into Crainstorm, click on My Brainstorms and then Brainstorms I’m Attending to view the brainstorm details. Be sure to read the project background and view any reference files the host provided.

When it’s time for your brainstorm to take place, log into your account, click on My Brainstorms, and then Brainstorms I’m Attending. You’ll see the Brainstorm Room button next to your session is now active. You can enter the virtual brainstorm room up to 15 minutes before the scheduled start time. Arrive early to make sure your camera and microphone are working correctly.

Once you’re in the virtual brainstorm room, you’ll see video of the host and any fellow contributors on the left. You will also have a shared whiteboard that you can use to post images, doodles, text or sticky notes. Use the shares Notes/Ideas area at the bottom to log ideas. To share your screen with the group, click on the screen sharing icon under your video.

The host can remove anyone from the brainstorm room within the first 10 minutes of the session. The removed individual will not be paid, and instead, their payment will be shared by the remaining contributors.

Learn more about coming up with ideas in brainstorms.

You’ll have the opportunity to review the host as soon as your brainstorm ends. Please take the time to do this – your feedback helps others find quality brainstorm hosts in the Crainstorm community.

When you set up your account / are accepted for a brainstorm, you’ll be asked to provide your PayPal credentials. The email associated with your PayPal account needs to be the same email associated with your Crainstorm account. Following the brainstorm, the funds will automatically be deposited into your account. This process can take up to 24 hours.

If the host removed you from their brainstorm, you will not be paid.