Rapt.fm The Next Best Thing for Hip Hop . @Raptfm #Raptfm #OTSNY

If words can create momentum, then a group of local rappers say business tech companies in Detroit are on a roll. And one young CEO is betting on its success.

“We need to get user growth up. We need to seek more capital and we need to launch our product,” says 23-year-old Eric Torenberg, the creator and CEO of rapt.fm.

The Web site and social media experience is all about rhyming to the beat. “People go on for all sorts of reasons,” says Torenberg. “They want someone to rap with; they want to compete; they want to get noticed.”

The site is backed by Dan Gilbert’s Detroit Venture Partners and a startup accelerator program called Bizdom.

All of the company’s 10 employees based in the Madison Building are under the age of 25 and they have a ways to go before the site is live seven days a week. For now, live rap battles can be seen Mondays and Wednesday from 9 p.m. – midnight ET.

“We think it’s not only a place for the best rappers to come and find others, but for labels and people looking to invest in talent to come find talent on rapt.fm.”

More Online:
www.youtube.com/user/raptfm

Detroit Bizdom, the accelerator arm of Dan Gilbert’s Rock Ventures LLC companies, was one of the judges and was impressed by what it saw.

“We think that the business has huge opportunity,” said Ross Saunders, executive director of Bizdom. “We talk about needing three things: the jockey, the horse and the race.

“The jockey is the entrepreneur; the horse is the idea; and the race is the competitive arena. Well, we have a solid jockey and a solid horse. But the competitive arena hasn’t been tapped yet. It’s wide open.”

Based on what Bizdom saw at the Startup Weekend, it offered Rapt.fm a spot in its fall 2012 class. That meant $25,000 in seed money in exchange for an 8 percent stake in the company and work space in the Madison Building. It also meant Torenberg had to relocate to Detroit instead of returning home to New Jersey.

“My CTO is from West Coast; I’m from the East Coast,” Torenberg said. “But when we saw the Madison and the community behind it and the support, Detroit sounded perfect.

“It’s got such a hip-hop history and burgeoning tech future. This is bringing music and technology together.”

Right now Rapt.fm is hosting online rap battles twice a week — Monday and Wednesday nights from 9 p.m. to midnight – as it works through bugs and technology issues. Still, 1,500 users have logged in and about 60 percent return; one in five actually raps.

By the end of the summer, Torenberg hopes to be in a full beta stage where users aren’t facing bugs and every night features a competition.

“The game is still, we still have bugs,” he said. “We are working on stability and scalability. Our users have to refresh and wade through bugs, but they still come back.”

The company is currently bootstrapping itself by teaching freestyle rap workshops for local businesses and schools. It is seeking a $250,000 round of funding and is developing potential partnerships and collaborations.

Once the site is fully launched, Rapt.fm plans to be advertising and sponsorship supported.

Eventually, Torenberg believes they will consider a subscription model.

“In the beginning we don’t want to ask for money form the users,” he said. “So we would like to have sponsorships with, like Red Bull and other brands that support the arts and want to target young urban teens.”