14 DAY TRIAL // Q&A websites aren't exactly hot right now and the market is pretty well catered to. It's a big market, sure, but there are some great alternatives for most users. So, when a new Q&A site, Quora, (launched just a few months ago and still being in a rather limited private beta) gets $11 million from investors at an $86 million valuation, you know there must be something to it.
TechCrunch is reporting that the startup just closed its first founding round with Benchmark Capital leading it. The round has been confirmed by both the Quora and the venture capital firm, but they won't comment on the sum. A source close to the matter has provided the very interesting numbers, though. Other investors may still join the round.
The startup seems to have gotten a lot of interest from investors and the high valuation alone should be a signal that the site is definitely worth watching. Of course, high valuations and big money from investors haven't always translated into an actual success on the market for plenty of companies, so maybe it's too early to tell.
One reason why Quora is so hot at the moment is that the existing users are very excited about the product. Unlike plenty of sites out there, including most question-and-answer ones, there seems to be great emphasis on the quality of the answers. The answer threads are also more like conversations, with people usually discussing a topic rather than providing individual answers.
The site is in private beta and invitation-only, so it may be pretty hard to get one at this point. You can join the waiting list by providing an email and you'll be notified when Quora is ready for you. The site's creators are moving slowly for the moment, as they prefer keeping things small until they believe the site is ready for a wider audience.