The Company:

Barter Planet is a free online community where people can trade items, services, and knowledge, network with other members with similar interests, and build their own barter circles to connect both online and offline.  In essence, Barter Planet is a portal for what we each offer to this world and what we each need to live a better life. 

We believe that bartering is one key component to help bring stability during these times of economic instability and to transform our reliance for necessities to a community centered in the exchange of goods, services, and ideas for the greater good. 

The People:

Christina Blodgett is the Founder of Barter Planet.  She grew up in a small town in the Midwest and spent much of her childhood on her grandparents' farm in South Dakota.  When someone in their town didn't have what they needed to get by, others who had a little extra gave what they could.  That sense of giving to those who need it inspired her to create Barter Planet.  Christina graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in English.  She has extensive experience in social media, e-marketing, publishing, and technology, including working in executive-level management positions at start-up companies, and working with clients including the Pentagon, Sun Microsystems, General Mills, Woman's Day magazine, Allstate, Century 21, Wal-Mart, the Victoria & Albert Museum, Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Follow Christina on Twitter at @RadioLight and Barter Planet on Twitter at @BarterPlanet.

Hugo E. Muzza is a Managing Partner of Barter Planet. He has an entrepreneurial background, founding an Internet Service Provider and selling it to a publicly traded firm. He also directed operational, marketing, and financing decisions for several retail endeavors.  Hugo holds an M.S. in Real Estate Finance and Investments from New York University and a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Vanderbilt University. He is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst and a Financial Risk Manager, Certified by the Global Association of Risk Professionals.  In addition, he studied at the Institute of Economic and Political Studies in Cambridge, the Université de Paris Sorbonne, and Deerfield Academy.