Focus group recruitment from your own pool

Recruiting for focus groups is expensive and slow

Agencies charge per participant. Panels take weeks to deliver. And when the session is over, those participants disappear — you never see them again unless you pay to recruit them all over again.

For teams that run qualitative research regularly, this model does not scale. Every new round of sessions means a new round of recruitment costs, lead times, and uncertainty about who will actually show up.

Recruit from a pool you already know

Instead of recruiting from scratch every time, build a focus group pool. Invite participants once, profile them by demographics, expertise, and availability, and recruit for sessions whenever you need them.

Participants carry a reputation score based on their track record — show-up rate, feedback quality, and timeliness. Over time, your pool gets better because you know exactly who delivers and who does not.

What you get

• Demographic profiling — participants fill out a profile with age, location, language, occupation, and custom fields you define. Filter on any combination when recruiting for a session.
• Availability tracking — participants set their availability windows. When you create a session, you see who is free without sending a single email.
• Milestone-based session tasks — define what participation means: show up, complete pre-work, submit post-session feedback. Each milestone is tracked independently.
• Reputation scoring — show-up rate, feedback quality, and timeliness are tracked automatically. Set minimum reputation thresholds when recruiting.
• Escrow for incentive payments — set a per-participant budget. Funds are held in escrow and released when milestones are completed. No manual payment chasing.
• Pool chat for scheduling — every pool gets a built-in group chat. Coordinate session times, share materials, and handle last-minute changes without switching tools.

Good for recurring research

Product teams that run monthly or quarterly focus groups save the most. The pool is already built, participants are already profiled, and reputation scores tell you who to invite. Same pool, new sessions, zero re-recruitment.

Over time, you accumulate a reliable bench of participants who understand your product and your process. Sessions start faster, feedback is more informed, and you spend less on incentives because you are not paying agency markups.

Frequently asked questions

How is this different from a recruitment agency?

Agencies charge per participant and start from scratch every time. Pools lets you build a panel once and recruit from it indefinitely. You own the relationships, the data, and the scheduling.

Can I segment my pool by demographics?

Yes. Participants fill out a profile with demographics, expertise, languages, and availability. You can filter on any combination when recruiting for a session.

How do incentive payments work?

You set a budget per session and per participant. Funds are held in escrow and released when participants complete their milestones — showing up, completing pre-work, or submitting post-session feedback.

What happens if a participant does not show up?

No-shows affect their reputation score. Over time, you see exactly who is reliable and who is not. You can also set minimum reputation thresholds when recruiting for future sessions.

Can I run both in-person and remote sessions?

Yes. Session tasks are flexible — you define the milestones and proof requirements. Whether the session happens on Zoom or in a room, the tracking and payment flow is the same.

Is there a minimum pool size?

No. You can start with a handful of participants and grow over time. There is no platform-imposed minimum or maximum.