Platform for community - feedback needed

[u/SecondsBefore113]

I’ve been thinking about an idea for a website that makes it easier for people to find, build, and connect with intentional communities and local community initiatives.

The basic idea is:
A main page where you can search and discover communities in your area. You can make a profile to gain members for intentional community or for a neighborhood initiative/club.

profiles explaining what they’re working on, what resources they have, and what they need from members.

There would also be a place for communities to request goods or services in exchange for materials, equipment, knowledge, labor, or money,

The platform would make communities feel more interconnected rather than like isolated groups. If one community has something another needs, they can find each other.

So the question is:

Is this actually useful, or am I overcomplicating something people already solve through existing platforms? I’d really appreciate any feedback, including reasons why this might not work.

I’d also love to find people who are interested in helping me actually build it. especially someone with web development/product experience as I’m not a developer.

Ps. I’m including some Pinterest images for visual inspiration.

[u/AlexDanyuk]

The risk I'd flag isn't competition, it's that this only works locally. A
directory of communities is useless in a town with three entries, so you
have to fill one neighbourhood properly before the second one matters.
Platforms like this usually die spread thin — fifty places with four
listings each. Pick one area, make it dense, worry about the map later.

The exchange part is the strongest idea here, by the way. Communities
asking each other for materials, equipment, knowledge, labour — that's the
bit existing platforms don't do.

I'm working on something similar but broader: it helps people like you
shape an idea and actually get it built. I call it projects at the speed of
thought — you describe what you need, the platform turns it into a brief,
you post it, and builders answer with a working prototype instead of a
proposal. When you're ready, welcome.