Beth Gardiner knew what the problem was with the online sperm donor marketplace - there was no community. People looking for sperm connected with people offering it on personals ads or email groups. There was no information - about fertility, about cycles, about problematic donors.

And so, when she started the Known Donor Registry in 2010 as a hub of information for people who wanted a known donor, she included two technological features of great online communities - a forum and a real-time chat. And for a while, it worked wonderfully.

But Beth’s online passion project was interrupted by a technological glitch. And at the same time, a Goliath of the social networking world was tempting everyone away.

Presenter: Aleks Krotoski Show less