Your Skills Are Currency.
Trade What You Love.

Join Barter Bloc - Brooklyn's first hobby exchange where your guitar skills buy Spanish lessons.

Now available on iOS (major update coming in August).
Join the Bloc to be first in line for updates, events, and more.

Join the Bloc

Empower Your Passions
with Barter Bloc

Get ready to rethink the way we trade skills.
‍Barter Bloc transforms learning by making passion and time the only currency you need.

Share Your Passions

Barter Bloc makes exchanging hobbies simple and seamless, so you can focus on connecting, not navigating the platform.

Save Your Money

Barter Bloc lets you trade your passions, not your paycheck, empowering skill-for-skill exchanges with zero cash required.

Build Your Community

Join a vibrant community where your passions are the currency, unlocking new skills, connections, and opportunities.

Meet the Founder - Jonathan S.

In just the past year, I’ve tried BJJ, Muay Thai, chess, Warhammer 40k, reading, and Pilates (super short-lived lol). I love learning new hobbies, but let’s be honest: it gets expensive! Classes, coaches, gear... it adds up. And in a city like New York, meeting people organically through shared passions is harder than it should be. That’s when the idea hit me:

"What if we could trade what we already know to learn something new without money involved?"
Introducing Barter Bloc: a Brooklyn-based peer-to-peer marketplace where people can trade avocational hobbies and passions with their time instead of cash. It doubles as a community-driven space, helping people connect over shared interests and skills, fostering real interactions outside of social media right here in the city we call home.

Trade Skils. Build Futures. No Money Needed.

FAQs

What is Barter Bloc?

Trade hobbies with Brooklyn neighbors using time instead of money - teach guitar for an hour, learn Spanish for an hour.

Why TimeBanking?

Timebanking has 25+ years of global success where everyone's time is valued equally. 1 hour teaching = 1 Barter Point = 1 hour learning, whether you're teaching yoga or coding.

How is this different from other platforms?

Unlike Skillshare's videos or TaskRabbit's paid gigs, we're a platform that encourages face-to-face skill trades between neighbors. No money, just mutual learning.

Who is Barter Bloc for?

Anyone in Brooklyn who wants to learn new hobbies without spending money, from artists to coders to fitness enthusiasts.

Is Barter Bloc safe?

All members are verified and our rating system keeps everyone accountable. We encourage first meetings to happen either virtually or in public spaces.

Is Barter Bloc free?

It is completely free to trade skills. An optional Bloc Pass ($7/month) is coming soon for perks like priority matching and local business discounts.

How does the time exchange work?

Simple: 1 hour = 1 Barter Point. Teach photography for 2 hours, earn 2 points to spend on any other skill.

Why Brooklyn?

We're starting hyperlocal to build real community: Bed-Stuy, Crown Heights, Park Slope first, then expanding borough by borough.

When are you expanding?

Barter Bloc is proudly rooted in Brooklyn, but the vision doesn’t stop here. Brooklyn first, then other NYC boroughs once we nail the community model here.

Don't worry, we’re just getting started!

Become a Founding Bloc Partner

We're partnering with Brooklyn cafes, studios, creative spaces, and community organizations to build a neighborhood where skills are currency and everyone's time has value.

Join forward-thinking Brooklyn businesses already exploring partnerships (limited to 10 founding partners).

‍

Build With Us

  • Shape Brooklyn's skill economy
  • Support community connection
  • Pioneer time-based commerce

    • Get Involved

  • Host our community events
  • Fill empty slots with eager learners
  • Accept Barter Points for exclusive perks

    • Partner Perks

  • Featured placement in our app
  • Direct access to engaged community
  • Co-marketing opportunities
    • Become a Partner

    Join the Bloc!

    Download Early Access in iOS

    Limited beta available on iOS. Full native experience launching in August.

    Want to Stay in the Loop?
    Sign up below to get notified about major app updates, community events, and more.

    You're In! Be on the lookout for an email from the team!
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    45/100 founding member spots claimed.
    Secure your spot and get founding member perks + 3 bonus points!