Type in the phrase ‘social trading’ into any search engine and ninety-nine percent of the time you’ll come across mounds of information about financial investing. But one company wants to change how social trading is defined (and used). Led by Toronto-based co-founders Rishabh Varshney, Aubrey Jesseau and Francis Lata, Rice is a prominent startup who has created a mobile app that allows location-based trading of goods–think of it as the ‘freebie’ section of Craigslist, only in a more streamlined and fun way.

How It Works:
“You send and receive offers with the people around you using items you have uploaded to the app,” says Jesseau.

“The items can be anything from collectibles to imports; the harder it is to get, the more value it will have in a trade. Users can populate their profiles with meaningful items that tell a story about themselves or to simply try and trade away an old guitar.”

In its purest form, Rice reminds me of the good ol’ days when trading cards stood up their very name and it was common to have a friend you found yourself trading items with. And based off the amount of beta invite requests Rice has seen so far, 2014 could be the year of what Rice hopes to be the newly defined ‘social trading.’

Want to get in on the fun? Sign up for your beta invite now! Hurry, invites end April 4th!