This week sees the official launch of Moneo.io — the world’s first blockchain talent agency that enables organisations worldwide to hire high-end, experienced blockchain freelancers, from coders to marketers, and pay both their fee and the freelancers themselves in bitcoin via Moneo’s secure, escrowed payments platform.
Blockchain technology is being championed across every sector from finance and gaming through to law enforcement and healthcare. According to a recent report the market is estimated to create annual revenues of $45Bn by 2027. The benefits of this decentralised technology are widely accepted but the main challenge to making it a reality continues to be the lack of expertise in blockchain implementation. And much of that expertise is part of a digital nomadic tribe that eschews the standard corporate environment—which is where Moneo comes in.
Richard Foster, co-founder says, “The freelance ethos is a natural fit for the boundless application of decentralised technologies. We saw not so much a gap in the market, as a yawning chasm for a digital, crypto-platform that brought together ambitious and innovative firms with the smartest independent blockchain talent across all disciplines.”
Founded in 2016, Moneo.io launched in beta in May this year. In just six months, more than 400 clients have posted $8m of blockchain projects and over 1,500 freelancers have applied to join.
Richard continues, “We only accept a fraction of freelance applications, so firms can be confident that whether they hire an Ethereum developer in the US, a UK blockchain marketing consultant, or an ICO expert in Germany, they are the best in their field.”
Prior to launching Moneo.io, Richard successfully raised angel funding for a financially regulated escrow payments platform and has ten years’ experience as an independent IT consultant working in finance. Moneo’s co-founder, Amy Diez, is an ACCA Accountant and was formerly Associate Director in KPMG London’s financial modelling team. Amy also has a freelance background. In Moneo.io they have created a team already 12 strong that combines ICO experience with a range of developer skills in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and token sales.
Thomas van der Bijl, CEO at Followcoin.io says, "It's normally a huge headache to find experienced blockchain talent, and we know projects can be delayed months because of it. Using Moneo, we found top notch Ethereum developers within 24 hours. These developers were able to soundly review our smart contracts and help us reach the Followcoin token sale target date."
Moneo.io does not charge freelancers any commission on their work, while the liquidity of the marketplace easily offsets the modest 10% fee to the hiring companies.
Solidity Developer and freelancer Bryan Woods says, "Some freelance sites are just geared to the lowest bidder, while others take a sizeable commission. Moneo does neither and there is no onerous pitching system. The jobs I’ve completed through Moneo have all been quality and well-funded projects."
Richard concludes, “With the extensive support we have already seen from all elements of the blockchain community, we are really excited for Moneo and look forward to playing our part in enabling this radical technology’s widespread adoption.”