TL;DR

HonestWork is a platform to find quality short-term Web3 jobs and hire skilled Web3 freelancers. HonestWork aims to ease the freelancers’ anxiety about payments and make finding skilled Web3 freelancers an effortless task for employers.

Gitcoin Grant funds would be used for:

1. Salaries
2. Marketing
3. Incentive program
4. Infrastructure expenses

These expenses are crucial for sustainable platform growth. Salaries and infrastructure expenses would ensure that we can continue building HonestWork and run it smoothly while spending money on marketing and incentive programs would accelerate the platform’s visibility and growth.

Technical information

The HonestWork Genesis NFT has been deployed on Mainnet, while other contracts are on Arbitrum. We believe that Layer 2 is the future of the Ethereum network, which is why our next step is to deploy HonestWork contracts on Optimism.

We value transparency. All of HonestWork’s code is open-source, and you can find it on HonestWork DAO GitHub. You can also read the docs and visit the HonestWork website.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

HonestWork is a Web3 freelance marketplace. It’s a platform to find quality short-term Web3 jobs and hire skilled freelancers.

We created HonestWork with Web3 freelancers and crypto entrepreneurs in mind. Web3-native UI, on-chain payments, membership NFT, embedded on-chain messaging, and a token with an upcoming airdrop make HonestWork a to-go platform for crypto job search and hiring.

In the future, we plan to introduce tools for collaboration, bootstrapping, crowdfunding, and time management that leverage blockchain technology. Our goal is to provide freelancers with the tools they need to grow their careers by working with other professionals, creating projects or even businesses together, and valuing their time properly.

PROBLEM

Freelancers constantly feel anxiety about not receiving payments, and employers spend a lot of time looking for skilled web3 freelancers.

SOLUTION

Fast and Secure Payment System. We use smart contracts to implement an installment-based payment system, making payments effortless.

To ensure that funds are available, we ask clients to deposit full payment into our Escrow contract at the beginning of the job agreement. Employers can unlock any amount during the process, making the payment system flexible and suitable for any type of job. When funds are unlocked, freelancers can instantly claim them.

This payment system model gives freelancers peace of mind because they know that payment is present and waiting for them to finish the job. The system is also convenient for employers because they can follow the job progress by making payments in installments.

Exclusive NFT Membership. To unlock access to HonestWork features and benefits, freelancers have to mint an HonestWork Genesis NFT. It’s a one-time purchase, and there are no other fees for freelancers on the platform. HonestWork Genesis NFTs also record members’ revenue on the blockchain, enabling them to earn future airdrops based on their performance.

Getting noticed in large freelancer marketplaces like Upwork or Fiverr is difficult because there are thousands of freelancers offering similar services. HonestWork Genesis NFTs are limited to 1000, making it much easier to gain visibility on HonestWork compared to other freelance marketplaces.

Membership NFTs also help filter out freelancers who provide low-quality results for cheap prices, resulting in dissatisfied employers and unhealthy price competition between freelancers. HonestWork aims to be a platform where every freelancer is experienced and web3-savvy, allowing clients to easily find the best candidates for their projects.

TECHNOLOGY & BLOCKCHAIN

As a team, we have been on both sides of the equation (as freelancers and clients) and experienced the major flaws current systems have. It was obvious to us that some of them could be solved using blockchain technology.

Crypto payments

The biggest headache for freelancers is payments. Uncertainty about whether or when they’ll get paid, the long and cumbersome process of international payments, and high platform fees were all things mentioned by freelancers during user interviews. We aim to address these issues by using Escrow smart contracts, enabling fast and secure crypto payments on all Ethereum L2s, and charging no service fee for freelancers.

NFT membership

Another issue with Web2 freelance marketplaces is the abundance of cheap and unqualified freelancers. This results in an overwhelming number of applications (100+ for a single job posting) from an employer's perspective, making it challenging to sift through and select the best candidate. To address this problem, we utilize the HonestWork Genesis membership NFT. Becoming an HonestWork member requires an initial investment that filters out freelancers who are not comfortable with Web3 technology and lack confidence in their ability to earn enough money to justify the initial investment in membership.

Ownership & DAO

A unique benefit of blockchain is ownership. For HonestWork members, this means ownership of their reputation. Every job completed, whether as a freelancer or employer, is recorded on-chain, meaning that reputation is interoperable and provable. This is different from Web2 freelance marketplaces, where reputation is locked on the platform.

Ownership is of utmost importance to HonestWork as a platform. Our vision for the future is to give ownership of HonestWork to the community and involve them in decision-making by creating HonestWork DAO. One way we envision community involvement is through DAO dispute resolution. We believe that active HonestWork DAO members are in the best position to resolve disputes because they also use the HonestWork platform and are invested in its success.

PROGRESS

We began working on HonestWork in December 2022 and recently launched HonestWork Alpha 🚀 In a short amount of time, we designed and coded the HonestWork app from scratch, created and listed the HonestWork Genesis membership NFT on Opensea, conducted over 30 user interviews, and started building HonestWork's online presence alongside the community on Discord.

Currently, we are in the process of onboarding our first users. We already have over 40 people on our waitlist, so our priority is to get them started first. Once we have done that, we will reach out to DAOs and other Web3 communities to invite their members to join the HonestWork platform as well.

WHAT ARE WE GOING TO USE THE FUNDING FOR?

As an online platform, our operating costs are quite low. However, in order to function and grow successfully, we need funding for the following:

1. Salaries. Currently, our team comprises 5 members, with 3 of them being full-time employees. Gitcoin Grant would extend our runway and allow us to continue working on bringing a fair, fast, and secure Web3 freelance marketplace to more people.
2. Marketing. We plan to kickstart HonestWork's marketing with paid ads and a launch campaign to reach more people. Once we've done that, we'll reach out to DAOs with a special offer for their members. To reach a broader audience, we will collaborate with Web3 educational content creators, as this is the most effective way of executing influencer marketing based on our past experience. Gitcoin Grant funds will allow us to maximize our success chance with a larger marketing budget.
3. Incentive program. A platform business is stuck in a chicken-and-egg problem at the beginning. If there are no job posts, freelancers are not interested in signing up, and if there are only a few freelancers on the platform, employers are not motivated to post a job. To fix this problem, we will kickstart by posting jobs that need to be done for HonestWork. Gitcoin Grant funds will be used to pay for these jobs.
4. Infrastructure expenses. Running HonestWork operations smoothly requires proper infrastructure. Gitcoin Grant funds will be used to cover network fees and paid tools subscription fees.