Three launch lessons from blockchain-based freelance marketplace TopIQs
Over a decade ago, the cofounders of TopIQs were freelance internet marketers dealing with many of the frustrations that still irk freelancers today. They invested significant time pitching, landing and completing projects for clients on freelance marketplaces. When it was time to get paid, they spent weeks or months chasing payments or resolving account issues and fraudulent chargebacks—only to owe a high percentage of marketplace and financial service fees in the end.
“Traditional freelance marketplaces take up to 20% of fees for any job,” said Steve Talbot, one of the chief information officers at BH Network, the creator of TopIQs, a blockchain-based freelance marketplace. “This is very challenging, especially when you’re just starting out. Say you make $500 from a few small projects; the marketplace takes $100, the bank or financial app takes another $15 and so on. Pretty soon that $500 is a much smaller amount.”
