WorkingforBitCoins is disrupting the workforce. Their innovative use of blockchain technology eliminates the challenges that come with hiring people from across the globe, resulting in a borderless workforce.
Co-Founder, Milad Afdasta
Name: WorkingForBitcoins.com
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Website: https://workingforbitcoins.com/
Product / Service Offering: Platform for employers and freelancers using bitcoins
Co-founder Interviewed: Milad Afdasta
This article is part of our Business Startup Spotlight series featuring entrepreneurs and their companies. We hope that these founders’ interviews will inspire and motivate you as you undertake your own entrepreneurial journey.
Tell us a little about yourself with a focus on what motivates you.
From the onset, I have always been self-driven and ambitious. I guess you could say I’ve been an entrepreneur since I founded my first start up, “Snow Boy,” when I was eleven years old. I designed flyers for the services I offered, which included shoveling drive ways, clearing steps, and salting, and I handed them out in my neighborhood. It was pretty successful. I was able to attain nine regular customers who used my services every time it snowed, in addition to the random customers who would call on me sometimes.
My motivations are no different than what motivates everyone else – I want to feel productive. Through that productivity I want to find reason, as well as value, in the time I have to live out my life. I do not believe there is any inherent reason to anything we do. We hope that when the play ends and the curtains fall that we can look out for the last time and be at ease with the performance we delivered.
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When did you establish your company and where did the idea originate?
I began the initial planning in January 2017, and WorkingforBitCoins went beta in June 2017. My displeasure with the services available, especially sites that charge large fees for the employers while also receiving commission, is what inspired me. I found their practice repulsive. After many years of using their services to develop dozens of projects, I felt it was the right time to undertake a project that would deliver the same services at a fraction of the cost to employers and charge no commission. All the while, this reduces overhead for everyone. I utilized the ground changing technology known as blockchain.
What need or needs does your company seek to fill for its customers?
There is a big market of employers seeking contractors and freelancers to fill roles and complete tasks. Conventionally, that was limited to your surrounding area. However, the onset of the internet changed all of this.
Now, with blockchain technology in play, workforce can truly become borderless. This eliminated the many challenges that typically came with trying to hire people from across the globe. In addition to that, the fees are challenges as well. Therein lies the need which we hope to fulfill.
WorkingforBitCoins is a simple, user friendly, hassle free platform for employers and freelancers to connect and develop business relationships without the traditional worries and costly fees.
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What is the one thing that sets your company apart from its competitors?
Utilizing blockchain sets us apart from the mainstream services currently dominating the market. However, there are a handle full of other services utilizing blockchain as well. The underlying premise is the same, but WorkingforBitCoins has the lowest fees. We only charge employers, and we offer a very simply and easy-to-use interface.
What was the biggest challenge you faced while getting your company up and running, and how did you overcome it?
I would have to say ensuring I understood how the blockchain worked and interpreting the data. I had to do this before I started architecting the backend to utilize it. At one point as I was reading up on blockchain and bitcoins, I was reading through dozens of wiki articles, where each one terrified me to open two or three other topics I needed to read. I did not need to become an expert. However, I did need a sound understanding to achieve my objective as seamlessly as possible.
What resources have you utilized that other founders might find compelling or useful?
I tapped into my years of experience working on startups, leading teams, and utilizing search engines to make progress.
What steps have you taken to secure funding for your company and what, if anything, would you do differently if you had to start over?
I have yet to secure funding. For now, I have bankrolled the project myself. I am hoping that I will eventually attract the attention of some VC Investors to help take the project to the next level. There are many features and enhancements to be implemented, but I will need funding to move ahead.
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What questions have you had as an entrepreneur of a fledgling startup that you had a particularly hard time finding the answers to?
It is tough to find the right network to tap into to find investors and advisors. It is a huge challenge!
What challenges, if any, are you grappling with?
One of the challenges I face is finding employers to post jobs on the site. The most common feedback users give has been about the lack of jobs posted on the site. Getting the traction to tip the scales in your favor is the challenge with any new startup.
What is the most helpful tip or “hack” you’ve ever learned, stumbled across, or been given?
I have taken time to identify what would truly make me happy and how I can make that a reality. What that reality is and how one gets there is completely different from person to person. The goal is not to find the perfect scenario, but rather a good enough one, within which you can be content. This is what I tap into in times of strain, when I need a boost in motivation to continue the grind to achieve my objective.
Is there anything else you would like to share about your company?
My goal is to offer a simple and trusty worthy service. WorkingforBitCoins provides people a dependable, user-friendly platform. I built this project with the mindset of how I like to be treated and charged. I used those answers and applied them as the corner stones on which our principles are built.
Are you familiar with other startups you believe should be spotlighted? If so, we would like to hear from you. Tell us about them in the comments below!
Sandra Sloan
Sandra has previous supply chain and business operations experience which she is leveraging as an author with FundingSage focused on spotlighting entrepreneurs and their startup efforts.
