A Blockchain Job Board & Community:
Here's a problem I've identified that you a may relate with - there's so much cool stuff going on in the world of blockchain, but for "outsiders" from other industries who want to get involved, it's really hard to know where to start.
This is especially true for people coming from "other" less technical industries such as design, marketing, finance, transportation etc...
And it's clear there's an increasing number of people who fit this criteria, as the following chart from Google Trends demonstrates:
A gap in blockchain talent
The way I see it, today's blockchain ecosystem consists of 3 primary players:
- Inventors: Hackers, visionaries and innovators such s Vitalik Buterin. According to recent estimates there are only around ~5,000 true blockchain developers in the world.
- Investors: People looking and willing to spend resource who want in on the action (and the upside). This includes VC's, miners and ad hoc speculators. Millions of people fit this criteria (anyone with a cryptocurrency wallet or account really), and while they drive industry growth, they only do so in the shape of funding other people's work.
- Facilitators: Industry experts who may not code or have the ability to buy there way in as investors, but they do identify gaps and opportunities that blockchain tech has the ability to solve. For example, they may be insurance brokers who understand how blockchain can cut intermediaries, or perhaps in supply chain and identify a need for secure transparency regarding sourcing.. They're the people with steady jobs in industries that blockchain will soon disrupt.
Currently, there’s really no central hub for professionals to connect to blockchain projects or developers - where they can cross-pollinate ideas and bring them to life.
Think LinkedIn, but more of a community/marketplace connecting professionals to blockchain ideas, projects and companies.
As a Lean advocate I'm all about creating minimum-viable-products (MVP's), so here it is:
Enter: Job Block on Slack
Job Block - A Slack channel to connect business experts with blockchain experts.
What next?
My fellow Steemers - I'm well aware that the value of this Slack channel or any future permutations of this idea will be governed by Metcalfe's Law (aka the network effect) - meaning only with a large, engaged community will this truly be helpful. So I encourage you to join:
- If you're reading this and would like to connect to blockchain gigs, projects, companies or professionals - would love to see you there
- If you see the value and would like to be involved, please share the link:
http://bit.ly/jobblock
If you have any thoughts, leave your comment and feel free to PM me here or on LinkedIn!