The problem with the gig economy
The word ‘gig economy’ became a synonyme of companies like Uber, Ubereats, and Deliveroo. People working for these companies and indeed the media have nothing good to say about their working conditions. While they certainly do provide a fantastic service, if it is cheap, quick and easy for the customer, it is inevitable there has to be a trade-off for someone. It is rare that a company would operate on a platform where they lose out in favour of the customer or indeed the worker. As many of us have read, this is exactly the case when it comes to the gig economy. So often it is the worker that loses out.
Many employment laws have been skirted by placing workers into a self-employed capacity meaning that necessities like minimum wage, sick pay and holiday pay do not have to be met. A quick look on the internet confirms that this is endemic across the entirety of the gig economy. Workers are given short-term or freelance contracts that lack job security while also requiring specific parameters to be met before work can even start. As such, essentially full-time workers find themselves self-employed with no regulatory protections and taking home as little as £2 an hour. The simple fact is, the gig economy is here to stay as many workers desire the flexibility but an overhaul is desperately required. An overhaul that Mycro’s platform can deliver.
How Mycro solves the problem
Mycro is a decentralised peer-to-peer network that allows workers and clients to liaise directly. The platform that Mycro provides allows clients to post short-term jobs, trading money for time and workers to complete short-term jobs, trading time for money. Intelligent self-learning algorithms are utilised to match client’s jobs with the workers with the correct skills ensuring that workers receive jobs applicable to their skills and clients get applications from workers who can complete the job quickly and to a high standard. The seamlessness of the platform allows users to make a simple choice, what is more important today, my time or my money?
Mycro will host jobs that fall into four key areas: home services (such as gardening, cleaning and repairs), delivery services (such as shopping, chauffeuring and parcel delivery), virtual services (such as internet research, travel planning and data entry) and skilled services (such as DJing, photography and tutoring).
By the simple act of clients specifying required skills for their jobs and workers listing their areas of expertise, the Mycro platform can seamlessly match each job with the most skilled candidates. This ensures workers those jobs they can complete and job providers see only the workers who can complete their jobs immediately giving time back to the user simply by using the app.
Why blockchain?
While reading the previous paragraphs, you may have wondered why such a platform would incorporate the blockchain. The simple answer is immutability, security, engendered trust and efficiency.
All transactions are stored within the blockchain, meaning that record keeping is taken out of the hands of the platform and placed in the open, for everyone to access. This means that no one entity controls the flow of information that is relevant to everyone in the transaction and allows it to be accessed by all in perpetuity, a basic right that is not always extended within the gig economy.
Smart contracts are employed alongside a decentralised rating system to protect both the reputations of users involved in a short-term contract as well as their money. Once a contract is entered into, money is then held within an escrow smart contract that means neither the worker nor the job provider has access to it until the job is completed at which time the smart contract pays the worker automatically. A rating system is linked to users wallets so that when they are rated for their part in a contract, this information is then available for users who will engage with them in the future.
Mycro’s vision is to convert their platform into a completely decentralised application. This will diminish fees necessary from both parties on each side of a contract, requiring only a 2% contract fee be paid for the usage of the platform instead of the industry average of 30%. By using self-learning algorithms on the decentralised Mycro platform both clients and candidates gain complete autonomy, being able to post and accept jobs whenever they want, free of any required input from a middleman.
By developing the platform on the blockchain, Mycro utilizes an own utility token called Mycro (MYO). These tokens will be used on the platform for job shopping, as a reward for good ratings and for recommending the Mycro platform.
Job shopping is similar to bidding on auction sites, workers can offer an amount of their Mycro tokens to boost their chances of getting a contract. The more tokens, the higher they will appear on the dashboard of the job provider. Should the worker successfully obtain the contract, these tokens will then go into the reward pool. The reward pool is set up to provide tokens back to the users of the platform for receiving positive ratings and also for recommending the platform to additional users. Mycro also plans to use their tokens as a currency within the app but it is important to note at this point that this is subject to official permits and adherence to regulations.
Should I Invest in Mycro?
With the utilisation of the blockchain and the parameters of the platform, the question remains, should I invest in Mycro? Apparently, we are not allowed to give you any investment advice. However, we are persoanlly convinced of Mycro, doing 100% to build an excellent value-generating service for the society. The best way to invest is through the ICO (Initial Coin Offering) that Mycro is planning to hold during September of this year.
The gig economy is one of the fastest growing parts of the labour market. People value their time and what they can do with it and as it stands today, two hundred million people across the globe are engaged within the gig economy which is expected to grow to a billion within the next few years. It is inevitable, as the gig economy grows, that a fair system for every stakeholder, such as the platform, the client and the customer, is found.
Mycro seeks to add additional value to this economy and indeed society by providing a platform that allows workers to take control of their time and money, thereby vastly improving their lives. By using smart contracts, Mycro ensures that workers are paid in full and on time to guarantee that work within the gig economy progresses seamlessly and backing all of this up is a team that has more than 150 combined years of experience in company building, software, blockchain development and marketing and we feel that it is important that you know who they are.
Meet the team!
The team behind the Mycro platform is headed up by André Bruckmann, the CEO and founder. André is a serial entrepreneur who has invested in and helped found several successful marketing companies.
Creating marketing campaigns for the likes of Vodafone, EON, and Sky, André has become an expert in the development and implementation of new ideas. With a wife and three daughters to support him, André has mastered the ability to inspire people, whether it be about the concept of decentralisation, the disruptive power of the blockchain or his love for motorsport which inspired him to start the charitable organisation, Race4Children.
Assisting André with the day-to-day running of the company is Christian Hampe, the CMO and co-founder. Christian has the innate ability to spot new trends and markets which has meant he has been a brand maker and entrepreneur since 2001. He has used this ability to help customers such as Adidas and Warsteiner find their niche in the market and improve their brand image.
Working closely with Christian within marketing is Thomas Bolleyer. Thomas is the Head of Communications, community and social media marketing. He is an expert in marketing strategy, communications and corporate governance with more than 5 years experience. A charismatic young man, Thomas quickly developed an enthusiasm for blockchain technology acting as an investor and trader in the industry, making use of his ability to quickly familiarise himself with new technologies to get to grips with a wide array of areas within the cryptocurrencies market.
Working hard on the platform itself is Michael Siedenbiedel, head of software development. Michael has worked as a software developer and entrepreneur since 2005 with a keen interest in smart contracts and the blockchain. He has extensive experience completing software projects for various industries where he has developed a focus for the essentials of
a project. He will be working hard to make the Mycro platform a seamless and effortless experience for the user.
If you want to know more about Mycro and meet the rest of the team, you can engage with them at the following links:
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