Entrepreneur Eric Bernstein launched the peer to peer platform Werkly that enables small businesses and individuals to connect with “werkers” in an environment that supports local communities and locally sourced labor.
Werkly is an online community marketplace where you can Find, Hire, and Pay skilled and unskilled labor. The platform uses advanced filtering and networking parameters so you can find friends in your network who have the skills and availability to accomplish your task.
Bernstein has just launched a user-driven crowdfunding campaign through Indiegogo to raise $3,000 to connect Facebook’s API to the platform and enable SMS texting technology to deliver all job requests and job information. The link to Facebook is like craigslist but with your network instead of strangers, explains the Indiegogo page.
“We emailed our users with a survey asking which features they want to see next,” says Bernstein. “This is the ideal way to build a product, in my opinion. Find out exactly what your members want and with their support build it quickly and efficiently.”
Ten people in the last 11 days have already contributed $2,042 to Werkly. Fifty days remain in the campaign.
Werkly, which was relaunched in December 2014, now has over 3000 werkers using the platform. The startup just finished a study on user engagement and found that 70 percent of users who visit the site sign up and 50 percent full complete a profile.
“These are astronomical numbers by internet standards,” Bernstein said. “People really want jobs and they seem to like Werkly and find it really simple to sign up.”