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BitcoinX: Thank you for taking the time to chat with us today. So, tell us who you are and what your position is at ConnectJob?
ConnectJob: Thank you for having me! Well, my name is Jonathan Gueron, ConnectJob’s co-founder and CTO. Recently, I left iAdvize; a success story that raised about 60 million dollars and of which I co-founded. Today, I get the chance to collaborate a second time with Jeremie Berrebi, my partner for the past 10 years. This is quite an exciting adventure for the both of us!
BitcoinX: Tell us – what is ConnectJob? What is the main idea behind the project and why did you decide to start it?
ConnectJob: Actually it came up a year ago and the idea was pretty clear to me; reinventing the labour market by integrating the decentralization offer through blockchain. ConnectJob being an innovative platform offering a wide range of services to individuals in an all-in-one application based on blockchain technology, aims to be the “Uber of service”. The app connects users looking for daily needs (such as babysitting, plumbing, cleaning, gardening, massage, etc.) to certified “Jobbers”. Also based on geolocation, it provides its users with all the services available in their region. Each executed service is invoiced in ConnectJob tokens (CJT) at a prefixed hourly rate, similar to Uber.
BitcoinX: Blockchain technology is expected to alter the landscape and/or create efficiencies in almost every industry. In what ways does your technology address these?
ConnectJob: By using blockchain assets, ConnectJob intends to allow its users to exchange value directly without relying on a third party, and our team is developing a wide range of services around those assets. Our main strength lies in the use of the blockchain technology which will, among others, secure transactions and execute at an unlimited amount, transfer Jobbers’ reputation in a decentralized manner from ConnectJob’s platform onto other decentralized applications, and integrate with the decentralized applications currently being built on the Ethereum blockchain.
BitcoinX: When and why did you first decide to do an ICO?
ConnectJob: Well in order to achieve our goal of a completely decentralized platform, we needed to establish an ecosystem around our token; that’s when and why we decided on it. As a universal project, ConnectJob isn’t looking to disrupt anything but rather to be the trigger in the gig-economy’s growth and evolution. By launching an ICO, we ensure a large community for ConnectJob who’s deeply involved in the startup, and proudly give the opportunity to anyone and everyone to be part of the story by holding ConnectJob tokens.
BitcoinX: Tell us about what preparation was required to get the project to this point?
ConnectJob: What a journey it has been! After 6 long months of developing the application, it is quite rewarding to see it finally come together. With our team of developers we worked through nights and have put all of our dedication into building a user-friendly application based on geolocation, and offering an interactive interface. The second phase of the app’s development will be focused on its decentralization process. For instance, the hiring process’ decentralization will quickly be unlocked, following the app’s launch, by plugging in blockchain solutions into ConnectJob’s platform, such as uPort or Civic.
Following the development phase, we had another challenge which was to hire “The ICO Dreamteam”. Although we are a team of blockchain enthusiast, with some of us being early cryptocurrency investors, we still felt the need for added experience and expertise to achieve an efficient ICO process. So we proceeded with a large benchmark which got us with luck, the best-in-class advisor team. Part of the board we have; Kramer Levin as our Legal Advisor, Investment Bankers as Lead Advisor, Jeremie Berrebi the Financial Advisor, and other you can find on ConnectJob’s ICO website.
To top it off, we needed to find our blockchain experts. That’s when our advisors presented the project to Marc Kenigsberg and Tetsuyuki Oishi, who expressed a great enthusiast and immediately joined ConnectJob’s Advisor Board.
BitcoinX: What makes this project especially exciting for ICO participants? What makes them want to join?
ConnectJob:
As mentioned in the beginning, ConnectJob has aimed to be the trigger in the jobbing market’s evolution. In order to do that we knew we had to put in place presale and sale that will appreciate the contribution of every participant through a transparent system, the same way its platform gives users the possibility to rate, track, and monitor jobbers at the job site. Keeping in mind that it is using smart contract based on ERC20.
All tokens that will be issued along the ICO are capped in order to make every ICO contributor the only counterparty for new app users. Though, CJTs can be divisible into subunits to prevent from potential illiquidity issues, they will also be the unique mean of payment in the ConnectJob’s application. We have set an incentive way to secure significant volume of CJTs exchanged. Indeed, CJT usage will be encouraged through discounts to incentivize users to buy more tokens. Every Jobber is paid in CJTs which will encourage them to spend part of their CJTs within the application, as a user, and keep the rest as a salary.
The last two key points of our token, is the simple fact that it is a utility token, giving innovative features and rewards for users, Jobbers, and holders. Also, the fact that ConnectJob is evolving on the very fast-growing market of the Uber-economy, it gives us the perks to serenely consider its expansion.
This is just a brief overview of the token’s ecosystem ; a more detailed description is provided in our lightpaper on our website https://ico.connectjob.io
BitcoinX: Where are you in the actual development phase of the project?
ConnectJob: To secure funds prior to the pre-ICO, our financial advisors recently went on the investors’ roadshow in London, Paris, and Tel Aviv. As for the app’s development, the team is working on minor adjustments and finalizing the improvements in the user’s experience.
However, what I can tell you is that ConnectJob’s application shall be ready and launched the day following the ICO’s closure. As the pre-ICO rolls out on December 1st, we will continue presenting our startup in ICO conferences worldwide and keep on spreading the word!
BitcoinX: After a successful ICO, what is the timeline for coming to market?
ConnectJob: You know, we’re among the very few startups launching an ICO with an already built and developed product. After the ICO, we will focus on listing our token on exchange platforms and deliver our tokens to every ICO subscriber. Once that is done, ConnectJob will be able to jump right into the market.
BitcoinX: Are you focused in any specific geographic areas?
ConnectJob: Although ConnectJob is an Israel-based start-up, we are doing the complete opposite of focusing on specific geographic areas. We have the ambition to deploy globally starting with New-York (pending legal authorisation), London and Paris in 2018. Within the next 5 years ConnectJob will be present in more than 20 cities, representing a customer base of c.20m people.
BitcoinX: For those who have read your whitepaper and other info, is there anything else you want to add to convince them to participate?
ConnectJob: Ha! Well, if you already have read the whitepaper, thanks for taking the time, it is so rewarding when it the project catches one’s eye. This ICO is for anyone and everyone while ConnectJob is any service anytime, anywhere!
To finish off, I would like to underline the philosophy of ConnectJob’s team; with today’s technology we have the possibility to make our World a more decentralized world, where citizens regain a form of control over their identity, their data, their money, and we plan do our best to contribute to this vision through the next stages of our development.
