Will Lee is the CEO of Blue Whale Foundation, a blockchain innovation, empowering the world’s freelance community by creating the largest worker-centric decentralized ecosystem where independent workers can pursue their passions and get the value they deserve from the gig economy.
1) Please tell us your name and about yourself?
I’m Will Lee, CEO of Blue Whale and Verlocal, and I studied computer science at Stanford University.
My experience operating Verlocal, an online marketplace for creatives, led me to realize the radical shift towards freelancing in global workplace trends. After five years, it was clear the existing system was not optimized for the majority of independent contractors and freelancers to succeed.
They currently face a lack of job security in terms of employee benefits and insurance, encounter high commission fees, with little access to marketing tools to effectively go digital.
2) What is Blue Whale?
Blue Whale is building a blockchain-based network designed to address problems faced by the world’s growing freelance community today. By creating a large, decentralized ecosystem that reduces costs and drives revenue growth, we help independent contractors pursue their passions confidently and receive deserved value from the sharing economy.
3) What are the Major Features and Services provided by Blue Whale?
With Blue Whale, we examined common pain points freelancers face in the sharing economy and produced “WORK.” WORK stands for our Worker Optimized Reward Keeper system consisting of three critical parts.
Contribution Activity Manager (CAM) allows the ecosystem to track and reward contribution activities such as leaving reviews or arbitrating disputes.
Decentralized Associate Network (DAN) enables freelancers to leverage the network, AI, and machine learning to distribute their services or products
Reward Bank (ReBa) offers free SaaS tools, such as CRM, to optimize the freelancer’s workflow. It’s a decentralized ledger that keeps track of transactions and pays out to freelancers onboard.
4) We will like to understand more, how you provide benefits to independent contractors?
Through the Blue Whale network, freelancers enjoy low transaction fees, access to free SaaS tools, decreased marketing costs, paid time off, pension funds, and insurance.
5) Explain to us, the major payment problems you are trying to solve?
Major payment problems freelancers face daily include high commission fees resulting in a loss of stable income and less take-home pay.
6) Please tell us more on how you lower commission fees for marketplace use.
Traditionally, centralized marketplaces charge high commission fees to fund their operations cost and drive profits. Their operations costs include running the platform, customer service, arbitration, and matching freelancers with work. However, with the use of blockchain and smart contracts, there is no need for a high cost entity to manage the ecosystem as the ecosystem is designed for autonomy. This reduces the operational expenses needed. Moreover, payment can potentially be cheaper and faster internationally.
7) What are the specific tools you offer for professional development and how they work?
Ad referral allows anyone from the Blue Whale network to earn a small commission for every referral they make to service providers. Service providers can cross-sell other services to provide better customer experience as well. CRM software provides a booking management platform for service providers to easily manage their business.
8) Your public sale is successfully over, do you have more opportunities for investors?
Yes, the public sale is over. Be on the lookout for our listing on major cryptocurrency exchanges
9) After your token sale, what is next on your roadmap and where do you see the Blue Whale project in 3 years?
We intend to build out the first version of the Blue Whale network starting with referral programs. Following that, we plan to design policies and build a system for pension and paid time off.
10) Could you tell us about your team and customer support?
Our team consists of seasoned entrepreneurs and software engineers who worked for some of the largest and smallest corporations, leading operations, building products, and scaling businesses. What brought us together is the staggering inequalities and exploitation observed around us. We aspire to resolve the sharing economy’s problems.
11) How safe is Blue Whale, would you like to talk about your compliance and security measures?
Security and compliance form the bulk of our scope and is one of the most important aspects of the Blue Whale network. We are in constant contact with policymakers as well as regulators to ensure ongoing compliance. In fact, we are holding a VIP summit hosting policymakers.
12) Do you have more information for our readers?
Blue Whale Foundation’s VIP summit provides an excellent opportunity to broaden perspectives on the key concepts, trends, debates, and solutions for the future of the sharing economy. As digital technologies, such as blockchain and IoT, shape the way we work and utilize resources, regulators and public policymakers increasingly find themselves lagging behind in understanding and designing appropriate policy responses which balance progress and social protections.
The summit brings together Asian leaders in the blockchain industry to discuss how blockchain is revolutionizing the sharing economy and share their visions and predictions for the future of the industry.
Visit the website for more information: https://www.bluewhale.foundation/
