Skillocracy Combats Unemployment, Outsourcing Problems with Online Marketplace

Los Angeles, CA, March 10, 2010 --(PR.com)-- Skillocracy.com has launched an online “crowdsourcing” marketplace that functions as a pure meritocracy: anyone can solve any business project in a broad range of categories, and get paid if their solution is best. Instead of hiring a single contractor, companies can outsource to the crowd and accept multiple finished solutions. Most importantly, this process fixes the problems with bidding-based outsourcing. By allowing buyers to pay for results rather than promises, Skillocracy greatly reduces development risks for businesses, and eliminates popularity contests and bidding wars for workers.

Skillocracy.com is doing its part to combat the recession: it offers a level playing field for workers to prove their skills, earn money, and build their portfolio. This includes freelance designers and programmers, students looking to break into a field, or experts who are now out of work. The crowdsourcing process also minimizes risk for companies looking for the best talent. It’s especially useful for small businesses and entrepreneurs who can’t spend thousands to hire a design agency, or can’t risk missing a deadline. “This is the easiest way I can think of to just get a project done, without negotiations or delays,” says Jason Crilly, serial entrepreneur and CEO of Appocalypse Interactive.

Large companies have run successful crowdsourcing projects in the past, including Netflix, Dell, and Pepsi. Skillocracy’s service brings crowdsourcing to every budget, without the need to invest in the administrative, technological, and marketing requirements for each project. “We want to expand what’s possible through free and open competition,” says Chris Urban, Skillocracy’s CEO. “Crowdsourcing works for more than just graphic design competitions: it’s a way to identify and reward the best person for any task.”

Skillocracy.com makes it easy to crowdsource your next project. The site allows partial funding of prizes, so a $500 project can be posted for just $50 plus fees. For anyone uncertain about how to describe and set up their project, a free “project proposal” option allows solicitation of feedback and clarifications from the crowd. And through the referral program, Skillocracy shares 25% of its revenue with referrers for both sides of a transaction – so referrers will make $35 on a $500 project.

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