Traditional talent networks often prioritize profits over equitable treatment, leading to imbalances between employers and workers. These networks typically impose high fees, with a greater impact on lower-earning gigs, and lack transparency, resulting in clients facing inflated costs. For tech professionals, this means navigating platforms with high costs, hidden fees, and slow, uncertain processes, creating stress and insecurity about future opportunities.

In contrast, Braintrust emerges as a solution, aiming to rectify these industry-wide issues by fostering a more balanced and fair environment for both talent and employers.

What Is Braintrust (BTRST)?

Braintrust, co-founded by Adam Jackson and Gabriel Luna-Ostaseski, emerged from a need to reform traditional recruitment and crowdsourcing platforms. Conceived as a decentralized network marketplace, it aimed to counter prevalent industry issues. This innovative concept took shape with the public beta launch of Braintrust in June 2020, signaling a new era in talent networks.

Quickly gaining momentum, Braintrust’s journey saw significant growth, a testament to the relentless efforts of its co-founders and contributors. By November 2020, it had already made a remarkable impact, raising $25 million in a strategic funding round. This success reflected the market’s confidence in Braintrust’s unique approach.

A pivotal moment came in September 2021, with the public release of Braintrust’s native token, BTRST. This token symbolizes ownership and participation in the network, aligning with Braintrust’s ethos of equitable treatment for all members.

In late 2021, Braintrust successfully secured $100 million in a private token sale, with prominent investors like Coatue, Tiger Global, and True Ventures participating.

Now, Braintrust boasts a community exceeding 50,000 participants, including global enterprises like Nike and Intel. This diverse user base ensures Braintrust remains connected to the needs of both employers and talent, revolutionizing the talent network landscape.

How Does Braintrust Work? Talent, Connectors and Clients

Braintrust operates on a unique model that revolutionizes the traditional recruitment landscape. At its core, the network is composed of three main groups: talent, connectors, and clients, each playing a pivotal role in the ecosystem.

Talent are freelancers who bring their skills and expertise to the platform. They undergo a screening process to verify their qualifications, ensuring a high standard of work. Once approved, they can access job opportunities, engage in educational courses through the Braintrust Academy, and actively participate in the community. Their involvement is rewarded with BTRST tokens, which can be staked to enhance their visibility for job applications. Additionally, talents receive tokens for achieving 5-star reviews, incentivizing quality work.

Connectors act as the bridge between the platform and potential users. They invite new talent and clients to Braintrust, earning tokens for successful referrals. This role is crucial in expanding the network’s reach and fostering a diverse community of users. Connectors also receive a portion of a referred talent’s earnings after job completion, further aligning their interests with the network’s growth.

Clients on the other hand are businesses seeking skilled freelancers. They can post job listings and stake BTRST tokens to make their opportunities more visible, attracting a wider pool of talent. Unlike many traditional networks, Braintrust does not charge talent network fees, ensuring they receive the full value of their work. Clients pay a 10% fee of the invoice value to Braintrust nodes, significantly less than the fees charged by traditional networks and consulting firms.

Source: braintrust whitepaper

The decentralized nature of Braintrust, driven by blockchain technology, ensures transparency and incorruptibility in transactions. This setup allows for efficient price discovery, aligning the interests of talent and clients. Talents are encouraged to competitively price their services, showcase their skills, and consider location alignment with client needs. Meanwhile, clients are motivated to offer fair compensation and maintain flexible requirements to attract the best talent.

Braintrust’s model leads to a more equitable network, benefiting both supply (talent) and demand (clients). With no exorbitant fees on talents and reasonable charges for clients, the network supports a self-sustaining ecosystem. This approach has led to significant growth since its inception in 2020, attracting over 50,000 members and demonstrating the power of aligned incentives in a decentralized talent network.

Braintrust Use Cases

Braintrust’s decentralized talent network offers a variety of use cases, effectively catering to different groups within its ecosystem:

For Talents Seeking Employment:

• Access to a wide array of job opportunities across various industries without the burden of network fees, ensuring full compensation for their work.
• Opportunities to enhance skills and credentials through the Braintrust Academy.
• The ability to earn and stake BTRST tokens, which increases their visibility and attractiveness to potential employers.
• Receiving BTRST tokens for excellent performance, as indicated by 5-star reviews.

For Connectors Expanding the Network:

• Inviting new talents and clients to the platform, contributing to the growth and diversity of the network.
• Earning BTRST tokens as a reward for successful referrals, aligning their efforts with the network’s expansion goals.
• Gaining a dynamic share of referred talents’ invoices post successful job completion, fostering long-term engagement.

For Clients in Need of Skilled Professionals:

• Posting jobs with the option to stake BTRST tokens, increasing the job’s visibility to attract high-quality talent.
• Accessing a pre-vetted pool of professional freelancers without traditional recruitment or staffing firm fees.
• Incurring only a modest 10% fee on invoices to Braintrust nodes, offering a more cost-effective solution compared to other platforms.

Braintrust’s model promotes a balanced ecosystem, where each group not only benefits from but also contributes to the network’s growth and sustainability. This approach fosters a sense of community and mutual benefit, aligning the interests of talents, connectors, and clients in a unique and innovative way.

What Is the BTRST Coin?

BTRST is Braintrust’s native token, used for governance and incentives within its network. Its maximum supply is capped at 250 million units, of which 215 million (86%) are already in circulation (December 2023).

The BTRST Coin, launched on September 1, 2021, on the Ethereum mainnet using the ERC-20 standard, is integral to the functionality and governance of the Braintrust network.

In terms of tokenomics, the token distribution includes 54% for community incentives and rewards, 22% for early token purchasers with a 2-year lock and 1-year cliff, 19% for early contributors over 4 years, and 5% for token sales with a 3-6 month lock. This system is designed to ensure a steady and controlled distribution of tokens, aligning with the network’s growth and community rewards programs.

Source: braintrust whitepaper

BTRST’s use cases are multifaceted. It serves as a governance tool, where each token equates to a vote, allowing holders to propose, discuss, and vote on network developments. This participative governance model includes off-chain and on-chain voting processes, encompassing areas like network fees, reputation systems, and token management.

The token also plays a crucial role in bid staking. Talents can stake BTRST to enhance their job applications, offering tokens as collateral which they might lose for non-delivery. Clients can stake tokens to attract talents, which are distributed to applicants if the job doesn’t proceed. This mechanism ensures fairness and reduces friction in the talent-client matching process.

Moreover, BTRST offers career benefits, expected to be redeemable for perks exclusive to the Braintrust community, such as discounted resources and access to the Braintrust Academy. This educational platform rewards learners with tokens, enhancing their skills and network value.

Braintrust’s governance system, including quadratic voting considerations, fosters a balanced and community-driven approach. It ensures that the network evolves in alignment with the needs and contributions of its users, exemplifying a decentralized, user-centric model in the digital talent marketplace.

Braintrust Main Features

Braintrust offers unique features like the Node and Connector Programs, a specialized Wallet, and diverse Grants, each designed to enhance network growth, user engagement, and decentralized governance.

Braintrust Node Program

The Braintrust Node Program caters to employers seeking to maximize the network’s benefits. Participants enjoy a 20% discount on BTRST tokens and pay only a 10% network fee on revenue. This program provides access to a vast pool of vetted IT professionals ready for new projects. Additionally, Node participants enter a monthly competition, where one winner is awarded 1% of the total node Gross Services Value (GSV) in BTRST, up to $10,000.

Braintrust Connector Program

Open to all platform users, the Connector Program rewards successful referrals with BTRST tokens. The reward amount correlates with the number of connections made between job seekers and employers. Connectors, crucial in DeFi systems for liquidity provision, earn tokens for each paid invoice from their referrals, enhancing network ownership. This incentivizes both talent and recruiters to bring their networks to Braintrust, earning residual token rewards for job matches.

Braintrust Wallet

For active participation in voting, staking, or trading, members need a compatible cryptocurrency wallet. While Braintrust has an internal wallet, external wallets like WalletConnect and MetaMask are necessary for managing BTRST tokens. Users can link an existing wallet or create a new one to leverage financial benefits from their tokens.

Grants

Braintrust continually introduces grants to support network growth and user engagement. These include Ambassador Grants for brand promotion through content and campaigns, Builder Grants to scale network development, and Educator Grants for talent training and education. Each grant focuses on different aspects, like content creation, technical contributions, and educational initiatives, contributing to the network’s expansion and user skill enhancement.

As Braintrust continues to evolve, we can expect more innovative features to emerge, further enhancing the network’s functionality and user experience. This progression aligns with Braintrust’s commitment to staying at the forefront of decentralized talent networking.

Source: braintrust whitepaper

Is BTRST a Good Investment?

Braintrust represents a bold venture in the crowded talent network space, challenging established legacy competitors with its unique blockchain-based model and reward system. The project’s ambitious goal to revolutionize the industry is noteworthy. The integration of blockchain technology and a distinctive reward system distinguishes BTRST from traditional models. However, the real test lies ahead – whether the market will embrace this innovative approach and how it will fare against the well-entrenched giants in the sector. The upcoming period will be crucial in determining whether Braintrust’s concept captures widespread interest and proves to be a viable investment in the long term.

How to Own BTRST?

To own BTRST, you can use the services of a centralized crypto exchange. Start by creating a Gate.io account, and get it verified and funded. Then you are ready to go through the steps to buy BTRST.

News on Braintrust

According to what was reported on the official Braintrust blog, dated 01 December 2023, Braintrust has reached two notable milestones: exceeding 500,000 members and facilitating over $200 million in earnings globally. This growth reflects a quadrupling of community members and a doubling of earnings in just one year. Braintrust’s vision of empowering global talent has expanded beyond job offerings to career support and development. Amidst economic challenges and tech layoffs, Braintrust has become a hub for professional growth, mentorship, and community engagement.

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