About Sandbar
Sandbar will focus their platform to connect web3 professionals. Imagine the platform being more job task based, similar to Fiverr. Bringing in aspects from platforms such as Upwork and LinkedIn, creating a platform that works for web3 users.
- Sandbar aims to create a freelance marketplace to make business and networking easier for those that are contributing to the space.
- A place where businesses and individuals can showcase their work and create new leads.
- Linking freelancers with job opportunities
- Creating an escrow service to provide a level of trust between both parties
Sandbar aim to get users to move their workflow to a more professional, easy to use platform. Revenue will be collected in transaction fees using their escrow service
Sandbar aims to create a place that enables users to improve their outreach and generate more leads as a professional in the space. Premium access features will be available to NFT holders. Sandbar will also be using a referral method where rewards are offered for those bringing others to the platform. (Details TBA)
Every user or service provider will have access to connect their wallet and create a free account. This will allow the user to attach files and social links as well as select a service or services. Once completed the profile will be available to the public.
Sandbar will also be offering a custom escrow contract feature. From an individual perspective this will ensure that payment is made for work done. On the flip side this ensures work is completed before payment is distributed. Service providers may enter a contract with a business with varying milestones to meet before payment is released. An example of this may be 25% of funds up front and the remainder released upon completion. This escrow service adds a level of trust to both parties that could never have been done before.
- Holder benefits and advantages are yet to be confirmed. There has been mention of the project working on an affiliate reward program similar to a how a web2 company would operate. The more leads you bring in the higher tier rewards, experiences discounts and tooling is available.
- NFT holders will get the premium platform experience. Nothing definitive to disclose but this experience has been hinted to include early opportunities, reduced fees or even access to premium functions.
- Again not definitive, there are hints “credits” will be used. They will not be tradeable or have any value outside the platform.
| Team Members | Role |
|---|
SolBuckets – Founder
https://twitter.com/SOLbuckets
SolBuckets is well connected in the space. Currently has over 114k Twitter followers and is highly respected in the space.
JS – Developer
Akram – Developer
Pros
– Project Founder SolBuckets is well known and respected in the space
– SolBuckets has funded the platform to date, skin in the game means he also will be pushing for Sandbar to be a success.
– Connections to MonkeDAO have allowed for feedback as to what both employers and service providers want out of a platform.
– Simplicity, there is no spl token, no rev share, not even a white paper.
– The ability for users to add reviews and rate their experience after they have conducted business using the platform.
– The focus is on transactions to create revenue, fees are low so success comes from bulk transactions.
Cons
– Many have tried and failed this type of project before
– The space already questions job platforms as previous project have left us with a sour taste.
– People commonly compare floor price as a measure of success. The project is focused on platform utility, not focused on pumping the NFT (This is also a Pro)
– Many man hours are used to maintain the platform, this comes at a cost.
My final thoughts
From our Skribr Shill and Grill space here we managed to extract some further information about the platform.
Firstly the raise is expected to give around 6-8 months of runway. This covers the additional development work to ship new products and features as well as maintenance and ongoing costs. Should the mint not go as planned they still have capital to be deployed to continue with the roadmap and hopefully get the platform to a stage where it sustains itself.
Not much was revealed about the specifics of how holders would accrue credits. Of interest was the fact that “credits” will be used to post job vacancies as well as apply for jobs. This I believe will stop people from bulk applying which is quite frustrating from an employer perspective. In turn this feature will reduce the spam.
NFT holders will get the greater experience, for now this is essentially gated to those 7500 holders. There is no plans set in stone but in the future the collection may be expanded or even a subscription service added to allow more users to expand their experience. For now concentration is on getting users to move their workflow to the platform and get a steady flow of transactions.
I do believe the success of this platform is highly dependant on capturing interest from both service providers and employers. In the past we have seen platforms that have been flooded with users looking for work and minimal employers using this to find service providers. This has been a one sided experience and platforms have failed.
I believe the team knows this and has been working with projects to find out what ‘they’ want out of a platform as they will be the minority on the platform so allocating resources to make their experience better will be paramount.
I do believe the addition of the escrow service is a clever way to monetise the platform and create a revenue stream to sustain the project.
Sandbar have disclosed that they will be taking a small % of all contracts through the escrow service offered. This will be scaled so the greater amounts will have a lower fee. Revenue will be driven by demand for the service.
Where Sandbar has an advantage over others is the established network. SolBuckets being a member of MonkeDAO can leverage contacts to create partnerships. By coordinating their community with Sandbar the beta test can be run through a large user base. Additional to this MonkeDAO has a number of people offering services to others which will be essential in the initial launch to the public.
It has been stated that the development of the platform has been fronted by the team. This shows that they are committed to the project. This also shows that the team will be putting in the work to make the platform a success.
The allocation of mint funds is reassuring, it has been disclosed that for the most part, funds will be rolled back into the project. To define this, funds will be allocated to various places, tax accountants for example but no funds will be distributed back to personal wallets.
I find the team have done their research and have measurable ways to scale the platform. Focus will be entirely on the Solana user base for the initial stage with plans to establish this first before allocating resources to include users and businesses from other blockchains.