The freelancers on the Braintrust platform include veterans of companies

like Amazon.com Inc. and Alphabet Inc.'s Google.

They publish the rates they're willing to work for and get paid that full sum,

although the companies that hire them also pay a 10% "success fee" to Braintrust.

There's a blockchain angle: Once the Braintrust blockchain is up and running,

freelancers will earn Btrust tokens by recruiting more employers to the platform

and by recruiting or vetting other freelancers. The tokens give their holders the ability

to vote on the direction of the foundation -- essentially, the users become the owners.

Braintrust pays a for-profit company called Freelance Labs Inc.,

also run by Jackson and Luna-Ostaseski, for some of its services.It's still tiny but so far, so good.

Despite Covid-19 and the recession, the startup is generating revenue at an annual run rate

of "seven figures," and that amount has lately been growing 40% a month, says Luna-Ostaseski.

The website lists clients including Deloitte, Nestle, Netflix, Nike, Four Seasons,

and Task Rabbit, among others. Luna-Ostaseski adds NASA, Porsche,

PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Pacific Life.

Luna-Ostaseski sums up the strategy in one sentence: "Software is eating the middleman."