The Portrait of Michael Brooks: A Cyber Dothraki On The Freelance Mission

Character Is Destiny!
-Heraclitus

Have you ever wondered who are the founders and CEOs behind the major freelance platforms?

You may say, why should I care, I'm just a client or freelancer who wants to get the job done. Does it really matter who makes the calls where all I just want to do is hire or work?

Don't judge a book by its cover. Don't judge a company by its founder or CEO. Well, that could have been true in the early days of the freelance industry. Nowadays, all mega-size freelance platforms are public companies: Freelancer dot com, Upwork, and most recently Fiverr.

So, we have a lot of investors who do care for the millions of reasons (dollars). They put the money where their mouth is by investing in these companies' shares. I dare to say, the same applies to both clients and freelancers. How?

The moment you sign up on some freelance website you become an investor. The clients are investing their money. The freelancers are investing their time. Basically, it's the same thing, isn't it? So, it does matter who's running your freelance show, doesn't it?

Let The Examples Do All The Work

Imagine that Steve Jobs is running a freelance platform is some parallel universe. Either as an investor or client or freelancer, you wouldn't have to worry. The good old Steve would make sure there's always something new and innovative. Right?

My personal favorite is Elon Musk, but he's a bit too unpredictable for my taste. If he would set his mind to the freelance industry, we would probably witness some interesting and unorthodox solutions. The trouble is, though, your money and projects would be more affected by his tweets than the features of his hypothetical freelance website.

Finally, I have to mention Elizabeth Holmes. Imagine a revolutionary freelance website like you have never seen before. It wouldn't be a surprise for this imaginary platform to take the whole freelance industry by the storm, only to turn out to be a devastating "freelance bubble."

Now, do you still think it's all the same who's the most important person behind a freelance website where you are spending your money or time?

Hey David, Aren't You Petrified By All Those Goliaths Around You?

I define myself as a disillusioned freelancer. I dare to say that in almost ten years I have seen and tried it all when it comes to freelance platforms. That's why I wasn't thrilled at all when I stumbled upon a new freelance website - goLance.

I said to myself, that's great. Just what we need another replica of Upwork or some other "mainstream" platform for freelancers. I lost faith that you can reinvent the wheel in the freelance industry. But still, I decided to give it a try out of pure curiosity.

Boy oh boy, I was in for a series of surprises. The more I worked on goLance, the more I was amazed. Let's begin with a flat service fee that used to be 10%. Then, it dropped down to 7.95%. You can take my word for it, they plan to push their fees even further down. Isn't that the exact opposite of what your beloved freelance platforms usually do? And, that wasn't all.

I could and I still can bid as many times as I want with no fear that my account would be suspended. I can also attach any third-party link to my profile: Twitter, LinkedIn, and so on, including my own website, without any negative repercussions any freelancer knows all too well. I really thought I was living in a freelance utopia, when I discovered that I can get paid almost immediately thanks to Payday Advance and Variable Review Period.

My long-term loyal clients were understandably skeptical too. I invited then to follow me on the new freelance website I discovered. They just couldn't believe there were absolutely no costs to clients. No processing or hidden fees. Nothing! Nada! No cost to goLance clients, period.

I was no longer surprised and amazed. I began to worry a lot. Why? Utopias don't last long, do they? One of my clients who followed me on goLance even asked, are you sure this isn't some kind of non-profit? The entrepreneur who invented all of these, what was he thinking?

I had to agree with my client. Really, who's this goLance-man? What's his name? What's the catch?

It turned out that Michael Brooks was a bigger surprise than the freelance platform he created. The more I read about him and watched his interviews, the more confused and puzzled I became. So, I made a list of the burning questions and packed them all up in my brutally honest email.

You already have a successful startup Response CRM. Why do you need to go through all the trouble and pain of going against the most powerful platforms the freelance industry has ever seen? Do you really have to be a freelance Don Quixote who fights the corporate windmills?

I'm Not A Freelance Don Quixote - I'm A Cyber Dothraki!

What do you know, Michael Brooks is a Game of Thrones fan just like me and almost all freelancers and clients I know. That was also a surprise. I thought that all underdogs are the Northerners by default. Why Dothraki of all GoT races and noble houses?

Dothraki are fearless. They don't care about the odds they're up against. They can be quite emotional, but their loyalty is unquestionable. goLancers are Dothraki of the freelance world. Don't you agree?

Yes Michael, I just couldn't agree more. But, then I simply had to add something. I just had to bring up the last charge of Dothraki in the GoT final season. You know what I'm talking about, don't you?

Would you and any other freelancer or client out there follow me based on the odds, the force we're up against or the importance of what we're trying to achieve? Every goLancer who doesn't doubt himself brings light into the current freelance darkness. Which side you are on?

I know that I'm not the only who thinks that the final season of GoT should have a different ending. Just as I believe that this charge of Cyber Dothraki riders isn't the last, but one of many more to come.

Alexander The Great once said:

"I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion."

Imagine what could an army of freelance lions do, if led by the lion king!