Cat and the Bag: Mavenlink is Live!

My first project at Pivotal Labs was with a company called Mavenlink. Their site went live a few days ago and I've got a green light to put the word out on the blogospere, so here it is: http://www.mavenlink.com.

What is it? Think "Craigslist gigs meets legitimacy". It's aimed at contract work and is a little more tailored towards the legal/financial crowd, but works just as well with any tech jobs you may have.

How do I use it? Let's say you need some work done, like you need some tax work or you need someone to update some web content. You post your project along with what you expect to pay, and then sit back and wait for the mavens to come along. They'll make bids, tell you when they can deliver the goods. You'll make a counter bid or pick the maven that fits your needs. You can collaborate on the site,and the maven's work is reasonably secured but viewable until you fork over the cash through Paypal. Then Mavenlink releases the assets and both sides get what they want with less risk than ordinary email.

I was on the project for just over a month, and my involvement was only a small part of a larger and longer team effort. The guys on the Mavenlink side were awesome to work with, both on a business side and "getting Agile", as well as the human beings that are fun to work with side. Their goal with this release is to get a lot of feedback and continue to add the features that buyers and mavens need to do business safely and effectively, so don't hesitate to talk to them and suggest features. So go on, make a MavenBid!