Bedstuy-Based #Startup Gamifies Local Gigs @GigzNYC #techweeknyc #nyc

There are also approximately 725,000 New Yorkers unemployed. These individuals are using their extra time as an opportunity to pursue their interests or volunteer work.

Startup tech company Gigz.com is trying to connect these two groups.

Gigz.com is a gaming-inspired online tool with big plans to navigate individuals in New York City to a pool of work, volunteer, and social opportunities.

There are over 440,000 small businesses in NYC. Aside from healthcare costs, finding employees is the second biggest concern of small business owners.

Many are currently understaffed and not in a place to afford full time workers.

Gigz is an open platform. All users first create an individual profile representing their skills or company. Then they either post or find Gigz. Users who apply for a gig, will be reviewed by the poster and will either be chosen or not chosen based on their profile.

After the gig is completed, both users review each other through feedback to offset the open format. Feedback generates experience points and level-up users. Gigz will dole out game-like achievements to user profiles based on the amount of times a user engages in offline experiences.

Gigz utilizes the effectiveness of feedback on websites like eBay yet avoids the creepiness that lurks around open classified sites like Cragislist, while managing to provide a game-like experience.