How Does It Work?
The Discover page is a live map of the work happening around you. Some people on it need a hand. Others are offering theirs. The platform connects them — and locks the reward in escrow until the job is verifiably done. This is how a single screen turns into both a help desk and an income stream.
What you see on the map
Three things show up as you pan around. Each one is a different kind of opportunity:
- Orange (Parcel) — a real-world location that's been added to the map. A vacant lot. An overgrown sidewalk. A storefront that wants foot traffic. Parcels by themselves are just markers; the moment someone funds work on one, it lights up blue.
- Blue (Opportunity) — work somebody is paying for. Tap it, see the job, see the pool of money waiting in escrow.
- Teal (Completed) — the work is done, the worker has been paid, and the post stays on the map as a public record.
There's a fourth kind of work that doesn't need a pin — tickets. Tickets are jobs that aren't tied to one spot ("I need a logo designed", "I need help with my taxes"). They live in the side panel along with everything else, and they work the same way as opportunities under the hood.
Two currencies, one ecosystem
You'll see two kinds of rewards attached to work:
USD is real money. Cash payouts to your bank via Stripe Connect for paid work.
Most opportunities offer one or the other. Some offer both — a base EC reward with a USD bounty layered on top by donors who want to amplify a cause.
If you need something done
Two ways to ask the community for help:
Post a ticket (work that goes anywhere)
Open the Discover map → tap the side panel → New ticket. Write what you need. Attach a budget in EC, USD, or both. The reward is moved into escrow the moment you post — it's gone from your wallet until you either accept a bid (it goes to the worker on completion) or refund the ticket (it comes back to you). Workers bid with proposals and time estimates. You pick the one you trust.
Mark a spot on the map (work tied to a location)
Tap the crosshair icon, drop a pin where the work is, then describe what needs doing. This works best for things like cleanup, repair, photo documentation, neighborhood projects — anything where someone has to physically show up. The pin turns blue, attached to the parcel below it, and now appears in everyone's map view.
If you want to earn
Open the side panel and filter for what fits you:
- Work type — tickets only, opportunities only, or both
- Payment — EC only, USD only, or both
- Status — open and waiting for a bid, vs. already claimed
- Skill — type "lawn care" or "graphic design" and only matching jobs surface
- Tier — your verification level. Some jobs are gated to Bronze+ to protect serious clients
The map filters along with the panel, so the two views always match. Pan to your neighborhood, set Open · USD only, and you've got a Saturday's worth of paid work in front of you.
The full lifecycle of a job
flowchart LR
A["Posted with
reward in escrow"] --> B["Worker bids"]
B --> C["Owner accepts"]
C --> D["Worker delivers
(photos / proof)"]
D --> E["Owner verifies"]
E --> F["Escrow releases
to worker"]
Most jobs run end-to-end in a few hours to a few days. If the owner doesn't verify within the auto-release window after delivery, escrow releases automatically — no chasing required.
Three real scenarios
Sarah, on her front porch
Sarah's elderly neighbor's hedges have been blocking the sidewalk for a month. She drops a marked opportunity on the parcel, attaches 200 EC and a $40 USD bounty, and writes "trim hedges back to the property line, photo before/after." Two hours later a 17-year-old with a trimmer claims it, posts photos at 6 PM, and gets paid by 7. Sarah has done a kind thing for her neighbor without lifting a hedge clipper.
Marcus, looking to fill his weekend
Marcus mows lawns. Saturday morning he opens Discover, filters USD · within 5 miles, and finds eleven jobs in his area. He bids on six. Three accept. By 3 PM he's done all three, photos uploaded, $185 in his account before dinner.
An anonymous donor in Detroit
A donor wants to fund cleanup work for unhoused crews in their city. They scroll the map, find ten opportunities tagged "cleanup", and add $50 USD to each one's bounty. They never lift a broom. They never meet a worker. But the work happens, the workers get paid, and the donor sees photos of the result on every job they backed.
Common questions
| What if a worker delivers, but the owner ghosts me? | The escrow auto-releases after the verification window. You get paid even if the owner never opens the app again. |
| What if the work is bad? | The owner can dispute before verifying. Disputes go to platform review with the photos and proof both sides submitted. |
| Why two currencies? | EC keeps the inner economy moving — small jobs, community work, contributions that don't fit a dollar amount. USD makes it real income. Both can stack on the same job. |
| How do I get verified? | Bronze tier is automatic after your first completed job. Silver and above unlock as you build a track record. Verified workers see more (and bigger) opportunities. |
| Can I just donate without doing work? | Yes. Tap any open opportunity and add EC or USD to its bounty. You're amplifying someone else's request without taking it on yourself. |
Open Discover.
The map is the easiest way to plug in. Whether you've got a problem you need solved, a few hours of skill you want to monetize, or money you want to direct at work that matters — it's all the same screen, the same pins, the same trust model. Pan around. See who's nearby. Pick a way to start.
The platform doesn't care which side of the map you're on — needing help, giving help, funding help. It's the same economy, going both ways at once.