“A crowdfunded mercenary system. The system has eight steps that identifies and evaluates projects, identifies and evaluates mercenaries, raises funds for these activities, and then deploys and monitors mercenary activity.

A user-generated database of mercenaries is collected. A want-to-be mercenary fills out a detailed form and goes through a strenuous vetting project to ascertain what level of training they have, what skills they possess, and to verify they are who they say they are. At the end of this process each mercenary is assigned a score/rank. Previous generals with impressive credentials will be high ranked, completely unskilled individuals that have not even completed basic training will receive the lowest rank. This ranking system will be important in the later steps. Users (non-mercenary, normal people) on the website submit an objective they want accomplished by mercenaries and crowdfunded. An example would be I want the Genocide being committed in village A prevented. Another example could be my village is about to overrun by a warlord, here is some pertinent information about it, I want our militia to be supplemented by mercenaries. Users raise money for an objective from step 2 to receive Evaluation by experts and Mercenaries in the system. High ranking officials (from step 1) answer the call for evaluation. The highest ranked, most experienced mercenaries have first stab at answering the call, should they pass and not bid their services, it would move on to the next available mercenary, and so on. It is a collaborative process and more than one mercenary would be responsible for evaluating the Objective. A mission plan is presented with a detailed budget, number of phases (if appropriate), detailed strategy, resources needed, as well as things such as life insurance for mercenaries, etc. Money is crowdfunded by users/supporters to meet the budget in total, or in phases. As well as an administrative cost we determine to cover salaries and other expenses. Mercenaries bid for the contract. The lowest priced bids at each required rank (as stipulated by the mission plan) will be accepted. For instance, if a mission requires one highest ranking official, two mid-level mercenaries, and 20 totally unskilled "soldiers”, mercenaries will be able to bid for acceptance in to an opening they are eligible for. Having been selected, mercenaries will then be required to sign a contract formalizing a code of conduct that if infringed is severely punishable. The mercenaries that are selected will receive a monthly payment as well as a lump sum at the end after successful completion of the mission. Deployment and reporting There will be an iterative process of adjusting the mission as reporting from the field comes in. This will influence the amount of money that will continue to be raised, the number of resources necessary for the mission, and the timelines.

The People

So… like I said this is a radical idea. Don’t take up this project if you plan on making it your full-time job in the next year. It will definitely be a side project for some time. Below are the pieces of the puzzle I believe necessary for success.

PM me if or reply to this post if you are interested in any “positions” I came up with. If you don’t fit neatly in one, PM me anyway. Give me enough info to decide why you would be worthwhile adding to the team.

Skilled web developer(s) Strong leader/ CEO type. Experience preferred. Willing to make this your main side project. A student would be perfect for this role. Responsible for organizing everything and making sure shit gets done. Build fancy business plan and enter it into accelerators and contests. Someone to provide legal advising. There is a way to do this legally in some country, it just needs to be researched. Financial backers. If people (like me) are sick of sitting idly by as terrible shit happens, put your money where you mouth is.“

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