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WBUR Podcasts, Boston.

This is on point. I'm Magna Chakra Bardi.

In 2021, Zaki Manian was needing help building his crypto finance startup.

At the time, he'd had trouble finding competent

coders with years of experience in blockchain development. But one freelancer stood above the pack,

and his resume showed an extensive work history. So Mannion hired him. And then he brought on

someone he said he had worked with, and collectively they were able to do the work.

You know, I would frequently have to, like, meet with them late at night because they said they were in Singapore, but they were quite technically competent.

Because of the time zone differences and pandemic-era restrictions in Asia,

Mannion never saw his new hires in person.

But nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

You send them chat messages late at night.

You know, tell them what deadlines need to be hit.

They try to hit them.

They get stuck.

You try and help them.

Like, you know, it's like having any sort of,

you know, mid-level contractor that you hired anywhere. Like, if you hired someone in India or you

hired someone in China or you hired someone in Vietnam, your interactions would be very similar.

The freelancers eventually finished the work and got paid.

And after that, it wasn't something Mannion gave a lot of thought to until two years later,

...