InCrowd focuses on investments in companies graduating from incubator, accelerator and university programs (e.g. tech transfer).  Currently, we focus on investments in the Southeast.  For angels, InCrowd makes it easy to invest in startups by handling all of the complicated stages of investing in startups.  Deal screening, term negotiation and legal and tax document preparation are all handled for their investors.

InCrowd Capital

With $360 million under management, Ballast Point Ventures invests in established but rapidly growing, privately owned companies, with a particular emphasis on companies located in the Southeast and Texas. This region accounts for 22% of the national GDP and the region's favorable business climate and strong quality of life make an attractive home to thousands of talented entrepreneurs working to build great companies.  The BPV partners have spent their careers building and investing in outstanding companies throughout the region – partnering with entrepreneurs who prefer to work with high quality partners ''in their own backyard'' who understand not only their businesses but also the local community. Our proximity to our portfolio companies and emphasis on long term relationships have allowed us to focus on adding value for our companies in ways that other firms investing across the country find difficult to match.  We are ''growth capital'' investors and we work with companies that demonstrate proven business models and have strong management teams. We invest in a diversified group of industries that we believe have favorable growth and investment characteristics, and in which both the BPV Partners and our partners at Raymond James Financial have substantial knowledge and experience. These industries include health care, business services, communications, information technology, financial services and consumer/retail.  Our experience shows that by partnering with outstanding entrepreneurs with experience, vision and integrity, we can invest across a broad range of industries and help our entrepreneur partners generate attractive investment returns for both themselves and their investors. We are financial and strategic partners rather than operators, and we prefer minority ownership stakes to control positions.

Ballast Point Ventures

Gun.io

Gun.io is the first software development platform that helps fast-growing companies build custom engineering teams. With the highest-quality network of independent developers in the world, Gun.io can tackle any software engagement — whether it requires a few hours of work from a senior engineer — or the combined year-long efforts of an entire engineering team.  By streamlining the product development workflow with technology that includes reference checks on both sides, technical assessments for freelancers, and budgetary assessments for companies, companies can build their teams with confidence, and freelancers can work without fear of being stiffed on the bill.

Gun.io is a freelancer marketplace for businesses to access software developer talent. The platform allows enterprises to look for software developers specializing in different programming languages, such as React, Node.js, Javascript, and others.

The on-demand economy has finally reached white collar work.

Online Freelancing Platforms

[Video] Taylor Desseyn on LinkedIn: Day 1 recap of SXSW with the Gun.io crew.

Gun.io is a freelancer marketplace for businesses to access software developer talent. The platform allows enterprises to look for software developers specializing in different programming languages, such as React, Node.js, Javascript, and others.Gun.io states that it accepts approximately 100 applications from the 1,000 monthly developers who apply to join the platform each month, following its algorithmic screening, work history review, and live technical interview with a senior developer. The company also offers a free 10-minute WorkStyle assessment that helps define how individuals approach their work, considering factors like core motivations, energy levels, and management preferences. This assessment categorizes candidates into roles such as Artists, Partners, Innovators, Producers, and Leaders.&nbsp;The company generates revenue by charging clients a 20% fee based on the candidate’s first-year salary.&nbsp;Gun.io expanded its freelancer pool with the acquisition of Centersource, a provider of web and mobile development services, in 2018. The company experienced triple digit revenue growth from 2015 to 2018.Key customers and partnershipsNotable clients included Docket, Cactus and Issimo. As of October 2024, the platform had a pool of over 70,000 freelance developers.

Textbroker is a platform for creative writing freelancers to connect with businesses. Textbroker freelancers work on projects such as social media posts, news stories, and blog posts. The platform provides content in over 35 languages, while connecting businesses with freelancers in the target country. Platform pricing starts at USD 2.3 cents per word.Key customers and partnershipsAs of October 2024, the platform served over 80,000 clients, including eBay, Otto and RVshare. The company also had 100,000+ registered freelancers on the platform as of October 2024.

Textbroker

Procurement Freelancers provides freelancers for procurement functions such as sourcing/category management, quality control and assurance, and advisory. Its algorithm calculates the relevance between experts' skills and client briefs by scoring criteria like skills, experience, and language. It prioritizes search criteria based on user preferences to deliver the most accurate match.The platform is free to use for freelancers, while clients purchase subscriptions to hire and manage freelancers at no added cost.In March 2019, the company acquired Dragon Sourcing, a procurement and sourcing service provider.Key competitors: None under coverage. (The platform connects enterprises with procurement-based freelancers)

Procurement Freelancers

Kolabtree is a UK-based freelancer marketplace connecting businesses and scientists. The platform provides businesses with skills such as data analysis, product development, scientific consulting, desk research, and other science related services within 24 hours of receiving business requests.Kolabtree also provides concierge services for writing, with fees ranging from USD 2,000 to USD 4,000, depending on the timeline. Similarly, its concierge services for statistical analysis are priced between USD 250 and USD 625, also based on the timeline.The company generates revenue via a 20% service fee charged to the freelancers based on the total project invoice.Key customers and partnershipsAs of October 2024, Kolabtree served over 3,200 businesses including notable enterprises such as NASA, Volkswagen and Moderna. Further, the platform had over 20,000 scientists and experts as of October 2024.Key competitors:&nbsp;None under coverage. (Kolabtree offers a freelancing platform connecting enterprises with scientists).

kolabtree

Codersera is a freelance marketplace for enterprises to find software engineers. The company claims to provide the top 1% of developers through its five tier vetting process. The platform’s freelancers cover a spectrum of developer and data science technologies such as iOS, Android, Python, and Java. Additionally, freelancers provide SaaS platform development, testing and QA services and migration away from legacy systems.Key customers and partnershipsAs of October 2024, the platform had over 20,000 vetted freelancers and 100+ clients on its platform.

Codersera Inc

Upwork is an online labor marketplace that assists in engaging freelancers and businesses in discovering direct labor arrangements for both short and long-term projects. Upwork’s roots date back to 1998 and 2003 when online talent marketplaces Elance and oDesk were founded. In December 2013, Elance and oDesk announced its merger with a combined freelancer base of over 8 million (5 million from oDesk and 3 million from Elance). Subsequent to the merger, Elance-oDesk continued to report losses and required a bailout package of USD 30 million from Benchmark Capital in November 2014. The company was rebranded as Upwork in May 2015.&nbsp;Unlike Fiverr, Upwork encourages freelancers to develop a profile focused on specific expertise, helping them build a niche reputation. Fiverr, on the other hand, allows freelancers to offer a wide range of services through individual gigs, enabling them to market multiple skill sets simultaneously. In&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/16664">February 2023</a> Upwork expanded its offerings to include full-time hiring for businesses with features such as finding, vetting, hiring, onboarding, and paying professionals for full-time work arrangements.&nbsp; Additionally, in&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/24502">December 2023</a>, Upwork launched Chat Pro, a GPT-4-powered app in beta, to enhance work efficiency. In&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/35568">October 2024</a>, Upwork introduced&nbsp; Uma, an AI assistant, the Business Plus plan for Expert-Vetted talent, Featured Jobs, and Boosted Profiles. At the time, the company also announced a 21% workforce&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/35569">reduction</a> aiming to save USD 60 million annually.Upwork also offers several solutions to streamline hiring: Talent Scout, connecting clients with pre-vetted freelancers; the Work Marketplace and Project Catalog for easy hiring; and the Virtual Talent Bench, which helps businesses build and maintain a network of freelancers for ongoing collaboration.The company generates revenue via a 10% project fee charged from clients, and freelancer subscriptions priced at USD 20 per month.In&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/03/upwork-ceo-on-ipo-day-we-do-not-incentivize-for-less-pay-for-freelancers.html">October 2018</a>, Upwork listed on the NASDAQ to raise approximately USD 187 million. In FY2023, Upwork generated USD 689 million in revenue (up 11% YoY). The company guided FY2024 revenue between USD 760 million to USD 780 million, representing 11.7% YoY growth at the midpoint. Diluted earnings per share (EPS) stood at USD 0.13 in FY2023, compared to a loss per share of USD 0.69 in FY2022.Key customers and partnerships&nbsp;The company recorded 868,000 active clients as of August 2024, with notable clients including Microsoft, Airbnb and NASDAQ, among others.In&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/33129">August 2024,</a> Upwork partnered with Beeline to&nbsp;integrate its talent pool into Beeline’s vendor management system (VMS), offering access to over 10,000 professionals across 125+ categories. Previously, in&nbsp;<a href="https://investors.upwork.com/news-releases/news-release-details/upwork-partners-catch-expand-freelancers-access-benefits">January 2022</a>, the company partnered with Catch to offer freelancers access to personal payroll and healthcare benefits.&nbsp;

Upwork

Platforms that provide expertise in specialized areas such as law and scientific research.

Platforms that provide expertise in writing, translation, and editing.

Platforms that provide marketing expertise across email, SEO, and social media marketing functions.

Platforms that offer expertise related to web, mobile and software development with freelance developers fluent across major programming languages.

Platforms that focus on offering expertise in design and creative functions such as photography, video editing, and animation.

Platforms that offer expertise across multiple verticals such as design and creative, web, mobile and software development, finance, and marketing.

Solutions use AI/Ml for to match freelancers with clients and to vet freelancers

Some solutions introduced by players in this hub are using a B2B SaaS model

Gun.io

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