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.
In 2017, the platform reported that 20 work categories each contributed over USD 20 million in GSV, among them content marketing, business support, software development, and translation. Unlike its competitor Fiverr, Upwork encourages freelancers to offer services more closely related to one specific area of expertise. Further, Upwork allows clients to set the scope with the freelancers bidding for jobs as opposed to freelancers having the freedom to set the scope themselves. Upwork also provides freelancers access to personal payroll and healthcare benefits, in partnership with Catch , a portable benefits platform. In October 2018, Upwork was listed on the NASDAQ to raise approximately USD 187 million.
The company introduced a new recruiting solution called Talent Scout (May 2021) to connect customers with pre-vetted freelancers selected by a panel of expert recruiters from Upwork. The service offers a more personalized solution that adds to multiple efforts by Upwork to facilitate a smooth hiring process for businesses including its Work Marketplace (launched in early May 2021) and Project Catalog (launched in November 2020). As of May 2021, Talent Scout is available to customers in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, and Israel with additional countries added throughout the year. Upwork launched the “Virtual Talent Bench” (October 2021), a collection of features that enables businesses to build a network of freelance talent. The release allows clients to find new talent and reconnect with them for future projects through curated freelancer lists.
In February 2023 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.
Funding and financials
In October 2018, Upwork listed on the NASDAQ to raise approximately USD 187 million.
Upwork’s FY2022 revenue grew to USD 618 million from USD 503 million, a 23% YoY increase. FY2022 EBITDA deteriorated to a loss of USD 4 million from USD 19 million in FY2021. FY2022 net loss per share stood at USD 0.69, a deterioration from the USD 0.44 recorded in FY2021. For FY2023 the company expects non-GAAP diluted EPS to be between USD 0.11 and USD 0.15, with revenue guidance projected to be USD 690 million–USD 705 million, a 13% YoY growth at the midpoint.
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