Founded by Steve Case in 2005, Revolution partners with passionate entrepreneurs upending traditional industries with innovative products and services, leveraging its areas of specialized expertise to create significant value. Through its family of funds that include The Rise of the Rest Seed Funds, Revolution Ventures, and Revolution Growth, Revolution partners with entrepreneurs at every stage of the entrepreneurial lifecycle. Revolution focuses on venture communities in high-potential geographies and believes that while talent is well distributed, the opportunity is not. The firm’s vision that great companies can start and scale anywhere is supported by the fact that startups in emerging venture communities are often more capital efficient, offer a lower cost of doing business, and attract talent looking for a better quality of life.

Revolution

GFC is a venture fund that supports entrepreneurs at various stages of business development. It focuses on global markets and seeks individuals with innovative ideas. The fund evaluates opportunities based on potential impact and feasibility.

Global Founders Capital

Revolution Ventures focuses on early-stage venture capital investments in technology-enabled businesses that disrupt existing, multi-billion dollar industries. They seek opportunities where we have confidence in the entrepreneur, are excited by the business concept, and believe there is an attractive investment opportunity.

Revolution Ventures

FJ Labs is a stage-agnostic investment firm that focuses on marketplaces and consumer-facing startups. Their investments are seed and series A. The investment range of the company is $50,000 to $5,000,000. It invests in Alibaba Group, Beepi, BrightRoll, Betterment, Adore Me, and Earnest.

FJ Labs

Sierra Ventures is a Bay Area-based early-stage venture firm investing globally with a focus on Next Generation Enterprise and Emerging Technologies. With over three decades of experience and over $2 billion of assets under management, Sierra has created a vast network of successful entrepreneurs, Global 1000 CXOs, operational executives, and deep domain experts, providing a platform for entrepreneurs around the world. Sierra Ventures primarily invests in Seed and Series A rounds, with a preference to lead investment rounds and reserve capital for follow on rounds. Investment sectors include artificial intelligence/machine learning, big data, cloud, fintech, health tech, IoT/infrastructure, marketplaces, SaaS & enterprise apps, security, and emerging technologies such as 5G, devices, blockchain, robotics, and virtual reality / augmented reality. Sierra Ventures typically makes initial investments between $500,000 and $7 million on average and invests between $500,000 and $15 million over the life of an investment. The firm has invested in leading companies such as Intuit, Invensense, Greenplum, MakeMyTrip, OnLink, Teradata, StrataCom, Sourcefire, Treasure Data, and more. Sierra Ventures was founded in 1982 and is based in San Mateo, California.

Sierra Ventures

KGC Capital is a venture capital firm that specializes in seed and early-stage venture investments.  It is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The firm was founded by Richard Kiphart.

KGC Capital

The Heron is known for its patience, standing still until the exact right moment to strike.   Heron Rock is a physical place, a rock outside our office where a Heron often chooses to rest, when not hunting.

Heron Rock Fund

Madrona Venture Group is a Seattle-based venture capital firm. The firm prefers to invest in businesses that are involved in information technology, e-commerce, digital media, advertising, software, gaming, data, analytics, mobile, and infrastructure.

Madrona

Through an active investment approach, WP Global will partner with entrepreneurs hungry to grow private companies as well as fund managers determined to achieve superior returns. WP Global’s strategy is juxtaposition to simply administering investments in companies and in funds. Our unique strategy unchains us from traditional conventions and perceived risk, ultimately allowing our partners to build long-standing, high growth, and influential organizations.  You’re more likely to see us in person than talk to us over the phone because we believe knowledge is acquired on-sight through interpersonal engagement – we are continuously attending events and visiting companies. WP Global creates quality deal flow through vigorous outbound efforts and generates investment returns through active management. We leverage our partners for their operational and domain experience and they leverage us for our network.   By proactively investing directly into hundreds of private companies, private equity funds, and venture capital funds, WP Global generates a synergy of deal flow that is unrivaled. Along with leveraging our network, WP Global employs portfolio modeling and other investment management tools to gain foresight into the market momentum of the thousands of small private companies, which ultimately provides investment conviction.

WP Global Partners

Alumni Ventures Group provides high-quality, diversified venture portfolios to individual investors who previously haven't had access to VC. It helps accredited alums from top entrepreneurial schools invest together in the ventures of fellow alums. The firm backs companies with an alumni connection and an institutional lead investor with expertise in the space. AVG also offers focused funds that allow any accredited investor access to a venture portfolio, diversified by type, sector, stage, and geography. Beth Obermiller, Michael Madden, and Mike Collins co-founded the firm in Manchester, New Hampshire in 2013.

Alumni Ventures

Transform Capital is a traditional late-stage venture capital fund with a unique approach to impact. We invest in high-growth, revenue generating technology companies and donate 50% of General Partners’ profits to causes selected by Transform investors and founders.

Transform Capital

Top Tier Capital Partners is a venture capital specialist managing niche-focused funds of funds, secondaries, and co-investment strategies. The firm makes primary and secondary investments in venture capital funds and co-invest in select portfolio companies.

Top Tier Capital Partners

Paro

Paro is a growth platform that brings a talent community and businesses together to navigate immediate challenges and architect a plan. Powered by proprietary AI technology and in-depth industry expertise, Paro matches businesses with the right expertise and solutions to solve problems and drive growth. Their elite community of finance and accounting experts provides a range of services to clients, from bookkeeping and accounting to highly specialized corporate development and strategic advisory. By harnessing the power of people and technology, Paro empowers businesses and professionals to pursue meaningful work and go beyond even their loftiest goals.

Paro is a freelancer marketplace for professionals with expertise across a variety of financial functions such as accounting and bookkeeping, strategic advisory, audit assurance, financial planning, and tax services. The company offers freelancers who specialize in AI consulting services. The platform conducts an AI-backed seven-step vetting process that filters the top 2% of applicants.&nbsp;

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

Online Freelancing Platforms

Paro Study Unveils Top Challenges Among Finance Decision Makers

Paro is a freelancer marketplace for professionals with expertise across a variety of financial functions such as accounting and bookkeeping, strategic advisory, audit assurance, financial planning, and tax services. The company offers freelancers who specialize in AI consulting services. The platform conducts an AI-backed seven-step vetting process that filters the top 2% of applicants.&nbsp;Paro also offers a white-label product that firms can use to hire financial professionals to represent the businesses they work with, as opposed to functioning as a third-party hire. But&nbsp;Paro’s main earnings are derived from commission-based revenue from freelancer earnings. Hourly freelance rates range between USD 40 - 60 for bookkeepers, USD 80 - 120 for CPAs, and USD 250 - 400 for CFOs.Key customers and partnershipsNotable clients included Shopify, Coventure and Sierra Ventures. &nbsp; As of October 2019, Paro reported a pool of 1,800 freelancers—including hundreds of qualified accountants and CPAs—serving more than 1,000 businesses in the healthcare, retail and ecommerce, hospitality, and technology industries.&nbsp;

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

Paro

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