13 Freelance Marketplace Business Success Stories [2024]
A freelancing marketplace is a platform that helps companies find and hire independent professionals for temporary jobs or special projects. How freelancing platforms work is simple.
When a client posts a job on the freelancing platform, interested freelancers will send proposals requesting the client's consideration for the task. The client will hire a favorite candidate and create a contract, which includes funding the escrow account so that all parties feel secure.
Upon completion of the task, the freelancer submits to the client via the freelancing platform and requests payment release by the client. Once the client is satisfied, the next step is the release of escrowed funds to the freelancers.
At this point, the contract may remain open, or both parties can decide to close the contract.
The corporate world has changed more in the past few years. Today's generation of workers prefer working remotely, and most have given up the idea of a full-time job in a corporate office. According to experts, more than 50% of the US workforce will shift to freelancing in the next few years. Therefore, freelancing platforms like Upwork will register more users over the coming years.
As the freelancing economy continues growing, we must keep our fingers on the pulse of this current trend.
Are you looking for a futuristic business idea you can embrace today? How about starting a freelancer marketplace? Building a freelancer marketplace is not as difficult as it may seem.
To start, choose a business niche and decide on the marketplace business model. Then, come up with a list of requirements, and create a visual identity and user interface for your freelance marketplace. As soon as the graphic design is at hand and your product is in action, begin the rapid prototyping process. Finally, test and launch the platform.
In this list, you'll find real-world freelance marketplace business success stories and very profitable examples of starting a freelance marketplace business that makes money.
1. Virtudesk ($6M/year)
Pavel Stepanov, the Founder and CEO of Virtudesk, came up with the idea for his business after experiencing the dramatic results of hiring a virtual assistant for his own real estate business. He realized the power of delegating tasks and saw that other agents and entrepreneurs faced the same time constraints. With connections in the Philippines, he was able to start sourcing virtual assistants, and within two weeks of launching, he had already gained paying clients.
How much money it makes: $6M/year
How much did it cost to start: $2K
How many people on the team: 367
Virtudesk provides virtual assistant services to entrepreneurs and business owners, helping them to scale and automate their businesses with highly-trained virtual assistants based in the Philippines, resulting in over $500,000 in monthly revenue and experiencing greater growth in 2020 than in previous years.
2. BBQGrills.com ($6M/year)
relying on word-of-mouth would be our strategy. We focused on providing exceptional customer service and offering high-quality products that would stand the test of time. With just $600 in our bank account, we took a chance and worked tirelessly to build our business. And now, just 11 months later, we have achieved $2 million in overall sales without any advertising or remarketing ads.
How much money it makes: $6M/year
How much did it cost to start: $600
How many people on the team: 2
BBQGrills.com is an online retailer of outdoor kitchen equipment, BBQ grills, and patio heaters that earned $2 million in sales within its first year of business through a focus on quality, performance, and customer service.
3. ThirstySprout ($3.6M/year)
David Stepania, the Founder of ThirstySprout, came up with the idea for his business while taking a break on a Hawaiian beach. With a background in startups and a realization that building an extraordinary startup required an extraordinary technical team, David decided to solve the problem of connecting startups with top technical talent they could trust. ThirstySprout was born out of this desire for growth and success, and it has since grown to a team of over 40 people with $2.5 million in gross revenue last year.
How much money it makes: $3.6M/year
How much did it cost to start: $500
How many people on the team: 0
ThirstySprout, a talent acquisition platform, connects remote technical talent with high-growth startups and enterprises, boasting a team of 40-60 remote contractors and $2.5 million in gross revenue last year, with plans to double that in the next year or two.
4. Distro ($1.68M/year)
Chad Ingram, the founder and CEO of Distro, came up with the idea for his business after facing challenges with hiring and retaining software developers in his previous ventures. Seeing the need for a better alternative in the competitive labor market, Chad created Distro as a marketplace for companies to find, hire, and pay remote development teams. Within 8 months of launching, Distro has already surpassed $2 million in annual recurring revenue and is focused on scaling its marketing and product implementation.
How much money it makes: $1.68M/year
How much did it cost to start: $250K
How many people on the team: 5
Distro, a marketplace for companies to find and hire software developers, has reached $2 million in ARR in just 8 months, and is profitable, giving founders hope to grow through capital efficiency focussing on product and sales by aggressively targeting a $3.5 million ARR by December 2022 alongside building a scalable marketing system and product implementation.
5. Flexiple ($1.2M/year)
Suvansh Bansal, co-founder of Flexiple, came up with the idea for the freelancing platform while realizing that existing platforms focused too heavily on reviews and ratings, rather than the actual skill and expertise of freelancers. Recognizing the need for a platform that prioritizes quality interactions, Bansal and his co-founders decided to build Flexiple with a focus on providing the best freelance developers and designers in their community.
How much money it makes: $1.2M/year
How many people on the team: 9
Flexiple is a customer-funded profitable business, generating $80K in gross monthly revenues on an average over the last 6-months, driven by their focus on connecting high-quality freelancers with companies looking for reliable and remote talent, while continuously iterating on their business model and expanding into complementary areas like tech hiring and content marketing.
6. Design Match ($384K/year)
Danielle, the founder of Design Match, came up with the idea while working as a product designer for startups around the world. As her workload grew, she started matching clients with designers in her network, and realized this could be a great business. She launched Design Match with a website and quickly generated $20,000 in MRR within the first month, validating her idea and spurring the company's growth.
How much money it makes: $384K/year
How much did it cost to start: $4K
How many people on the team: 3
Design Match, run by nomadic entrepreneur Danielle, has made $350k following its launch after receiving organic leads from LinkedIn and focusing on search engine optimization through evergreen articles and other tools like Jasper, SurferSEO, and SalesFlow.
7. Uplink ($192K/year)
Hi, I'm Manuel, the founder of Uplink, a network for IT freelancers in Germany. After working as a freelancer myself and being frustrated with traditional IT recruiters, I came up with the idea of creating a community and job placement platform that was simple, fair, and transparent. I started by reaching out to freelancers and companies directly and built the platform from there. We now have over 1,000 members and are seeing steady growth in our monthly revenue.
How much money it makes: $192K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
How many people on the team: 2
Uplink, a German network for IT freelancers, has surpassed 1,000 members and offers job placements for companies with a simple process that charges a commission of 10% to freelancers for the first six months of working with a client through the platform.
8. Refrens ($120K/year)
Naman came up with the idea for Refrens after struggling to find and engage with freelancers for his previous startups. Recognizing the challenges freelancers faced in payment collection, he saw an opportunity to address these issues.
In 2018, he launched Refrens.com, focusing initially on streamlining invoicing to reduce delays and inefficiencies. The platform expanded beyond invoicing to include features like quotations, expense tracking, and tax reporting, aiming to support freelancers comprehensively.
I met a lot of good freelancers during my course of growing multiple startups but finding them and interacting with them was tough. It looked like a good market to solve problems for. — Naman (Source)
How much money it makes: $120K/year
Discover how Refrens, a billing platform that facilitates seamless payments and client acquisition for B2B service providers, grew from a basic tool to generating $120K annually through targeted SEO, email marketing, and user-centric design improvements.
9. Cottage Software ($120K/year)
In 2014, Neil Granberry and Hunter Hodnett reconnected and began discussing business ideas. They eventually settled on the concept of Cottage Software, a platform that turns Figma designs into coding competitions for developers. After launching an MVP built with no-code solutions, Cottage Software has achieved success, generating $25,000 per month in revenue as a tech-enabled agency.
How much money it makes: $120K/year
How much did it cost to start: $5K
How many people on the team: 0
Cottage Software co-founder Neil Granberry shares how they built their software agency business, which helps designers and developers turn designs into code fast and affordably, through their platform powered by learning developers, bringing in $25,000+ per month in revenue as a tech-enabled agency of just two people, with plans to sell directly to web design and development agencies.
10. Afluencer ($24K/year)
Brett Owens, the Founder and Chief Matchmaker at Afluencer, came up with the idea for his business while working on his previous company, LeadDyno. Many prospective LeadDyno customers expressed a need for influencers, which led Owens to start Afluencer and create a two-sided marketplace that connects brands with influencers. Since its launch, Afluencer has seen significant growth, with a 10% monthly increase in influencer and brand users, and a revenue growth of 100% year over year.
How much money it makes: $24K/year
How much did it cost to start: $500K
How many people on the team: 0
Afluencer is a two-sided marketplace that connects brands with influencers and helps influencers, creators, and ambassadors find paid gigs, with 6,500+ active influencer users and 1,000+ brand users yielding 100% YoY revenue growth.
11. Merrative ($24K/year)
Harshala Chavan, the founder of Merrative, came up with the idea for her business after noticing a lack of dedicated spaces for people to discuss literature. After attending a book club meetup, where she had a great discussion with others who had read the same book, she wondered if she could bring this experience online at scale. She validated her concept through participating in BPlans and growing her Instagram page, which eventually led to the launch of Merrative as a community-led marketplace for publishing talent.
How much money it makes: $24K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
How many people on the team: 0
Merrative, a community-driven marketplace for publishing talent, generates an average of $1,500 per month in marketplace transactions from their 5,000+ strong community of readers, writers, journalists, and scholars.
12. FVA Business Consultancy ($12K/year)
Julmar Grace Locsin, founder of Filipino Virtual Assistance, came up with the idea after experiencing the challenges of transitioning from office jobs to freelancing. Recognizing the potential for freelancing to improve the lives of individuals and families, Locsin and her husband launched FVA to provide training, coaching, and services to empower freelancers. Since its inception, FVA has trained over 25,000 students and aims to become the top online academy in the world.
How much money it makes: $12K/year
How much did it cost to start: $500
How many people on the team: 14
Filipino Virtual Assistance by FVA Business Consultancy, founded by Julmar Grace Locsin, offers online and offline training to empower marketers, enable businesses, and equip freelancers which has trained 25,000 students from their 31 courses, has 16 coaches assigned from different territories, and fifteen in the FVA team for global digital leadership that will impact the world through digitalization, one life at a time.
13. Vettted ($1.2K/year)
In a video interview, Vasco explains that he came up with the idea for Vettted after working in the freelance marketplace industry since 2016. He noticed several issues with existing marketplaces, such as lack of transparency, high fees, and low-quality services. Inspired to create a better platform, Vasco decided to focus on digital marketing and provide a place where freelancers can keep 100% of their earnings.
How much money it makes: $1.2K/year
How much did it cost to start: $20K
How many people on the team: 0
Vettted, a marketplace for pre-vetted marketers to outsource digital marketing efforts, has launched and has over 65 sellers and 287 users so far, with the goal of providing a platform for talent to keep 100% of their earnings.
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Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
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