Websites for freelancers abound on the Internet. From oDesk to Elance to Guru, there’s something for everybody, it seems. And each has its own way of doing business. With the Sydney, Australia–based Freelancer.com, for example, an employer pays a contractor only when he’s satisfied with the work the contractor has done. That could explain why
Sramana: Are contractors starting to hire other people and build their own agencies? Gary Swart: That is the real entrepreneur empowerment we have. One of our favorite contractors started on oDesk for $6 an hour three years ago. Today he bills at $33 dollars an hour. He has worked 3,000 hours this year with a perfect
Sramana: After you had raised your initial rounds with Sigma, how much money had you raised? Gary Swart: We raised additional funds with Benchmark. We took $6 million in our A round, $8 million in a B round, and $15 million in our C round. We have raised $29 million total. We have essentially not
Sramana: Transcription is not necessarily easy, especially if you are doing highly technical transcription. Transcription is just an example. Translation is another area where there is a ton of work. Gary Swart: There is a lot of work in translation. We have large customers coming to us asking for translation. They do not want PhD
“Anybody can go offshore and find somebody for four bucks an hour. But to find somebody who understands your culture and speaks your language, and knows where you’re coming from, that’s one step up,” says Josh Last, CEO and founder of GlobeTask, of his company’s approach. How important is the cultural factor? Tony Scott’s interviews
Sramana: I think in many cases companies would hire contractors through Elance but would not use Elance to pay them. Gary Swart: Absolutely, and I think Elance has recognized that. They realize they were only getting the tip of the iceberg. I think you will see they begin moving more toward the middle and move
Sramana: Enterprise deals could be a good option for you. I could see oDesk doing $10 million-a-year deals. Gary Swart: There are some differences in that type of business. It requires a lot of touch. They would want one throat to choke.
Sramana: Tell me more about the work management portion of your platform. Gary Swart: The management portion is also interesting. We have a lot of customers in the U.S. who are hiring onshore workers. Hiring onshore workers is tricky because companies would like to assume everybody is a contractor, but the IRS would like to