Elance is a marketplace which matches freelance design, technical, writing and other professionals with companies that need their services in a timely manner. The company was founded in 1999 by Beerud Sheth and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.
LinkedIn is a professional business networking site founded by Reid Hoffman in 2003. It allows members to showcase their profiles and caters to the age 25-65 professionals demographic. It generates revenues via subscriptions and advertising. Recruiters use the site to tap talent, and is LinkedIn’s primary revenue generating segment. In 2003, LinkedIn secured $4.7 million
Some of you may recall, during the Dotcom days, B:B Exchanges were a hot new concept, which propelled even the car companies to set up one (Onstar.com). Even John Doerr fell for it, and invested in eLance, which was an exchange for Freelancers. Well, like many other concepts that are returning with a web 2.0