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MenuWhat is your go-to site for hiring freelance resources to build your startup?
We're looking at different freelance marketplaces where startup founders turn to in order to hire the resources they need for very early stage dev work, marketing, and other tasks. Specifically stuff that can be done cheaply.
Answers
The best ones that I have used are as follows:
O-Desk: https://www.odesk.com/. This is good for more complex tasks that are still relatively cheap to implement.
Fiverr: https://www.fiverr.com/. These are small jobs that cost $5 bucks per gig. Good to get small stuff done fast.
I hate to say this, but this is how I found a great outsourcing partner in India. I spoke to my friend who recently moved to the U.S. from India and ask them if they wanted to be my "interpreter" to find a good outsourcing partner for additional tasks. They actually knew people doing exactly what I wanted to get done and they were able to connect me to a great small firm in India that has great and ambitious contractors for hire for only $6 per hour.
Sometimes the best way to do it is ask an Indian or Chinese friend :).
This doesn't specifically answer your question, but a lot of people steer clear of "the big sites" like eLance or oDesk because they're worried about getting low-quality code back or having other issues with the deliverables.
If the kind of work that you need done is fairly vanilla web development (ie not scientific computing, super high performance stuff, specific algorithms, etc) I've found that you can actually get high-quality code back from the freelancers on those sites for very cheap.
The important thing is to be very specific with them so there's as little ambiguity as possible. You'll need to write detailed product and technical specs yourself, as well as create mockups of what the pages should look like. These are the components that require the most design and careful thinking.
Once you've fleshed all of that out, it's easy to hand off to someone cheap and and have them crank through it quickly. They'll usually appreciate that their project is so well defined.
So while there are definitely some horror stories that come from the "big" freelancing sites, they can definitely be a great way to hire freelance resources, if you know what you need to have built very specifically.
I can only talk about Odesk which was good, Mokriya I heard fantastic things and a friend used augmenteddevelopment.com and have good references.
I also know some freelances that are really good (but DM me)
I being an app developer get hired more via my own site (www.agicent.com) than upwork (I've to bid a lot to get small of work on upwork). Startups find us via social forums like this, or via google search or meetups and then discuss their App ideas and then we offer our best app development services and if all goes fine then its development.
If you are a freelancer and you wish to use freelance resources, these sites will surely help you out:
1. Upwork: Upwork is one of the top-rated websites in the world when it comes to freelancing and freelance jobs. It has about 50 lakh registered businesses and 1.2 crore registered freelancers for more than 30 domains. The jobs range from writing, designing, marketing, sales, customer support, ethical hacking, accounting, and much more. Upwork charges about 20 percent of the total fee you would be charging for your services for the first five jobs, after which it charges about 5 percent of the fee. While a few argue that there are hidden charges, there are hardly any valid Indian stories to back this claim. Upwork is mostly for top-rated professionals and getting a profile approved can be daunting. The key to getting approval is being genuine in your application.
2. Fiverr: Fiverr was founded in 2010 on the concept of buying and selling of freelance services globally, starting at just $5. The prices would go up depending on the complexity, skill, demand, and the duration of the job. It soon grew in popularity and is now actively used by millions of users to offer and use freelance services in more than 30 different domains. Fiverr has a “gig” culture where you, as a client, post a gig for a certain requirement. A freelancer with a relevant skillset can bid for this and "get the Gig". It works extremely well for beginners of different and vocational skill sets to start searching for gigs in domains such as writing, dancing, editing, painting, and coding, among various other niches. Though simple and easy to use, Fiverr has always been controversial due to its low pay rates and professionals globally complaining about the quality of the work being delivered. Be sure to bid well and deliver quality work while you are at it.
3. Freelancer: Freelancer, as the name suggests, is most straightforward and is used by a lot of IT freelancers, majorly in India, the UK, the US, and Pakistan. It has a presence in about 247 countries, and a total user base of 24 million. One can find a wide range of freelance jobs on this site: coding, web development, graphics, accounting, data entry, writing, sales, and marketing. From time to time, Freelancer hosts a range of bid competitions apart from the usual gig bidding. There are substantial cash prizes for winning these competitions. While jobs on this site are genuine and up to the mark, Freelancer has a history of getting into legal trouble over how it handles personal data.
4. Guru: Guru.com is one of the oldest freelance platforms on this list. It was founded in 1999 as eMoonlighter.com and then rebranded as Guru. This platform allows users get paid not just by the hour or by the tasks, but also based on milestones and recurring payments. While it is still among the top websites, the competition has certainly made headway in recent times. This, actually, is good news if you are a freelancer as it means that you have comparatively lesser competition when compared to giants such as Upwork or Fiverr. However, there is one major drawback - how the website handles client accounts and user funds. There have been reports of account suspensions, and it is important that you proceed with proper caution.
5. People per hour: As the name suggests, People per Hour is an online marketplace for hiring talent on a per-hour basis. It also has a unique collaborative feature. Collaborative streaming of projects allows freelancers to pool in human resources and work as a virtual team to finish their goals. This not only helps freelancers do a better job, but also helps them grow their network. People Per Hour, apart from helping create a peer network, helps you build good client relations that may help you secure future jobs. Like Fiverr, this site does not deal in localised currency. While Fiverr deals in dollars, People Per Hour deals in pounds and pays out in the same currency. This might be a minor inconvenience for freelancers taking up international projects.
6. UrbanPro: UrbanPro is an online tutorial portal, which has registered and verified teachers in every domain possible. Here, one can learn anything from basic mathematics to playing the cello. If you are talented and capable of teaching people of any age group, you could sign up and start teaching them online or offline too. All you need to do is create your profile, bid for the best, have a conversation with your would-be student, and start your classes.
7. Broxer.com: Broxer is the perfect way for beginners to start their freelancing careers. One can start offering services such as writing, graphic designing, coding etc., for as low as Rs 250 per hour. Signing up and getting this experience can also help you build a better profile for high-end freelancer sites.
8. Listverse: I am going to start this with my favourite one. List verse is a website with great content. But the website is content-scarce and ready to pay any writer $100 for any new list. The condition is simple - keep it original. The best part about this is that there is no specific topic, and you are also not given any specific guidelines. Choose any topic under the Sun and generate engaging yet fact-rich content, and you are good to go. There are no upper limitations to the word count but keep the list to at least a minimum of 10 per article. By personal experience, I would say that each article should easily cross a 1,500-word mark. The one and only major roadblock for is the payment. You need to have a PayPal account as Listverse does not allow payments on any other network. So ready your listicle, sign up for PayPal, and you are good to go.
9. ContentWriters.com: Next on this list of writer-centric freelancer websites is ContentWriters.com. This is an enterprise-level content writing services firm dedicated to providing high-quality content. The best part of working with Content Writers is the huge knowledge repository you will be exposed to, allowing you to climb up to the next level of your professional writer journey. Content Writers is a serious website and accepts only professionals; the pay reflects that as well. Also, you would be working with some top professionals, which would enhance your knowledge. Apart from signing up as a writer, you can also sign up as an editor too. This has its own perks and large pay cheques.
10. Crowd Content: Crowd Content is an online content writing services firm that, even with its team of in-house writers, heavily relies on outsourced content. Though a small website, Crowd Content offers two more things.
Writer’s University: An online knowledge repository where you can further sharpen your skills or writing content/copy.
Pricing Table: This can be leveraged and stated as your standard pricing once you have a substantial experience working with their formats and if you want to branch out. Crowd Content has an application limitation and uses this for filtration. But you can apply and await approval.
11. Freelancewriting.com: Established in 1997, Freelance writing is a dedicated platform for freelance writers to bid and get the best available writing gigs in their area of preference. All you need to do is sign up and create a profile to get started. The payout at Freelance Writing is neither too high nor too low but is competitive with most freelance websites. But the best part are the writing competitions the website holds. These will bring out the best in you and keep up your writing spirit while winning you more projects and cash prizes. You can also access the best of writing resources available on their website to amplify your ability to write better.
12. Kolabtree.com: Kolabtree is a medical and scientific freelancer platform where you can hire and consult with top-level scientists and science professionals all over the world. While this is not the place for regular content writers, it is a good platform for someone with a science degree in almost anything. There are projects that require medical writing by professionals and if you are someone with a bachelor’s or a master’s degree, or a PhD in the relevant projects, you are up for a bid. Bids and projects range from chemistry, biology, and doctorates to over 2,400 different fields of science. It is possible to find PhDs and veteran scientists from every discipline.
13. Publoft.com: Publoft is a marketing services start-up dedicated to providing start-ups and businesses with inbound marketing strategies. The freelance programme at Publoft promises great prices for your content with biweekly pay-outs. Editors at Publoft will handle your work and help you with any necessary corrections and clarifications. Your payout is likely to increase as your association with the website grows. The start-up is at a nascent stage and promises a great journey as it grows.
14. Behance.net: Starting off our list for creativity is Behance, an online platform owned by Adobe for showcasing and discovering creativity. Famous for the talent it curates and projects, Behance is the perfect way for designers to not just showcase talent but also find great opportunities. One can also find full-time and lucrative opportunities from around the world. However, given the discovery nature of the platform, the pricing of the projects is entirely client dependent. But there is no bidding on this platform.
15. 99Designs: 99Designs is an online creative marketplace that works as an intermediary for designers and clients who post requirements about logo designs, websites, book covers, and pretty much anything related to visual designing and editing. With over 1.7 lakh designers from over 192 countries, it is highly trusted by the creative design community all over the world. The USP of 99Designs is its highly famous design competitions where competitors bid and compete for projects and clients. Clients can either browse and pick profiles that they find interesting or just create a contest where contestants can enter and try to win the project. The pricing is non-uniform as this is a competitive platform and you must be extremely talented and competitive to rank on top.
16. Toptal.com: A pure IT and tech talent-centric platform, Toptal is a dedicated community website that caters to coders, web developers, app developers, and UX/UI designers of the world. Apart from coding and tech development projects, it also acts as a platform for non-tech IT jobs such as project management, finance, accounting etc., Great for networking and pricing, Toptal contributes immensely towards the development of its registered talent by offering many tutorials and research blogs. However, getting in is tough. As the website suggests, it only accepts only the top three percent of the cream crowd. Screening is done rigorously through a series of filtrations of your application.
17. Codeable.io: Now this one is an interesting website. Codeable is a web platform that is dedicated to WordPress developers around the world. This simple platform ensures that clients need not search for individual developers and check their credentials. An algorithm does all the job of searching if you enter your requirements. As a WordPress developer, all you need to do is create an impeccable profile, bid correctly, and deliver satisfactory work. This ensures you end up ranking for every search related to your expertise and skill set. Codeable pricing follows a no-bid strategy. You can set your own price; this essentially eliminates pricing competition and puts the focus on talent and intuition.
18. Dribble: Dribble, yet another platform owned by Adobe, is a community for creativity. Users can post questions, answer queries, ask for help, and do much more. Think of it as the GitHub for the creative community. Clients can post their requirements to find the right talent for their requirement on Dribble Jobs. This is a brilliant opportunity that can be leveraged if you are a seasoned designer. Like Behance, Dribble has no bid culture. The pricing is either task dependent or client dependent.
19. Envato Studio: Every WordPress developer and design professional knows this vast repository of creative themes, but did you know that Envato has a separate platform that serves as a marketplace for freelancers? The Envato studio enables clients from around the world to search and hire not just talented WordPress developers and designers, but also online marketers and app developers.
Besides if you do have any questions give me a call: https://clarity.fm/joy-brotonath
Related Questions
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What legal precautions can I take to make sure nobody steals my startup idea?
I've discussed ideas with hundreds of startups, I've been involved in about a dozen startups, my business is at $1M+ revenue. The bad news is, there is no good way to protect ideas. The good news is, in the vast majority of cases you don't really need to. If you're talking to people about your idea, you could ask them to sign an NDA ("Non Disclosure Agreement"), but NDAs are notoriously hard to enforce, and a lot of experienced startup people wouldn't sign them. For example, if you asked me to sign an NDA before we discussed your Idea, I'd tell you "thanks, but no thanks". This is probably the right place though to give the FriendDA an honorable mention: http://friendda.org/. Generally, I'd like to encourage you to share your Ideas freely. Even though telling people an idea is not completely without risk, generally the rewards from open discussions greatly outweigh the risks. Most startups fail because they build something nobody wants. Talking to people early, especially people who are the intended users/customers for your idea can be a great way to protect yourself from that risk, which is considerably higher than the risk of someone taking off with your idea. Another general note, is that while ideas matter, I would generally advise you to get into startup for which you can generate a lot of value beyond the idea. One indicator for a good match between a founder and a startup is the answer to the question: "why is that founder uniquely positioned to execute the idea well". The best way to protect yourself from competition is to build a product that other people would have a hard time building, even if they had 'the idea'. These are usually startups which contain lots of hard challenges on the way from the idea to the business, and if you can convincingly explain why you can probably solve those challenges while others would have a hard time, you're on the right path. If you have any further questions, I'd be happy to set up a call. Good luck.DK
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I have this social media idea,but no coding skills. How do I get someone to do the coding (cant afford to pay them) and not give away half of my idea?
Dilip was very kind in his response. My answer might be a bit on the "tough love" side. But that's for you to decide. My intention, just for the record, is to help you (and those like you) on your path to success. And that starts with having a viable philosophy about entrepreneurial-ism and business. And I'm going to answer this because I get asked some form / version of this question very frequently from newcomers to entrepreneurial-ism. The scenario goes something like this: "I have a great idea. It's amazing, I love it, and I just KNOW it's gonna make me a ton of money. But I have no money right now so I can't afford to (fill in the blank with things like "to build it / create it / market it / etc" or "to hire the required staff needed to work in my business to sell it / develop it / etc"). And I don't want to tell anyone about my great idea because I'm worried someone will steal it and make MY million / billion dollars. But I can't afford to legally protect it either... So how do I launch without the skills to personally create the product AND no money to hire anyone else to do that either??" The answer is ... You don't. Look - let's be honest. All you have is an idea. Big deal. Really. I'm not saying it's not a good idea. I'm not saying that if properly executed it couldn't make you a million / billion dollars... But an idea is NOT a business. Nor is it an asset. Until you do some (very important) initial work - like creating a business model, doing customer development, creating a MVP, etc - all you really have is a dream. Right now your choices are: 1. Find someone with the skills or the money to develop your idea and sell them on WHY they should invest in you. And yes, this will mean giving up either a portion of the "ownership" or of future income or equity. And the more risk they have to take - the more equity they will want (and quite frankly be entitled to). 2. Learn how to code and build it yourself. MANY entrepreneurs without financial resources are still resourceful. They develop the skills needed to create what they don't have the money to pay someone else to do. 3. Get some cash so you can pay someone to do the coding. You'll probably have to have some knowledge of coding to direct the architecture of your idea. So you will likely still have to become knowledgeable even if its not you personally doing the coding. (This is not meant to be a comprehensive list of options... And I'm sure some of the other experts here on Clarity have others to add - and I hope they do) To wrap up - Here's my final tip to you that I hope you "get"... It's FAR more valuable to have an idea that a very specific hungry crowd is clamoring for right now - One that THEY would love and pay you for right now - Maybe even one they'd pre-order because they just have to have it - Versus YOU being in love with your own idea. [Notice I didn't say "an idea that some as-of-yet-undetermined market would probably love"] I wish you the best of luck moving forward.DB
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Is there any typical questions for customers' pain points discovery or it's impossible to standardise?
I have built several multi-million dollar businesses using (2) very simple questions: "What makes you say that...." and "Tell me more...." No matter what someone says to you, you just keep asking one (or both) of the questions. If you do it 4 or 5 times in a row you'll learn everything you ever wanted to know.DW
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As a startup, is it better to find a way to pay for services (i.e. design) or trade equity for it?
Before I get to your question, let me give you a tip: always aim settle questions of payment before the work happens. It is ten times easier to agree on a price beforehand, and having done that doesn't stop you from changing it by mutual agreement later. The problem with paying cash is pretty obvious: you don't have a lot of it. The problems with paying equity are subtler. The first one is that early-stage equity is extremely hard to value. A second is that equity transactions require a lot of paperwork. Third is that entrepreneurs tend to value their equity much higher than other people would; if not, they wouldn't be starting the company. And fourth, people like designers are rarely expert in valuing businesses or the customs of of startup equity valuation. In the past, I've both given and received equity compensation, and it's a lot more of a pain than I expected. In the future, what I think I'd try is convertible debt. That is, I'd talk with the designer and agree on a fair-market wage. E.g. 100 hours x $100/hr = $10k. The next time we take investment, the $10k turns into stock at whatever price we agree with our investors, plus a discount because he was in before the investors. Note, though, that this will increase your legal costs and your deal complexity, so I'd personally only do this for a pretty significant amount of work. And I'd only do it for somebody I trusted and respected enough to have them around for the life of my business.WP
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What is the best way to write a cover letter to an early-stage startup?
Better than a cover letter is to actually proactively DO something to help them. It'll show them not only that you've researched them, but you're passionate about the startup and worth bringing on. A man got a job at Square early on for just making them a marketing video on his own (back before they had one). Since you're a web designer, design a stellar 1-pager that's targeting their message to a particular niche. Something they could use on social media or something. If they're like most startups, they're not interested in reading cover letters. They're interested in passionate individuals who can add value to the organization.AS
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