14 Freelancer Platform Success Stories [2024]
Freelancer platform is a place where people come with skills and services to offer and people come who need those skills and services. So we can say freelancer platforms are a marketplace for sellers and buyers of services and skills.
The freelancing industry is growing rapidly and it's becoming a popular career option for people who are "non-traditional" employees. The global Freelance Platforms market size is expected to reach $6.7B by the year 2025. While working on a full-time job, freelancers simultaneously work on a freelance career. The platforms available online help them to increase their business by attracting new clients.
With all of the businesses looking for help on their websites, it would be a good idea to start a freelancer platform. Freelance platforms do well because people have jobs that need to be done and businesses have the resources to pay for the job at hand.
Here are some real life success stories of starting a freelancer platform:
1. CloudDevs ($1.2M/year)
CloudDevs was born out of the founders' frustration with hiring quality freelance tech talent. After struggling with platforms like Upwork and Toptal, they realized there was a huge demand for highly skilled developers and designers at affordable rates. They decided to create a platform that vetted and matched these professionals with startups and entrepreneurs looking to build their tech projects. Within their first year, CloudDevs reached $1 million in GMV, signaling their success in disrupting the tech talent-hiring industry.
How much they make: $1.2M/year
How much did it cost to start: $2.5K
Current team size: 10
CloudDevs, a tech talent platform that sources and vets freelance tech talent and matches them with companies, has achieved $1 million in GMV in its first year, plans to achieve 100% growth year on year, and focuses on customer loyalty through its Net Promoter Score metric.
2. Codemap ($84K/year)
Sasa Janicijevic, the founder of Codemap.io, came up with the idea for his business after experiencing the frustrations of traditional coding and software development while working on his previous startup. After discovering the world of no-code development, Sasa saw an opportunity to create a marketplace that connects founders and organizations with pre-vetted no-code experts, allowing them to build their products faster and at a lower cost. Since launching in October 2020, Codemap has attracted dozens of expert applications and client projects, proving the strong demand for their services in the rapidly rising no-code industry.
How much they make: $84K/year
How much did it cost to start: $1K
Current team size: 3
Codemap.io is a freelance & agency marketplace for no-code, low-code, and automation, enabling anyone to hire no-code experts to build their products, MVPs, and apps up to 10x cheaper and faster than with traditional development, with 900+ clients, close to $2,000,000 in created projects, and 110+ hires made, all achieved in less than 6 months.
So... can you actually make money with a freelancer platform?
Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.
But how?
- Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
- Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
- Take action, because now you have the roadmap.
Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:
3. SkillSoniq ($480K/year)
Abby, the founder of SkillSoniq, came up with the idea for her business after experiencing the challenges of working with outsourced talent on a tech project. She saw a need for a better way to source skilled talent quickly and affordably in the US, leading her to create SkillSoniq, the world's first AI-powered recruiting app. Through hosting marketing events at co-working spaces and leveraging personal connections, Abby was able to attract and retain customers, leading to impressive revenue growth.
How much they make: $480K/year
How much did it cost to start: $50K
Current team size: 7
SkillSoniq, the world's first AI-powered recruiting app, connects companies with skilled freelancers on a trial basis, saving companies 60%+ in hiring costs and earning $350,000+ in gross revenues in its first year, with a current average of $40,000 a month, and plans to raise a second round of seed funding to achieve escape velocity and continue to form a world-class company.
4. 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 they make: $192K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
Current team size: 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.
So... can you actually make money with a freelancer platform?
Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.
But how?
- Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
- Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
- Take action, because now you have the roadmap.
Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:
5. Transformify: Workforce Management System ($60M/year)
Started in 2015 when remote work was still a novelty, Transformify grew exponentially, providing global payroll and payments to international contractors and achieving 650% revenue growth in 2021. The idea came after the founder witnessed highly qualified professionals losing their jobs due to automation and process optimization at Coca-Cola Enterprises.
How much they make: $60M/year
How much did it cost to start: $250K
Current team size: 35
Transformify, a global payroll and payments platform for international contractors, achieved 650% revenue growth in 2021 and reached profitability in 2019, offering social impact programs for various vulnerable groups, vendor management systems for temporary workforce management, and an AI-driven applicant tracking system to help job seekers switch careers amid Covid-19 outbreak.
6. 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 they make: $1.2M/year
Current team size: 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.
So... can you actually make money with a freelancer platform?
Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.
But how?
- Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
- Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
- Take action, because now you have the roadmap.
Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:
7. SinOficina ($36K/year)
Chris's eight year old suggested him the idea of "food named states". A photo series based on this idea went viral on Instagram, and a couple years later, Chris started developing a Shopify store for t-shirts based on the same concept.
How much they make: $36K/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
Current team size: 0
SinOficina is an online coworking space for Spanish-speaking freelancers and entrepreneurs that generates $3,000 per month in revenue, which founder Bosco Soler built by sharing his journey with his audience, delegating tasks, collaborating with formidable people and using WordPress, Slack, Mailchimp, Airtable, Crowdcast, Zapier and Notion.
8. Refrens ($120K/year)
How much they make: $120K/year
Current team size:
Case study on Refrens: A dynamic operating system for freelancers that has already attracted over 100,000 sign-ups from small businesses, freelancers, and agencies.
9. Factofly ($1.8M/year)
Jannik, the co-founder and CEO of FactoFly, came up with the idea for the business after experiencing the burden of administration as a freelancer. Through extensive market research and interviews with freelancers, he saw a need for a platform that would handle the administrative tasks for freelancers, allowing them to focus on their work. Since its launch, FactoFly has grown its revenue to around €130k monthly and is now preparing for a seed round to expand into new European regions.
How much they make: $1.8M/year
How much did it cost to start: $50
Current team size: 4
FactoFly, a platform for freelancers to handle their administrative tasks, has grown from 0 to €130k monthly revenue in 12 months, and is preparing for a seed round and expansion to other European regions.
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- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
