What is Elance? Elance Review, Features

Elance (now the official website has become "Upwork") is one of the world's largest outsourcing service sites. It was founded in 1999 and provides a platform for buyers and sellers to find the most satisfactory partners. Here companies can hire or cooperate with professionals from all over the world to carry out projects such as website design, marketing writing and engineering design.

Website Services

Elance is very suitable for those who have a skill in the office, blog, designer, etc. It can help you realize your dream of making money online. The emergence of Elance makes it possible to bid for "services" or "labor work" on the Internet.

register

When registering an account, in order to ensure the authenticity of the user's identity, the Elance website needs to verify the user's phone number. The verification process is very simple. After registration, the Elance robot will call you and ask you to read out the numbers on the web page in English or enter them. (It should be noted that you need to read in English and speak slowly.) After passing the verification, the registration is successful and you can start taking projects.

About Elance-oDesk

1. Source: In 2013, the two largest competitors in the freelance market, Elance and oDesk, decided to make peace and merge to form Elance-oDesk, a giant in the freelance market.

2. Usage: Elance-oDesk has built a platform for companies looking for short-term jobs and online freelancers, allowing them to get what they need through mutual matching - freelancers need jobs, companies need talents, and the freelance market matching method is not restricted by geographical location, and the working hours are flexible. Individuals can make money the way they like, while companies save money and the freelance market gets returns through commissions. It is a win-win situation for all parties.

3. Process:

(1) First, companies post jobs (including hourly and stage-based jobs) on Elance-oDesk, which will then select the three most suitable candidates based on the nature of the job and historical data, and then decide on the candidate through interviews.

(2) Next, Elance-oDesk will use its collaborative tools to track the work of freelancers throughout the process, and finally evaluate their performance to generate data.

(3) After the work is confirmed by the enterprise, freelancers can obtain quick payment through the market.

How Can Job Seekers Get Projects

1. Explain clearly what benefits this project brings to me and the employer;

2. A sufficiently attractive title;

3. Employers generally like you to be a “real” person.

About Upwork

1. Source: In May 2015, freelance work platforms Elance and oDesk announced the merger of the two websites and launched a new brand product Upwork to replace the two independent platforms Elance and oDesk.

2. Function:

(1) Live chat function: Upwork has launched a live chat function to simplify the process of chatting between workers and clients. According to Upwork officials, this live chat function will be free for anyone to use, even if they are not Upwork users.

(2) Create an independent team space: In larger work projects, users can create a team communication space, which is particularly useful for large projects that require hiring a large number of freelancers.

(3) Launching the APP version: At the same time, Upwork also launched an iOS version of the APP, which can be used to create job requirements, make suggestions, and draft contracts, which increases the chances of freelancers finding jobs.

(4) Algorithmic matching helps freelancers find suitable jobs faster: The company has upgraded its "enhanced matching algorithm" to help freelancers find suitable jobs in a short period of time. Another new feature is called "Instamatch", which allows freelancers to set their current work status as "available for work immediately", "looking for work", or "not looking" to match jobs faster.

Development History

- Elance was first launched in 1999 and was originally developed as a technology to support virtual working.

- In February 2000, Elance raised $12 million in its first round of funding from leading venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

- In September 2000, Elance received its second round of funding and raised $50 million from five investors led by Pequot Private Equity Group. Kleiner Perkins also invested significantly in this round along with Integral Capital Partners, Charter Venture Group, and Citigroup.

In 2002, Elance launched the industry's first comprehensive service and contractor management solution, helping large organizations such as American Express, BP, FedEx, GE, and Motorola simplify and automate the process of finding and managing temporary service providers.

In August 2004, Elance raised $10 million in Series E funding from New Enterprise Associates, Pequot Private Equity, and Kleiner.

In 2006, Elance sold its enterprise software division and turned to developing its existing web platform for online emergency response work.

- In March 2008, Elance had approximately 225,000 visitors, and in the US alone, approximately 64,000 visitors per month (Quantcast).

- In 2009, Elance was selected as one of CNET's Webware 100, an award that recognizes products and services that embody the Web 2.0 ideals of collaboration and cloud computing.

-In January 2012, Elance raised $16 million in new capital led by Stripes Group, with participation from existing investors New Enterprise Associates, Kleiner Perkins Caufield, and Byers.

- In 2013, Elance was selected as one of the top 100 companies by Red Herring.

-In 2013, the two largest competitors in the freelance market, Elance and oDesk, decided to make peace and merge to form Elance-oDesk, a giant in the freelance market.

-In November 2014, freelance outsourcing platform Elance-oDesk announced a $30 million financing round led by existing investors Benchmark, as well as T. Rowe Price, FirstMark, Sigma West, NEA and the Stripes Group.

-In May 2015, Elance-oDesk announced that the company was relaunched as Upwork and recommended that Elance users transition to Upwork.

-In January 2016, Elance received a total of US$16 million in financing.