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== Upwork == | == Upwork == | ||
Upwork is a leading freelance marketplace. It was founded in 2013 through a merger between ODesk and Elance. Unlike our other investments, Upwork’s founders are no longer with the company. However, its top executives, such as the chairman of the board, Thomas Layton, and the CEO, Hayden Brown, have been with the company for over 10 years. | |||
The company generates around $ 500 million in revenue annually, with an average year-over-year growth rate of around 25%. However, despite its remarkable growth, Upwork is yet to attain profitability. This is mainly due to its huge spending on G&A, S&M, and R&D. Upwork spends over 80% of its revenue on these areas. | |||
Upwork’s culture is remote first. Around 73% of its workforce is made up of independent talent. We view this as leading from the front. Interestingly, Upwork treats this workforce as part of the company, unlike in other companies where they are considered second-class citizens. | |||
We believe that Upwork has a huge upside potential due to the shift by businesses and corporate leaders toward remote culture. Nevertheless, the freelance industry is growing at a good rate. Other things that will likely be a tailwind to the company include the desire of Gen Z to work as freelancers and macro headwinds that will force businesses to look for cheaper sources of labor. Nevertheless, we are betting on its brand marketing to start driving growth from next year. | |||
Upwork faces stiff competition, especially from LinkedIn Marketplace Services. However, its products which include an hourly tracker, a great messaging tool, payroll service, consultations, project catalog, etc., protect it from competitors. | |||
Our major concern with Upwork is its internal problems. During the third quarter of 2022, the company failed to achieve its sale target due to email issues. Additionally, there has been a rise in transaction losses. If Upwork addresses these issues as promised, it will continue seeing strong positive growth. | |||
''Main article: [[Upwork]]'' | ''Main article: [[Upwork]]'' | ||