Upwork: Difference between revisions

=== Overview of the Company ===

Upwork is one of the largest companies that connects freelancers and clients. It was formed in 2013 through a merger between oDesk and Elance<ref>https://www.upwork.com/press/releases/odesk-and-elance-announce-merger-2</ref>. However, it was in 2015 that Elance-oDesk rebranded to Upwork<ref>https://techcrunch.com/2015/05/05/elance-odesk-rebrands-as-upwork-debuts-slack-like-chat-platform/</ref>. Upwork went public in 2018, raising $187 million at around $1.5 billion valuation<ref>https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/03/upwork-ceo-on-ipo-day-we-do-not-incentivize-for-less-pay-for-freelancers.html</ref>. Its initial founders who include Odysseas Tsatalos, Stratis Karamanlakis, Beerud Sheth, Sanjay Noronha, and Srini Anumolu are no longer with the company<ref>https://morganoverholt.com/upwork-founder/</ref>. As of December 2021, Upwork had 650 employees. Throughout 2021, the company also employed 1800 freelancers to perform internal duties<ref>https://investors.upwork.com/static-files/f9770045-d71e-48c5-a793-20ccde8be73f</ref>. The company is headquartered in California, United States.

The marketplace posts over 10,000 skills and more than 90 job categories, engaging in over 3 million jobs annually<ref>https://investors.upwork.com/static-files/28d7a49a-75bd-4eb9-b57f-96b0ec3ed378 page.3</ref>. Its client base constitutes primarily small and medium businesses(SMBs). In fact, Upwork generates more than 80% of its gross service volume(GSV) from SMBs<ref>https://investors.upwork.com/static-files/d4ef2d59-4aaa-45f9-909e-8638164f88da page.8</ref>. At the end of Q3 2022, Upwork had 818,000 active clients<ref>https://investors.upwork.com/static-files/b5ef19da-22d6-4701-a36b-aa86cb398a6b#:~:text=Our%20overall%20take%20rate%20in,quarter%20of%20the%20prior%20year. page.12</ref>. Some of its clients include Microsoft, Genesys, Godaddy, Corel, Coty, etc<ref>https://investors.upwork.com/static-files/d4ef2d59-4aaa-45f9-909e-8638164f88da page.8</ref>.[[File:Upwork Revenue breakdown.png|thumb|345x345px|https://investors.upwork.com/static-files/c737834a-5f46-46d9-8388-2857a82dbee8]]

The United States is an important market for Upwork in terms of clients and freelancers. In Q3 2022, Upwork derived 74.45% of its client revenue from the United States. Similarly, 26.28% of its freelance revenue in the same period was obtained from the same country. India and the Philippines are other markets that account for the largest portion of its freelance revenue. Upwork derived 13.79% and 12.14% of its freelance revenue from the two countries, respectively.

Upwork mainly serves tech clients. According to its 2021 report, about 75% of its clients were tech, while the remainder were non-tech<ref>https://www.upwork.com/mc/documents/Not_Just_Tech_Report_May_2021.pdf</ref>. Also, freelancers providing skills in computer programming, IT, business consulting, and marketing accounted for 53% of all freelancers in the marketplace in 2021. This was an increase from 50% in 2020<ref>https://www.upwork.com/press/releases/upwork-unveils-top-10-most-in-demand-skills-for-technology-marketing-and-customer-service-independent-talent-in-2022</ref>.