An alternative solution to Elance?

[Razdaz87]

Hey guys,
So I have been thinking of starting a website that is similar to Elance, Freelancer, etc. But I want to do it BETTER. I've scoured the Internet and read tons of reviews on Elance and have focused on what users can't stand about it. (And there is a lot.) From horrible customer service which is by far the biggest complaint I have read to them not taking care of the freelancer, out of country freelancers charging very low rates, to ridiculous membership fees, there is a lot that could be improved upon. I would love to get your guy's opinion on starting this, and any ideas or input would be greatly appreciated. I would love to change the freelance marketplace and change it for the better.

 

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[NicoleMarie]

Definitely has potential. You should check out www.ziptask.com which is new. That might give you ideas on quality and stuff.

Edit: I think it's just for outsourcing to other countries by the way, but still.

 

[Harti]

The ones that want to hire cheap will stay on oDesk & elance. And there are always some indian people who are excited about $1/hr, so there is endless supply of them. Without wanting to be a "naysayer", I don't think this is viable. It's the same in the clothes industry.

You can improve on the usability and the other complaints - good idea - but improving the rates would just take away customers.

Harti

 

[Kyle Tully]

But I want to do it BETTER.

Define "better".

Elance and oDesk have partnered and are a serious force to be reckoned with. Over 50,000 new jobs posted and 20,000 new members each month.

Creating a "better" product won't matter unless you can get both freelancers and business owners using the site.

What's your marketing plan and budget?

 

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[healthstatus]

OK, I call BS on the complaints which seem to be coming from the aspect of the Freelancer.
Sorry if you live in the US or UK and want $85.00/hour and an IT guy from India with a PhD and 10 years of experience wants $11/hour
I have spent over $100k on Elance and another $200k with outsourcing teams. Elance from a buyers perspective is the best.
Freelancers need to be as careful picking their clients as buyers need to be picking their providers. Bid on a job with really poor specs, guess what, that job is going to be a PITA, and you will jump through hoops just to get bad ratings.
Membership fees are a barrier to entry and keep people from creating new accounts everytime they crash and burn a project.

Next time you see one of these complaints ask what their total billings on Elance were, I am guessing under $2k average.

The buyer is the guy with the money, everybody on the site, from the admin, customer service and the freelancers better make sure that is who is getting taken care of, because without them, nobody else in the chain makes a nickel.

(these kinds of complaints also should calm everyone's fears that programmers will steal your ideas, they don't have the fortitude or business sense to do that)

 

[Equilibrium]

if your serious about starting this then here's some feedback.
Elance, and Odesk are merging togeather as Upwork. Two company's merging with the same idea. What is become of that isnt known yet.
their horrible customer service I can't comment on as I have not had the pleasure of negotiating with that department.
however their rates are very high.. for a reason. That is how they make money.

if you have a way to improve this, do share.. I for one would love the ''work zone'' on PC view to not look like it was hammered together with div elements.
however, dont look TO elance for developers to build this. That can bite you hard one day.
but yes, you will have to define better.

 

[Kevin Peter]

The ones that want to hire cheap will stay on oDesk & elance. And there are always some indian people who are excited about $1/hr, so there is endless supply of them. Without wanting to be a "naysayer", I don't think this is viable. It's the same in the clothes industry.

You can improve on the usability and the other complaints - good idea - but improving the rates would just take away customers.

Harti

@Harti Son, we Indians have the talent and the need for money is always there. The government here doesnot support as much as The United States does. We do have lower economy. $1 USD = 60 - 65 Rs, and we get to earn more than what we ideally do it locally.

 

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[Harti]

@Harti Son, we Indians have the talent and the need for money is always there. The government here doesnot support as much as The United States does. We do have lower economy. $1 USD = 60 - 65 Rs, and we get to earn more than what we ideally do it locally.

That's what I said?

 

[Digamma]

It's not new. What you are talking about is a marketplace for premium freelancers - many niche marketplaces like this exists.
I stumbled across several, one for Wordpress jobs, another for app development, and so on.
So yeah, it's viable as a niche product. Might work as general too.

At the end of the day, top talent is not on Upwork, and people who want top talent will pay huge money to get it.
Cheapskates like us bootstrappers go for the cheap. You want the big pockets.

I would also encourage people not to say that something is not viable without knowing anything about the space and without doing any research.