Press
November 13, 2009
Tough times force creative tactics
Human resource managers face the question every day: How to do more with less? This article provides examples of how innovative businesses find creative ways to succeed.
November 12, 2009
Outsourcing on steroids
Futurist Ross Dawson says: “Online services exchanges are places where anyone anywhere can get people to perform services; it’s about the development of a global talent economy. Some services are commoditised – you might want someone to count the number of tennis balls in a photo for the lowest price possible. But they also allow you to find the best person for the job and price isn’t always the primary factor why you hire someone, sometimes it’s more about finding talented people. I use odesk and the last person I hired wasn’t in Egypt or Latvia - he was in New York.”
November 12, 2009
Why you should start your business on a shoestring
The reality is you don’t need all sorts of money to build a company today. Matthew Crowe investigates the various ways companies can startup on a shoestring.
November 9, 2009
Refugees in Kenya get software development work
The data center at the Daadab refugee camp connects developers and data entry workers to jobs.
November 6, 2009
Is Freelancing in Your Work Future?
"The Future of Work" is an online presentation developed by oDesk, a global online platform that connects freelance talent with businesses of all sizes, to help workers consider how the shifts in business and technology are changing the way the world works, and how you can best position yourself for success. oDesk CEO Gary Swart shares some of the highlights, which should get you thinking about freelance opportunities and the way you work.
November 4, 2009
Work in admin? Here's the bad news
MiniMovers founder Mike O'Hagan predicts 80 per cent of administration work will be outsourced overseas.
November 3, 2009
Unleashing Your Creativity While You're Moonlighting
It's no secret that job security is a thing of the past. Taking on part-time work—especially in a creative arena you've always wanted to pursue—is one way to earn extra income and begin exploring new work opportunities before it becomes a necessity.
October 27, 2009
oDesk's oConomy Hits $100 Million
Today, oDesk's "oConomy" meter, which is the amount of money that is earned from workers on oDesk, hit $100 million.
October 26, 2009
oDesk’s oConomy Hits $100 Million
Today, oDesk’s “oConomy” meter, which is the amount of money that is earned from workers on oDesk, hit $100 million. The oConomy showcases data from the work activity of 350,000+ oDesk users in over 150 countries.
October 19, 2009
How Outsourcing Creates American Jobs
Matthew Bandyk explains the 4 main reasons outsourced work creates jobs in the U.S. using oDesk data.
October 17, 2009
Protectionism vs. the Innovation Nation
The era of measuring national well-being by tallying how many and what kind of advanced products a country makes is long gone. In this article, Vivek Wadhwa explores the effect and promise of globalization.
October 15, 2009
Work From Home: 7 Companies Hiring Now
Can you imagine how simple your life would be if you never had to drive to work? If you have the self-discipline to work from home, the right opportunity could help you get back those commute hours and gain some extra time each day to do whatever you want. If you're wondering where you can find such a job in a waning economy, here are seven companies hiring for work from home right now.
September 30, 2009
With oDesk’s iPhone App, Bosses Can Now Monitor Workers From The Beach
Startup oDesk was voted as a TechCrunch50’s demopit winner thanks to the launch of a new iPhone application that allows project administrators to monitor the work stream of their team members while they’re on the go. Today, oDesk’s free app is available on the App Store.
September 25, 2009
ODesk pulls up a chair for freelancers
oDesk lets the marketplace determine freelancer value. That decision will translate to an estimated $66 million in wages paid in 2009, of which oDesk takes 10 percent. And the numbers are steadily increasing. Large companies like Network Solutions are using oDesk to hire, and others like Yahoo and Salesforce.com are certifying freelancers to do third-party work. Revenue was $520,000 in 2006 and is projected to be $6.6 million in 2009. For oDesk, the recession has spurred growth on as companies look to freelancers to cut costs.
September 23, 2009
Microsoft, other top vendors help bring global IT skills to small business
Microsoft, Yahoo, Sun and other top vendors are working to help smaller businesses access needed talent located around the world by signing agreements with firms operating online IT jobs marketplaces.
September 14, 2009
TC50: DemoPit Winner oDesk Launches A Real-Time Work Stream For Your iPhone And Desktop
oDesk captures audience recognition from the DemoPit at TC50.
September 14, 2009
oDesk Challenge gives startups a staffing kickstart
oDesk has launched the oDesk Challenge, a program to help young startups piece together teams of staffers quickly and efficiently. The first 20 venture-backed startups to upload their job openings to oDesk will win free, premium services from the company — making it more of a challenge for oDesk than anyone else. Account managers from the company will scour its database of 320,000 job candidates, screen resumes, conduct interviews, and select the top workers for each startup.
September 14, 2009
Transitioning to a Free-Lance Job
For laid-off job seekers, contract and free-lance work can be a good way to make some money. But getting free-lance work requires a different approach than a traditional job search. "It's all brand new to somebody who is used to getting a paycheck every two weeks," says Kate Lister, author of "Undress for Success: The Naked Truth About Making Money at Home." Here's a guide on how to look for free-lance work...
August 13, 2009
In A Tight Economy, Outsourced Developers On oDesk Work 100,000 Hours A Week
In July, the hours worked on oDesk surpassed 100,000 a week for the first time, and $65 million worth of work was posted on the site.
August 12, 2009
Get More Done for Less
Crowdsourcing is the social media way to get things done.
Inasmuch as crowdsourcing is a modern alternative to surveys and focus groups, it's also a way to get real work done. In other words, you can source the crowd to bid on work your company needs to complete.
A super-stable player in global marketplace crowdsourcing is oDesk. This 5-year-old company is quietly stirring a revolution--one that CEO Gary Swart says is "changing how the world works."
August 9, 2009
Outsourcing Is Not Always a Dirty Word
There's a new trend in outsourcing, and it's not overseas. One of the fastest growing destinations for outsourced jobs is right here in the United States.
August 6, 2009
Is Freelancing Right for You?
The perks are tempting: mid-morning jogs, hours billed from a café in Paris or from your back porch, not needing permission to skip a day to take care of a sick child. But does it make sense for you to take the plunge into freelance life?
August 2, 2009
Outsourcing Benefits U.S. Workers, Too
Many companies are hiring temporary and contract workers in the U.S. at a faster clip than they're sending jobs to India and other overseas locations.
July 20, 2009
IT Staff and the Value of Remote Work
oDesk CEO Gary Swart discusses the value of remote work for buyers and providers of IT talent.
July 20, 2009
Interview: Gary Swart, CEO of oDesk
[Video] Interview with oDesk CEO Gary Swart. Gary is a featured speaker at The China Business Network’s event on July 21, 2009 called “Doing More With Less”
July 13, 2009
Freelancers’ Guide to Getting Paid—on Time
To get paid, freelance workers may have to become collections agents—especially now. As some companies struggle to pay full-time employees, freelance invoices can get easier to ignore. This article by Diana Middleton gives tips on how freelancers can increase their chances of getting the payment they deserve.
June 30, 2009
Supercharge Your Job Search With oDesk and Facebook
oDesk is already a fantastic tool for freelancers and web workers, but today they’re getting even more useful. The site that connects buyers with providers is now utilizing Facebook Connect to add social utility to the work force.
June 24, 2009
Enlisting a Global Work Force of Freelancers
Small businesses increasingly are tapping a new talent pool: the world. A new generation of online service marketplaces is giving small companies more opportunities than ever to find specialized expertise and affordable labor. Main Street businesses can shop a virtual international bazaar of freelancers to recruit computer programmers in Russia, graphic designers in San Francisco or data analysts in India.
June 22, 2009
Layoffs Are Increasing Demand for Tech Freelancers
Analysts say the fast growing demand for contract technology workers doesn't indicate that the economy is turning around - yet.
June 21, 2009
Start-up Symbiosis
Recessionary bootstrapping gets businesses to cut costs, and get creative - a B-Stock & oDesk profile.
June 12, 2009
The Rise of the Freelance Nation
How to profit in the new economy: freelance work. Don't wait for the company to push you. Start thinking like an entrepreneur now!
June 11, 2009
5 Companies That Should be on Dell's Shopping List
Since Dell keeps telling folks it wants to buy some companies, GigaOm has written out a list that Michael Dell should consult as he expands his eponymous empire.
June 10, 2009
Avoiding Work from Home Scams
Q&A with Alexandra Levit, a business and workplace author and speaker. Her books include the popular "They Don't Teach Corporate in College" as well as "How'd You Score That Gig?" and "Success for Hire."
June 8, 2009
Work Reinvented
Becoming a virtual boss wasn't something Lisa Guertin set out to do. But like many Americans--some of them laid off and desperate, others bored and dispirited, still others forward-looking and creative--she has managed to reinvent her career.
June 8, 2009
Manpower Tries To Catch A Web Wave
The world's second-largest employment agency has a plan to thrive in the post-employee world.
June 5, 2009
Top Resources for Finding Work Online
Within this article, you can see versions of the nationwide jobs index for large metropolitan regions, some of them hit very hard. Fortunately, there are still some good work opportunities out there for those of us who work online. Here are some top resources for finding online work.
June 2, 2009
All-New Tips to Make Money at Home
Tory Johnson's advice and Web links to find home-based job opportunities.
May 26, 2009
Outsourcing and offshoring in a recession more flexible, panelists say
Forget about the bulky, long-term contracts that used to define the outsourcing and offshoring industry. The new watchword in outsourcing is "flexibility," according to this coverage of the MIT Sloan CIO Symposium, where enterprise CIOs, analysts, and industry executives gathered for a discussion on the state of outsourcing and offshoring in 2009.
May 26, 2009
5 Ways to Freelance for More Cash
Who couldn't use some money in their pockets these days? Whether you're working full-time and eager to supplement your income or you're job seeking and in need of part-time cash while searching, there are several ways to help you do just that.
May 13, 2009
Find the Right Virtual Match
Finding the best freelancers or off-site employees isn't easy, and you want to be confident you're getting the services you need for the right amount of dollars. Author Lesley Spencer Pyle is the author of The Work-at-Home Workbook: Your Step-by-Step Guide on Selecting and Starting the Perfect Home Business for You. She has been working from home for more than 13 years.
May 6, 2009
How to Survive as a Freelancer
[Video] Interview with Sarah E. Needleman of the Wall Street Journal on Fox Business.
May 6, 2009
Negotiating the Freelance Economy
Sarah E. Needleman
Mr-SEO.com, an online marketing firm with eight employees, began using freelance help a year ago to handle tasks in Web-site development, administrative services and copywriting. The five-year-old Seattle-based company hired 17 freelancers through Odesk.com for projects that lasted as little as a few days or as long as eight months and counting. "It gives us the flexibility to expand our work force depending on client demand," says Greg Gaskill, the company's president.
May 5, 2009
Just a mouse click away
Valerie Khoo
After placing the advertisement again, Sammartino eventually engaged the services of Vasilii Racovitsa, a coder with a PhD in computer science, based in Moldova. They have been working together ever since. "It's become an ongoing relationship," he says. "We've developed a relationship of trust . . . we had a good chemistry."
May 5, 2009
Technology: Finding Freelance Programmers
Ryan Underwood
Redfern now swears by oDesk, which she recently used to find a couple of developers. For $3,000, the Russia-based team she hired helped her launch her site internationally in three months. She especially likes that oDesk allows her to keep a close eye on freelancers' work: The service captures an image of a contractor's computer screen six times an hour. Plus, she appreciates that the site allows her to use American currency, no matter where the developers live.
April 8, 2009
How to Find, Hire and Manage Rockstar Copywriters
Loren Baker
oDesk works in a very professional atmosphere, working almost like a matchmaking service, and helps you to interview and select the best people for your job. Then, using oDesk, you also manage your remote development team, so it pretty much has all the services you need rolled into one in terms of managing a copywriting team.
April 5, 2009
oDesk Looks To Create Trusted Marketplace For Contractors
David Berlind
[Video] At Web 2.0 Expo, InformationWeek's David Berlind conducts a "ReviewCam" of oDesk.com's online service for matching up technology contractors with organizations bidding out jobs. oDesk CEO Gary Swart was on-hand for the ReviewCam and says the difference between his service and others is in how trust and payment is enforced.
March 12, 2009
In Hard Times, Freelancers Turn to the Web
Dan Fost
With oDesk handling all the invoicing and payment, some companies are shifting the contractors they already have to oDesk.
March 6, 2009
Job loss at 25-year high
Note: Link goes to video. For a transcript, click here.
Larry King
Tory Johnson: If you're good on the computer, there are several Web sites that you could go to... So think a little bit beyond what your comfort zone is and what you've been doing now.
March 5, 2009
Freelancing: A real option
Cindy Krischer Goodman
Ender Korkmaz, the 24-year-old founder of Universal Environmental Products in Miami, has built an online air-conditioning sales company tapping into Odesk's remote workers all over the world for short-term graphic design, programming, and marketing jobs. "I would not have been able to find some of the talent locally," he said
February 24, 2009
Is there anybody out there?
Note: Full article requires purchase.
Anneli Knight
Dr Shanton Chang, a senior lecturer in the University of Melbourne's department of information systems, says this is a new, rapidly increasing type of workforce. "There are more off-site workers than there were five years ago," Chang says. "And if you look at the general work trends there are more and more people working as independent consultants. It's the virtual space that enables that to happen."
February 8, 2009
Web-based hiring halls filling workforce gaps
Tom Abate
Take Robert Einspruch, an Oakland entrepreneur who manages half a dozen Web-based contractors for two businesses... "It's about being able to scale up and scale down to fit your needs," said Einspruch, who first used oDesk, an online work platform based in Menlo Park, about 13 months ago.
January 14, 2009
It’s not you, it’s labor market
Michael E. Kanell
Metzger had been in corporate America, then opened and ran a cafe that lasted 2 1/2 years -- until the recession did it in. She considered a return to the corporate world, but wanted more flexibility so she could take care of her 12-year-old daughter.
Now, she is a full-time freelancer, picking up jobs mostly through California-based oDesk Corp., which runs an outsourcing Web site. “It is working out so well,” she said. “I could work more than 40 hours if I wanted.”
January 12, 2009
Unemployment, The Economic Downturn and Web Working
Dawn Foster
4,100 working providers in December compared to 4,000 in November (growth of 2 percent) despite the fact that December is typically a slow month for starting work on new web projects.
January 7, 2009
The All-Seeing Employer
Prachi Patel-Predd
Swart says that oDesk tries to make remote work and outsourcing more effective by emulating the real world. Contractors log into a “team room,” which punches them in on an Internet “time clock.” oDesk then tracks the time and bills for it, taking care of currency conversions and international payments.
December 17, 2008
Job seekers flood IT staffing site
Patrick Thibodeau
The increase may be a sign that like outsourcing, contract work may be countercyclical in a troubled economy. "We're seeing companies that are trying to do more with less," said Swart. There are now 157,000 providers, or work seekers, on the site. About a third of those are in the U.S.
December 4, 2008
Report from AlwaysOn Venture Summit: We’re not dead yet!
Dean Takahashi
Among the pitches that resonated was one from oDesk, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based company that creates a marketplace for online work teams. Its web site enables companies to hire freelance talent on demand, manage them, watch exactly how much work they do, and then pay them accordingly.
December 4, 2008
Websites that help you chill
Allan Hoffman
I recently decided to see how quickly I could hire someone for a discrete task, which involved assembling web-based information and formatting it in a Microsoft Word document. I decided to look for help at oDesk, a service for hiring programmers, data entry experts and other specialists from around the world.
November 28, 2008
Home work being closely watched
Ian Hardy
oDesk takes care of every aspect of the relationship from invoicing to international payments, and intellectual property rights to taxes. This makes it easier for companies to hire workers across borders, while providers from almost any country can to sign up, set their own hourly rate and start bidding for work.
November 13, 2008
Learn More About the Great American Job Fair
Tory Johnson
Tory Johnson helps an unemployed woman find a new job.
Link takes you to the GMA video segment. Click here for more about the GMA Great American Job Fair: Atlanta.
November 7, 2008
World of freelance talent at oDesk's fingertips
William-Arthur Haynes
ODesk has created a "team room" for each company, a virtual brick and mortar place of business. This is where a contractor logs, essentially punching a time card. The oDesk platform provides the company, which hired the contractor, with a screenshot of the contractor's desktop six times an hour at random intervals.
October 23, 2008
14 things to do if you are laid off from a tech job
Rafe Needleman
3. Get project work.
You may not have a daily gig, but you still have your skills, and there are people who need them. Head over to a project marketplace like oDesk and pick up some work.
October 22, 2008
Ways to Snag Extra Cash in a Recession Economy
Tory Johnson
oDesk connects skilled professionals such as software developers, graphic designers, copywriters and sales reps with businesses that are eager to hire freelancers for project-based and hourly work. oDesk says it has seen a 16 percent increase over last month of new freelancers looking for 15 hours of work or less per week.
October 16, 2008
Interview: oDesk’s CEO on Opportunities for Web Workers
Samuel Dean
oDesk is a truly global marketplace. Close to 40% of the the 10,000+ new jobs posted every month are made by non-U.S. buyers. Applying for jobs with overseas buyers is no different than applying for jobs with U.S. buyers.
With over $46 million in work delivered through our system, oDesk is experiencing explosive growth. The value of services bought and sold on oDesk has nearly tripled in each of the past two years, representing our most substantial growth period to date. 120,000+ providers from over 100 countries now offer their services on oDesk with the addition of 86,000 new providers in just 12 months. Over 50,000 jobs have been filled through oDesk at an average hourly job size of 315 hours.
October 13, 2008
Help Wanted -- and Found
Raymund Flandez
Gary Swart, oDesk's chief executive, says his company fills several needs. "Small businesses need access to talent that's not available in their geography, and they need a flexible work force," he says.
Says Mr. Einspruch, "If you're a start-up, you have to go outside the area" for tech help, otherwise you are putting "all your eggs in one basket."
October 6, 2008
Controversy over work from home tech
Teresa Garcia
Lisa Newton does freelance data research from the privacy of her Belmont home, but she knows her client can watch what she's doing at any time.
Newton works through a Menlo Park-based, online-services marketplace called oDesk - which for a fee, connects businesses with nearly 100,000 job seekers who can provide their services via a computer.
September 11, 2008
Talking About Working From Home
Marci Alboher
For the skilled knowledge worker, the free-agent market is alive and well on sites like oDesk...hirers are looking for great value without the overhead and they get to connect with someone who wants to work from home. It is very efficient.
September 9, 2008
Work At Home Jobs
Jim Donovan, 3 On Your Side
Odesk can match you up with clients who need your services.
Robyn says they're available if "you're a graphic designer, you are a pr pro, you're a talented designer or you're a Web site developer."
August 26, 2008
Start-Up Offers a Way to Pay Workers Abroad
Claire Cain Miller
oDesk, a Web site that connects technology service providers with people who want to hire them, uses Payoneer to pay its own employees and as an option for providers on the site to get paid. One-third of them choose Payoneer - mostly people living outside the United States.
"The people outside of the United States like that it’s faster access to their money at a lower cost," said Gary Swart, oDesk’s chief executive.
August 12, 2008
Tool Allows Employers to Keep Tabs on Remote Workers
Agatha Gilmore
They're common complaints these days: rising gas prices, a crumbling economy, a shrinking talent pool. As a result, more and more companies are looking for ways to outsource effectively, and many are struggling to find a viable solution.
Enter oDesk, an online tool that allows companies to hire, manage and pay remote workers as if they were in the office. The company, started in 2004, was initially created to respond to developing economic and workplace trends, said CEO Gary Swart.
August 11, 2008
Freelance slackers, beware: Big Brother is watching
David Leach
Among dozens of freelance-for-hire websites, oDesk.com has carved out a fast-expanding and controversial niche by allowing employers not only to contract long-distance temporary workers but also to remotely monitor them on the job.
August 8, 2008
Find Home-Based Work Online
Tory Johnson
oDesk.com CEO Gary Swart speaks about home-based contracted work (video interview).
August 6, 2008
Five Best Work-From-Home Jobs
Tory Johnson
Businesses are increasingly hiring home-based freelancers to perform tasks ranging from software development to writing press materials... Post your profile and take optional assessment tests to measure your skill level. Then search the job postings and place bids on the opportunities that work for you.
August 4, 2008
No (Work) Place Like Home: Money-Making Opportunities For At-Home Wrokers Are On The Rise
Tory Johnson
Businesses are increasingly hiring individuals off-site to perform tasks ranging from coding Web sites to writing press materials, offering many opportunities for stay-at-homers... she's not failing to appreciate what she calls the best thing about her new work - being able to do it from her Upper West Side apartment.
"I get to roll out of bed and start working," she says.
July 30, 2008
Work at Home? Your Employer May Be Watching
Sue Shellenbarger
One oDesk buyer, Juliana Carroll, a Manhattan financial-services consultant, says she has saved as much as 25% using oDesk freelancers because they turn out more work faster than contractors she has found on her own.
July 10, 2008
Nice Work If You Can Get It: Web Sites for At-Home Jobs
Sue Shellenbarger
One exceptional success story comes from Arron Washington, 24 years old, a Hinesville, Ga., programmer who dropped out of college after realizing he could make as much as $60,000 a year on oDesk.com. "The offers just kept pouring in," he says.
July 4, 2008
Il lavoro interinale sul web "Assumi, gestisci e poi paghi"
Il meccanismo di Odesk è semplice, e le funzionalità che datori di lavoro e liberi professionisti hanno a disposizione stanno rivoluzionando il modo di reclutare free lance, informatici, grafici e in genere chi lavora per il Web. [Story written in Italian]
Read the original article in Italian or the English translation from Google.
June 25, 2008
oDesk CEO Gary Swart at Structure 08
oDesk CEO, Gary Swart, was interviewed at the Structure 08 conference hosted by GigaOM.
June 25, 2008
oDesk the Answer to Wall Street Journal Reader's Question
Sue Shellenbarger
Work & Family Mailbox columnist Sue Shellenbarger answers reader's question about work-at-home opportunities for a retired information-technology specialist. (below the fold - scroll down to the day's second question).
May 11, 2008
Gas gouged? Try telecommuting
Eve Tahmincioglu
As companies try to keep wages down in this economy, it's harder for managers to argue against telecommuting as they see their employees and themselves hammered by escalating fuel prices.
March 27, 2008
Outsource (Most) Any White Collar Work
Phil Leigh
If you would like to learn how to hire remote part-time white collar workers and manage them effectively over the Internet, this interview is for you.
Podcast Interview with oDesk CEO Gary Swart
February 25, 2008
oDesk Has a Deal for Freelancers
Mike Gunderloy
oDesk is a different sort of market for freelance developers, designers, and others. By focusing on some extra features, they've positioned oDesk as a place where both hourly rates and overall job sizes are somewhat larger than the industry average (you can check out their oConomy community site for some aggregate information on jobs and rates). To do this, they add things for both buyers and sellers.
February 12, 2008
SIIA Announces 2008 Codie Awards Finalists
Established in 1986, the Codie Awards recognize 68 categories of outstanding products and services in the software, digital information and education technology industries. This year's 340 finalists represent an impressive array of technology and business excellence and success.
February 8, 2008
oConomy offers an easy way to see outsourcing statistics
Anthony Ha
oDesk says it's helped companies outsource more than 1.6 million hours of work completed by more than 47,000 providers in more than 90 countries. And through oConomy, the company is giving the public a chance to browse through data about all of those jobs.
February 6, 2008
A Look At Outsourcing Through oDesk's Eyes
Mark Hendrickson
oDesk has just released a new part of their site called the oConomy where anyone can view statistics about the outsourcing activity on oDesk.
Features include the ability to view average working rates, among other data about providers, from around the world on a Google map. You can also view an up-to-the-second metric of how much money has been spent on outsourced projects, as well as graphs of how rates and quality vary over time and providers.
February 4, 2008
CVSDude to Grease oDesk's Outsourcing Wheels
Mark Hendrickson
These two companies are a natural fit for one other. Whereas oDesk helps developers from all over the world find clients, and vice versa, CVSDude provides tools that help developers collaborate with each other and share their work with clients. In particular, CVSDude hosts version control systems that enable developers, perhaps located continents apart, to work on the same set of code without having to worry about redundancy and conflicts.
September 10, 2007
oDesk's Facebook Developer Aptitude Test
Michael Arrington
oDesk, a next generation marketplace for contract developers, has recently seen a spike in requests for Facebook developers.
oDesk offers developers a number of aptitude tests to certify their programming skills in various areas. They've now added a Facebook aptitude test as well. Companies can now sort through developers based on their skill level in creating Facebook applications.
July 13, 2007
Entrepreneur profile: Odysseas Tsatalos
Elizabeth Browne
What oDesk does: Enables buyers of services to hire, manage and pay technology service providers from around the world.
Reason for starting business: To allow people to work directly and be able to pick the place they live.
June 18, 2007
Online Market places: Every Minute Counts
Amishi Shah
Online marketplaces have traditionally been places for small and medium buyers to obtain services from small and medium entrepreneurs. But Gary Swart, CEO, oDesk feels differently and expresses, "We are getting noticed by bigger players like Motorola and Sandisk. Motorola needed AJAX programmers in Chicago, who they found through our website."
Another change Swart is seeing in the online marketplace area is that buyers are increasingly looking at the time-based work model than agreeing to work for the fixed-price model. "Buyers opt for this as it offers greater flexibility and they have to pay only for the real time that providers work. Through this, both sides are building better and long-term relations."
June 14, 2007
Outsourcing the eBay way: Web sites match users, contract programmers
Patrick Thibodeau
Global job-matching services such as one offered by Menlo Park, Calif.-based oDesk Corp. are showing that companies of any size can hire offshore IT talent to work on projects.
Aaron Smith operates a small company in Corinth, Texas. He has been using oDesk's online service to find development help and said he works most closely with a programmer in Russia who is paid $15 per hour. A U.S.-based programmer doing similar work would expect hourly rates of $60 to $120, Smith said. Without access to the global talent pool, "we would still be in business, but our software would be far more limited than what it is," he added. "Outsourcing gives us a chance to compete."
June 7, 2007
Bangalore Tigers: The Rise of India's Tech Industry
Steve Hamm
oDesk, of Menlo Park, has taken the eBay idea and applied it to tech services. At last, industrial-strength off-shoring from the little guy to the little guy.
oDesk also has some attributes that help it stand out from the pack. It's not just a middleman where service providers and clients find each other. Additionally, the company provides a technology infrastructure that enables sellers and buyers of services to establish long-term relationships with one another. oDesk keeps tracks of hours worked and handles billing and paying. And, so buyers are assured that they're getting what they're paying for.
May 4, 2007
oDesk: job search meets the online exchange
Ephraim Schwartz
Not just an online employment service, oDesk is a virtual environment for contract workers and their employers with collaboration tools, a time clock, and monitoring features
CEO Gary Swart describes oDesk as a global marketplace that lets employers hire, manage, and pay at globally competitive rates software developers, designers, and programmers.
May 4, 2007
Small is the new big?
Om Malik
A wave of tech-enabled shops finally delivers on all the Web 2.0 hype
Drive your labor costs with oDesk, which makes it easy to find talented programmers on the cheap.
April 24, 2007
Red Herring interview: Gary Swart, oDesk
Sean Wolfe
Need software writers for hire? oDesk runs a global marketplace that lets employers hire, manage and pay technical workers such as software developers, graphic artists, and technical writers. Employers search for workers within the oDesk marketplace based on skills, work history, employer ratings, and pay, and then build virtual teams. oDesk handles billing and payments and supplies collaboration tools. oDesk continues its efforts to improve tools that track jobs and knit together virtual workers from India to Russia ever more closely with the home office.
April 16, 2007
oDesk adds fixed-price option to its gig marketplace
Rafe Needleman
The online service marketplace oDesk has just added the capability for buyers to spec fixed-price jobs. Previously, all oDesk contracts were hourly.
"The problem with the fixed price market is that it's not sticky," oDesk CEO Gary Swart told me. Many business relationships that start with one-price jobs evolve into working relationships where the pay is based on the time put in. Swart maintains that competing marketplaces don't foster (or let you manage) that changing relationship; and likewise, until now, oDesk wasn't able to kick off relationships that were best started as single gigs.
April 16, 2007
Matching Developers with Hirers
Darryl K. Taft
There is no question that many companies that require IT support find it hard to locate sufficient talent in their local market. And many developers find it hard to get work in the regions where they live.
That's where oDesk comes in. oDesk is a great equalizer, a matchmaker, if you will. The Menlo Park, Calif.-based online marketplace allows companies to hire, manage and pay remote technical workers around the world.
April 12, 2007
$10 Million Spent To Date On oDesk OutSourcing Projects
Michael Arrington
Silicon Valley based oDesk, which is a marketplace for developers and companies looking for outsourced developer help, seems to be sailing along nicely. Next week they'll announce that $10 million has been spent on outsourced projects to date, and they have 750,000 or so total billed hours. That's up 50% from last November, when we reported that they had reached 500,000 billed hours. oDesk keeps a flat 10% of fees.
Until recently oDesk only allowed projects to be priced on an hourly basis. Two weeks ago they launched fixed price jobs as well, which is something many comments here requested in our previous posts about them. After a month of quiet beta testing, 750 jobs were posted at a fixed price, with an average price of around $500.
April 4, 2007
Red Herring reveals companies selected for The Red Herring 100 North America 2007
Award Recognizes the 100 "Most Promising" Companies Driving the Future of Technology
April 4, 2007
Red Herring reveals winners of The Red Herring 100 Spring 2007
Award Recognizes the 100 "Most Promising" Companies Driving the Future of Technology
January 15, 2007
Swimming in the Global Talent Pool
Mary Brandel
Jeff Kiiza would never have imagined that he'd be writing code in Perl, PHP/MySQL and AJAX for companies in the U.S., Canada, Australia and Spain - and that he'd be doing it from his home in Cordoba, Argentina.
Hemang Dani is pretty amazed that in the past six months, he has boosted his income to $5,000 per month by working for companies in the U.S., the U.K., Germany and Australia. Dani's projects range from coding "shopping carts" and enabling credit-card processing on Web sites to managing portals as a webmaster.
Dani and Kiiza have jumped with both feet into the global talent pool. Both [work for] Menlo Park, Calif.-based oDesk Corp.'s online marketplace, which links programmers with businesses that need their services.
January 15, 2007
Follow the talent
Elizabeth Corcoran
Sosa-Pascual is intrigued by professional networking ventures... That drew him to oDesk, which is serving as a clearing house for engineering talent around the globe.
November 28, 2006
Help is at your fingertips
Mark Stachiew
Bids on oDesk. Contractors vie to fulfill your technical needs.
Whether you need a .NET developer, an Access whiz or a technical writer, oDesk has a pool of thousands of technical contractors from around the world who can do the job for you for a reasonable fee.
November 20, 2006
Fishing in the Global Talent Pool
Mary Brandel
Thanks to employee referrals, in- country recruiting firms, global job boards such as Monster.com and Jobster, sophisticated corporate Web recruiting sites and online programmer "marketplaces" like RentACoder.com or oDesk, there are more ways than ever before to communicate and collaborate with skilled individuals who happen to live overseas.
November 19, 2006
oDesk Hits MileStones, Lowers Fees
Michael Arrington
It is our opinion that oDesk fills an important niche in the startup world - helping companies find outsourced development help for projects. This is a service that we've used ourselves and plan on using again.
November 3, 2006
TechCrunch Site makes Arrington a power broker
Rebecca Buckman and Vauhini Vara
oDesk Corp., which brokers jobs between computer programmers and companies, says a September write-up on TechCrunch snared five times as many new customers for the company as a BusinessWeek article earlier in the year. When oDesk got funding in September from venture-capital firms, it gave Mr. Arrington -- and a few other bloggers -- the scoop. TechCrunch "has been amazing to help us get visibility," says Jason Chicola, oDesk's marketing director.
September 27, 2006
Small-Business Awards by PC Magazine: Outsourcing Finalists
John R. Quain
"Don't be afraid to try different things - just monitor the results."
oDesk's largely open-source-based platform includes online team rooms that allow clients and hourly employees to check in, collaborate, and monitor work projects.
September 27, 2006
oDesk, marketplace for developers, raises $8 million
Matt Marshall
oDesk is a start-up that provides a marketplace for companies to hire developers online and then keep near unprecedented control over them remotely.
September 27, 2006
oDesk Announces $8M Funding from Benchmark
Nik Cubrilovic
At the recent Future of Web Apps conference in San Francisco, Michael Arrington (the editor of Techcrunch) listed oDesk amongst a group of companies that are "ones to watch". We are bullish about oDesk's prospects, not only because of the rising demand for good providers but also because of their approach to connecting and managing the relationship between providers and customers.
September 8, 2006
oDesk Provides On-demand Skills
Nik Cubrilovic
My startup Omnidrive first found oDesk when we needed to find contract C++ development skills to work on a project. At first look, it appears just like one of many other portals and marketplaces that assist project managers to find talent - but upon close inspection oDesk has distinct advantages that make it one of the best and easiest ways to find employee's on-demand.
May 5, 2006
oDesk emerges with $6M
Paul Bonanos
The recruitment and management service raised its money primarily from Sigma Partners and Globespan Capital Partners.
May 2, 2006
Homeshoring: Beyond Call Centers
Sarah Lacy
Part of oDesk's appeal is that it's not just matching those looking for work with those who have it, but also helping employers overcome one of the biggest challenges they face when hiring remote contractors: trust.
May 2, 2006
Startup That Manages Home-Workers Launches
A startup called oDesk, which has been in beta for 2 years, has just launched today. It provides a match-making service for home jobs and then uses screen grabs and web cams to prove to employers that work is being done.
April 10, 2006
An inside look at outsourcing via oDesk
Dave Rosenberg
Sarah Lacy told me about oDesk a few weeks ago but I haven't had time to check it out until now. While my initial assumption was some kind of Irish IT company (get it? O'desk?) its actually an online marketplace for offshore development talent where engineers/developers/etc can post their rates along with their credentials to take on your offshore work. And people with needs can post jobs for developers to apply to.
February 20, 2006
Virtual Extended Staffing with a Major Twist
Dian Schaffhauser
I just learned about a company that provides online access to developers and other technical talent -- both domestic and offshore. Before you say, "Oh, that's what Elance does..." hear me out.
This Sunnyvale, CA firm -- oDesk -- offers clients not just access to talent, but also access to a tool that I haven't seen at other freelance help sites.
September 30, 2009
oDesk Launches iPhone Application and API Center
MENLO PARK, Calif. - September 30, 2009 -- oDesk, the leading marketplace for online workteams, the leading marketplace for online workteams, today announced the availability of the oDesk iPhone Application which allows users to manage their online workteams in real-time, with greater control and flexibility, from anywhere in the world.
September 14, 2009
oDesk Challenge Helps Venture-Backed Startups Get Started
MENLO PARK, Calif. - September 19, 2009 -- oDesk, the leading marketplace for online workteams, today announced the oDesk Challenge - a special offer to help venture-backed startups get started building and managing online workteams.
September 3, 2009
oDesk Users Tweet Sweet Online Work Opportunities
MENLO PARK, Calif. - September 3, 2009 -- oDesk announces the availability of Share on Twitter for oDesk users. By integrating with Twitter, oDesk enables its users worldwide to tap into their network of Twitter followers for important work connections.
August 13, 2009
oDesk's July Results: $65 Million Worth of Job Opportunities
MENLO PARK, Calif. — August 13, 2009 — oDesk, the leading marketplace for online workteams, oday announced its July 2009 results, including a record-setting amount of work posted on the site and a sharp increase in the amount of verified work completed through oDesk's system.
August 12, 2009
oDesk Ranks No. 110 on the 2009 Inc. 500 with Three-Year Sales Growth of 1,470%
MENLO PARK, Calif. - August 12, 2009 -- Inc. Magazine today ranked oDesk at 110 on its 28th annual Inc. 500, an exclusive ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. The list represents the most comprehensive look at the most important segment of the economy—America’s independent-minded entrepreneurs. Companies such as Microsoft (MSFT), Zappos, Intuit, GoDaddy, Under Armour, Jamba Juice, American Apparel, Oracle, and hundreds of other powerhouses gained early exposure as members of the Inc. 500.
July 9, 2009
oDesk Launches Marketplace for Talented Facebook® Connect and Facebook Application Developers
MENLO PARK, Calif. — July 9, 2009 — oDesk, the leading marketplace for online workteams, today announced the formation of the Facebook Group on oDesk. The Facebook Group on oDesk is a specialty marketplace dedicated to connecting verified Facebook Platform developers with companies interested in developing applications on Facebook or implementing Facebook Connect on their Website or device. Developers who pass the Facebook-approved qualification test on oDesk are eligible to join the Facebook Group, enhancing their online reputation and giving them access to exclusive job opportunities.
June 30, 2009
oDesk Enables Online Work Opportunities via Facebook® Connect
MENLO PARK, Calif. — June 30, 2009 — oDesk, the leading marketplace for online workteams, today announced the availability of Facebook Connect for oDesk registered buyers and providers. By integrating with Facebook Connect, oDesk enables its users worldwide to tap their social graph of Facebook friends to source candidates for jobs posted on oDesk, promote their own work skills, and create a verifiable online work presence.
June 11, 2009
oDesk Community Recognizes its Best Freelance Designers, Software Developers, Web Developers, Writers, and Virtual Assistants
Menlo Park, CA — June 11, 2009 — oDesk, the leading marketplace for online workteams, today announced the first results in an ongoing "best provider" recognition program. Every month, oDesk will rank 25 leading freelance providers from around the world in its five top job categories: designers, software developers, web developers, writers, and virtual assistants.
June 5, 2009
Hourly Rates for U.S. Freelance Software Developers Up 35% in 2009
Menlo Park, CA — June 5, 2009 — A study of freelance software developers reveals a sharp increase in hourly rates for US-based talent, up 35% from 2008. Findings are based on analysis of over 1,800 software development assignments over the last 12 months. The study was conducted by oDesk, the marketplace for online workteams. Analysis also reveals increased rates in the Ukraine (21%), Pakistan (10%), and Russia (3%). Developers in Canada, Philippines, U.K., and Bolivia saw hourly rates dip by 10% or more.
May 13, 2009
oDesk Launches oDesk Groups; Announces Partnerships with Yahoo!, Network Solutions®, and more
Menlo Park, CA — May 13, 2009 — oDesk, the marketplace for online workteams, has announced the launch of oDesk Groups and eleven initial launch partners. Each group is a marketplace sponsored by a partner organization that focuses on a specific language, skill, certification, or interest. Group members consist of service companies or professional contractors that are specialized in the partner’s technology and meet the partner’s membership criteria.
May 6, 2009
Jobs Report News: U.K., Australia, and Canada Outsource More Jobs to U.S. Workers
Menlo Park, CA — May 6, 2009 — Within the last year, outsourcing to U.S.-based workers has increased 367%, according to oDesk, the marketplace for online workteams. The United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Netherlands and Spain have shown the largest increase in foreign country outsourcing to the U.S. The most in-demand job categories sought by offshore buyers include freelance web developers, virtual assistants, and freelance writers.
April 22, 2009
Earth Day News: Silicon Valley Company oDesk reduces CO2 Emissions by 8,300 tons per year
Menlo Park, CA — April 22, 2009 — In celebration of Earth Day, oDesk, the marketplace for online workteams, announced that they are sparing the environment 8,327 tons of CO2 annually by enabling workers to go green as they work-from-home and cut their daily commutes. Findings are based on 10,693 contractors who have used oDesk to work 2,767,209 hours from home last year.
April 15, 2009
Freelance writing jobs grew 500% in past year, according to oDesk
Menlo Park, CA — April 15, 2009 — oDesk released data showing freelance writers enjoyed 500 percent demand growth in the past year for their skills. Freelance writing jobs include: technical writing, business writing, blog and article writing, editing and translation services. oDesk data is drawn from thousands of small to medium-sized businesses that use its platform to hire, manage and pay service professionals around the world.
March 24, 2009
oDesk Report Shows Companies Will Increase Use Of Contractors During Recession
Menlo Park, CA — March 24, 2009 — In a survey of 600 buyers of remote services and 350 service providers, oDesk found that companies already using its platform to hire, manage, and pay remote contractors plan to increase their usage in the current recession. At the same time, service providers say oDesk is a viable way to make a living as an alternative to full-time employment. The survey follows the company’s recent reports on the freelance economy and homeshoring.
February 25, 2009
oDesk reports demand for iPhone application development passes Facebook
Menlo Park, CA — February 25, 2009 — oDesk, the leading marketplace for online workteams, announced that demand for Apple iPhone programmers has surpassed demand for Facebook developers. iPhone jobs now outnumber Facebook jobs by a 5-3 ratio, and iPhone job growth is accelerating more quickly.
February 18, 2009
oDesk reports on freelance economy in current recession
Menlo Park, CA — February 18, 2009 — oDesk, the leading marketplace for online workteams, reports on the state of the freelance economy. According to TechCrunch, tech layoffs have surged to over 300,000. Yet, despite these layoffs work still needs to be done. To thrive in bad times, smart companies are increasingly outsourcing tech jobs to freelance web developers and software programmers. During the economic crisis of 2008, outsourcing on oDesk nearly tripled.
February 3, 2009
Growth in Homeshoring dominates U.S. Outsourcing
Menlo Park, CA — February 3, 2009 — oDesk, the leading marketplace for online workteams, reports that US buyers are increasingly homeshoring, or outsourcing software and web development work to highly-qualified freelance professionals based in the U.S. Work done in the U.S. has grown at a rate of 367% from 2007 to 2008, nearly 50% faster than oDesk’s rate of growth.
January 15, 2009
oDesk reports major trends in 2008 freelance job market
Menlo Park, CA — January 15, 2009 — oDesk, the leading marketplace for online workteams, has compiled and analyzed data from over 100,000 freelance jobs posted in 2008. The findings, which show the most critical skills to stay employed, are summarized in the three reports below.
January 5, 2009
oDesk Named "Red Herring 100 Global" Finalist
Menlo Park, CA — January 5, 2009 — oDesk, today announced that it has been selected as a Finalist of the Red Herring 100 Global Award. Red Herring 100 winners and finalists from North America, Europe and Asia of the last three years are eligible for this coveted award. The Red Herring editorial team deploys a detailed process to whittle down a pool of 600 eligible, promising companies to the 200 finalists of this global award. Evaluations are made on both quantitative and qualitative criteria, such as financial performance, innovation, management, global strategy, and ecosystem integration. The finalists, elite executives and venture capital leaders will celebrate the Top 100 Privately Held Companies from around the world in San Diego from January 14-16, 2009.
December 12, 2008
oDesk data reveals offshore outsourcing statistics for 7 countries
Menlo Park, CA — December 12, 2008 — oDesk, the leading marketplace for online workteams for employers outsourcing technology jobs to certified, freelance developers and programmers, announced new data that highlights the leading countries for offshore outsourcing as well as homeshoring.
November 25, 2008
oDesk Launches First Manifesto for Online Work
Menlo Park, CA — November 25, 2008 — oDesk, the marketplace for online workteams, today released their Manifesto for Online Work. The company, which makes remote work relationships as reliable and open as working in the same physical office, is the first to offer a manifesto for online work. The goal of the Manifesto is to demonstrate that online work is just as viable as traditional work – and in fact, that oDesk has developed the best business model for both buyers and providers. oDesk is the only company to offer guaranteed payment to providers and guaranteed work to buyers. The Manifesto is a declaration to professionals who sell their services through the Internet marketplace and the companies that hire them: Don't settle for less than you deserve.
November 17, 2008
oDesk says PHP development outstrips demand for all other programming skills
San Mateo, CA -- November 17, 2008 -- oDesk, the leading marketplace for online workteams with over 50,000 certified, freelance, Open Source developers and programmers, announced that demand for PHP software development far outweighs demand for all other computer software programming job skills.
October 31, 2008
oDesk Named Rising Star in Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 Program for Silicon Valley
MENLO PARK, CA -- October 31, 2008 -- oDesk has been named a Rising Star in Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 program for Silicon Valley. The Rising Star award is a special designation for fast-growth companies that have been in business a minimum of three years, and is part of the Silicon Valley Technology Fast 50 program. Rising Star rankings are based on percentage revenue growth over three years (2005-2007). This year’s Silicon Valley Technology Fast 50 program is co-presented by Deloitte, Silicon Valley Bank, Korn/Ferry International, Cooley Godward Kronish LLP, Cornish & Carey Client Solutions, and ABD Insurance and Financial Services - A Wells Fargo Company.
October 28, 2008
oDesk says demand for Apple iPhone App Developer Jobs up 500%
Menlo Park, CA, October 28, 2008 -- oDesk, the leading marketplace and global IT platform for outsourcing technology jobs to certified, freelance, Apple™ iPhone developers, announced that demand for iPhone programming jobs has skyrocketed by 500% over the past six months.
September 25, 2008
oDesk Achieves 3X Growth in 12 Months
Menlo Park, CA, September 25, 2008 — oDesk, the marketplace and management platform for remote work, today announced continued momentum and record growth. oDesk enables companies of all sizes to hire, manage and pay highly skilled remote workers.
July 22, 2008
Apisphere to Work with oDesk to Easily Integrate Location-Awareness Capabilities into Mobile Applications
Apisphere, Inc. http://www.apisphere.com, a leading provider of location-awareness services for mobile business applications, today announced it has partnered with oDesk, the leading marketplace and management platform for technical work, to provide Apisphere's customers with professional services to support the quick and efficient integration of its Geo-Enabled Mobility (GEM) platform in mobile applications.
June 4, 2008
oDesk Secures $15 Million In Series C Funding
June 4, 2008 -- Menlo Park, Calif., -- oDesk, the leading marketplace and management platform for technical work, today announced it has secured $15 million in Series C financing. DAG Ventures led the round. Existing investors Benchmark Capital, Globespan Capital Partners and Sigma Partners also participated.
February 7, 2008
oDesk 'oConomy' Offers Unprecedented Data on Pay Rates, Job Performance of Remote Workers
February 7, 2008 -- Menlo Park, Calif., -- Today oDesk (http://www.odesk.com/w), a leading staffing marketplace and management platform that helps companies hire, manage, and pay remote technology workers, announced the launch of the oConomy (http://www.odesk.com/community/oconomy), a rich database of information that exposes hourly wages, technical skills and feedback ratings for the global oDesk workforce. The company also announced that a record $22.5 million has been spent on technology projects through the company's marketplace.
January 31, 2008
CVSDude and oDesk Team Up to Drive Software Development Success
January 31, 2008 -- Menlo Park, Calif. and Brisbane, QLD, Australia-- CVSDude, a leading provider of hosted open-source development tools including Subversion (SVN), has teamed up with oDesk, a leading online staffing marketplace and work platform, to offer fast-growing software companies access to talented technical professionals and tools that enable faster delivery and higher-quality software products at a fraction of the cost of traditional solutions.
November 13, 2007
Red Herring Releases List of Finalists for the "Red Herring 100 Global" Awards 2007
The Most Promising Private Technology Ventures in the World to be Celebrated at Event in Seattle, Washington.
November 7, 2007
oDesk CEO to Discuss the Future of Hiring on Nationally Syndicated Radio Program
November 7, 2007 -- Menlo Park, Calif., -- This coming Sunday, November 11 at 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, oDesk CEO Gary Swart will discuss the future of hiring on The CEO Show with Robert Reiss.
October 27, 2007
oDesk Named Rising Star in Deloitte's Technology Fast 500 Program
October 23, 2007 -- Menlo Park, Calif. -- oDesk, an online marketplace that helps companies hire, manage and pay remote technology workers around the world, has been named a Rising Star on Deloitte's 2007 Technology Fast 500.
October 4, 2007
oDesk Offers $50 Commission For New Businesses, Software Developers Referred to its Job Marketplace
October 4, 2007 -- Menlo Park, Calif., -- Today oDesk (www.oDesk.com), an online marketplace that helps companies hire, manage and pay remote technology workers around the world, announced a referral program in which oDesk users will be paid $50 for reach new member they refer to oDesk who completes $1,000 worth of work. The referral program is designed to reward members for bringing new, high-quality professionals to oDesk and encourage a strong and trusted work community.
September 18, 2007
oDesk Sets the Standard of Excellence
September 18, 2007 -- Menlo Park, Calif., -- Today oDesk (www.oDesk.com), an online marketplace that helps companies hire, manage and pay remote technical workers around the world, announced that it has received the Standard of Excellence Award in the Professional Services category from the International WebAwards.
September 11, 2007
oDesk Releases Facebook Development Skills Test for Remote Software Developers
September 11, 2007 - Menlo Park, Calif., - Today oDesk (www.oDesk.com), an online marketplace that helps companies hire, manage and pay remote technology workers around the world, released a Facebook development skills test to help businesses hire the most skilled Facebook application developers to build cool, new widgets and applications for the popular social networking site.
August 16, 2007
oDesk Launches New Billing and Payment Center to Simplify On-Demand Workforce Management
August 16, 2007 - Menlo Park, Calif., - Today oDesk (www.oDesk.com), n online marketplace that helps companies hire, manage and pay remote workers around the world, announced a new billing and payment center that will make managing remote work relationships easier than ever.
April 30, 2007
oDesk Expands Provider Payment Options with Payoneer and the oDesk Debit MasterCard ®
April 30, 2007 - Menlo Park, Calif., - Today oDesk (www.oDesk.com), an online marketplace that allows companies to hire, manage and pay remote technical workers around the world, announced that oDesk providers can now sign up to receive an oDesk prepaid Debit MasterCard to access their earnings from anywhere in the world.
April 16, 2007
Record $10 Million Spent on Outsourced Technology Projects Through oDesk's Global Software Development Marketplace
April 16, 2007 - Web 2.0 Expo, San Francisco, Calif., - Today oDesk (www.oDesk.com), an online marketplace that allows companies to hire, manage and pay remote technical workers around the world, announced that a record ten million dollars has been spent on outsourced technology projects through the company’s global job marketplace. Thousands of companies across the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Saudi Arabia, Australia and other countries have used oDesk to hire from more than 10,000 tested, rated technology professionals from all over the world.
March 26, 2007
oDesk Adds Fixed-Price Jobs to Global Software Development Marketplace
PALO ALTO, CA (March 26, 2007) -- Today oDesk (www.oDesk.com), an online marketplace that allows companies to hire, manage and pay remote technical workers around the world, announced the addition of a fixed-price option to its current hourly pay structure. The new fixed-price option, currently in public beta, gives more flexibility to buyers and service providers for setting their rates and allows for optimal pricing in the remote work marketplace. oDesk is the first and only job marketplace that allows both fixed-price and hourly pay options.
November 27, 2006
Strong Growth Enables oDesk to Slash Fees Nearly 60%
PALO ALTO, CA (November 21, 2006) -- Today oDesk (www.oDesk.com), an online marketplace and platform for managing remote work, announced that it was lowering its transaction fee from 23% to 10%, citing improved operational efficiency, increased customer adoption, and revenue growth as key enablers.
November 7, 2006
oDesk and O'Reilly Partner on Globalization Mashup for Tech Skills, Rates
PALO ALTO, CA (November 7, 2006) -- Today oDesk (www.oDesk.com), an online marketplace for remote work, and O'Reilly Media announced a partnership to publish data and trends on the economics of the global programming workforce. An early beta version of the "oDesk Economy" website (beta.oDesk.com/economy) will be demonstrated at the Web 2.0 Conference this week in San Francisco, and a production version will launch in early 2007.
November 7, 2006
oDesk Rolls Out Free Skills Testing for Software Developers
PALO ALTO, CA (November 7, 2006) -- Today oDesk (www.oDesk.com), an online marketplace and platform for managing remote work, announced the production rollout of oDesk Online Testing (www.oDesk.com/tests), a free skills testing service for programmers and hi-tech professionals. The new service offers over a hundred assessment tests for popular programming languages and technology skills such as Ajax, PHP, MySQL, .NET, Java, and XML. Launched in beta earlier this summer, the service is now available in production and will be highlighted at the Web 2.0 Conference this week in San Francisco.
September 27, 2006
oDesk Announces $8 million Series B Round Led by Benchmark Capital
PALO ALTO, CA (September 27, 2006) oDesk, an Internet startup that provides a marketplace for hiring global technical talent and web-based tools to manage remote teams, announced an $8 million Series B investment led by Benchmark Capital.
June 7, 2006
Thomas Layton, CEO of Open Table, Joins oDesk Board of Directors
SUNNYVALE, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 06/07/2006 -- oDesk, an Internet startup that lets companies access an On Demand global workforce, announced today that Thomas Layton, CEO of Open Table, has been appointed to its Board of Directors. Mr. Layton brings a tremendous amount of experience building marquee Internet businesses as well as an extensive network of relationships in the sector to the company. He was a cofounder of CitySearch, Inc., which later merged with Ticketmaster and is now a subsidiary of InterActiveCorp.
April 25, 2006
oDesk Announces $6 million in Series A Funding
SUNNYVALE, CA (April 25, 2006) oDesk, an Internet startup that lets companies hire and manage remote workers from its global talent pool and pay them on an hourly basis, announced a $6 million Series A investment from Globespan Capital Partners and Sigma Partners.