A more efficient platform for independent professionals

Hugo Finkelstein
Nov 7 · 4 min read

What is Rise and why we’re building it.

Did you know that 78% of independent workers say they’re happier than those working traditional jobs but 73% of them are willing to leave the marketplace they use if they are unsatisfied with how they’re getting paid?

At Rise, we believe the booming freelance economy has yet to be given the proper tools to evolve. Our mission is to empower independent professionals and their clients by enabling cost effective, frictionless and peer-to-peer transactions.

Let’s take a quick step back.

Evolution of Work Economies

Back in the 20th century, the labor market used to be simple and straightforward. Companies were looking for the best local talents to join their team as their operations were solely in-house.

Since the birth of the internet, a paradigm shift we’ve been witnessing is the dynamic shape of the employment structure. New technologies have enabled people to connect and interact at a scale never seen before. Talent can now be accessed from anywhere in the world and rates are becoming more and more competitive.

For the past few years, a wave of independent professionals lead by millennials has been growing and taking significant importance in the labor market. Overburdened employees are shifting away from traditional jobs they do not like, to prioritize their work/life balance.

Freedom has become the main driver for them to onboard the freelance wagon:

  • Freedom of location
  • Freedom of hours
  • Freedom of choosing their own clients
  • Freedom of being their own boss

Naturally, companies have been forced to adjust their talent acquisition strategies and become more flexible with the way their organization is structured. It has become a norm to use independent, cost efficient and skilled freelancers within a team for staff augmentation.

Marketplaces exist, but aren’t equitable to parties involved

As a result, online marketplaces have emerged to facilitate connections between independent professionals and companies. While their growth has been noticeable, theses opportunistic marketplaces have been taking advantage of freelancers through various ways:

  • High fees: 20% average transaction fees
  • Long withdrawal periods: 2 weeks average waiting time to withdraw funds once a project is complete
  • Skewed dispute resolutions: marketplaces often favor clients when disputes arise

Here’s a quick example:

Let’s assume you are a full-time independent professional, your rent and other living expenses depend on the work you are doing on your own. Now imagine seeing 20% of your hard earned money taken away from you by the marketplace who facilitated your connection with your client. Additionally, imagine waiting on average 2 weeks to withdraw your funds once you complete a project… This is the current freelance landscape, and by no means it should stay the same.

Here comes Rise

We’re building a cost effective, frictionless and peer-to-peer marketplace which will enable freelancers and their clients to trust each other when collaborating. Rise is being built by independent professionals, for independent professionals. Our mission is to give the power back to freelancers, the way they deserve it.

How we’re doing it?

We’re leveraging distributed technologies to accomplish our mission. Projects and transfers of funds are facilitated by smart contracts, computer protocols which ensure the performance of credible transactions without third parties involved.

Having been on both the freelancer and the client side, we know how frustrating some experiences on existing marketplaces can be, whether with companies, independent professionals or the platform itself.

Who is Rise for?

To kick things off, we’re focusing on digital marketing freelancers, more especially graphic designers and copywriters. On the other hand, our goal is to attract clients such as marketing agencies and startups looking for skilled, cost efficient and trustable freelancers to build their brands .

Where are we at?

We’re well underway in building our beta platform, which will be ready for Rise ambassadors in Q1 of 2020. We cannot wait to show you our innovative features which will enhance the current workplace for independent professionals. In the meantime, we have started to build our community of freelancers and onboarding our first client marketing agencies.

If you’d like to join our community, you can sign up on our website.

Together, we will build a more efficient workplace for independent professionals. A workplace based on trust, security and quality.

Let’s rise!

Hugo & Andrew, co-founders.

Empowering Freelancers

Hugo Finkelstein

Written by

Rise

Rise

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