Fiverr International Ltd.
Type of site
Marketplace
Available inEnglish, Spanish, French, Dutch, Portuguese, Italian, German
Traded asNYSE: FVRR
HeadquartersTel Aviv, Israel
Area servedWorldwide
Founder(s)
  • Micha Kaufman
  • Shai Wininger
Industry
RevenueIncrease US$298 million (2021)
Employees787 (2021)
URLfiverr.com
CommercialYes
RegistrationRequired
Launched1 February 2010; 13 years ago (2010-02-01)
Current statusActive
[1]

Fiverr is an Israeli multinational online marketplace for freelance services.[2] Fiverr's platform connects freelancers (sellers) to people or businesses looking to hire (buyers), encouraging a wide range of services in a free market. Fiverr takes its name from the $5 asking price attached to all tasks when the company was founded in 2010 in Tel Aviv, though many sellers now charge more.

Listings on Fiverr are described as diverse, ranging from "get a well-designed business card" to "help with HTML, JavaScript, CSS, and jQuery". The highest-paying jobs on Fiverr include website design, social media manager, proofreading and copywriting, and resume writing. Freelancers work from a variety of workplaces. The platform is global, with freelancers and businesses spanning an estimated 160 countries. Fiverr went public in 2019. Today it is a multi-billion-dollar global freelancing marketplace.[3]

History

Fiverr's former headquarters in Tel Aviv

Fiverr was founded by Micha Kaufman and Shai Wininger. The founders came up with the concept of a marketplace that would provide a two-sided market for people to buy and sell a variety of digital services typically offered by freelance contractors. Services offered on the site include writing, translation, graphic design, video editing and programming.[4] Fiverr's services start at US$5, and can go up to thousands of dollars.[5][6]

In December 2013, Fiverr released their iOS app in the Apple App Store,[7] and in March 2014 the company published their Android app in the Google Play store.[8]

In October 2015, Amazon.com started legal action against 1,114 Fiverr sellers it claims provide fake reviews on the US version of its website. Fiverr did not dispute Amazon's allegations and stated: "As Amazon noted, we have worked closely together to remove services that violate our terms of use, and respond promptly to any reports of inappropriate content."[9] Amazon filed suit after an undercover sting.[10]

In November 2015, Fiverr announced that it had raised US$60 million in a Series D round of funding, led by Square Peg Capital.[11] The round brought their total funding to date to $110 million.[12]

In June 2019, it listed on the NYSE.[13] On February 18, 2021, the company reported $189.5 million in revenue for the 2020 fiscal year, a 77% increase from the previous fiscal year ($107.1 million).[14][15]

Products

Launched in 2020, Fiverr Business helps teams at larger companies manage their workflows with freelancers and remote workers.[16]

Also in 2020, Fiverr launched Logo Maker, a tool powered by artificial intelligence for designing company logos.[17]

Acquisitions

In 2017, Fiverr acquired video creation marketplace VeedMe.[18]

In January 2018, AND.CO, maker of software for freelancers, was acquired by Fiverr. Then CEO Micha Kaufman said at the time that many of AND CO's capabilities, such as invoicing, are "baked into" the Fiverr marketplace, but "the vast majority of freelancing is happening offline"—and Fiverr wants to enable those offline relationships. AND.CO was converted into Fiverr Workspace in 2021. [19]

In February 2019, Fiverr acquired premium subscription-based content marketing platform, ClearVoice which was founded in 2014.[20]

In August 2020, Fiverr acquired SLT Consulting, a boutique digital marketing agency specializing in social media marketing, search and SEO, as well as brand and content marketing.[21] The agency was founded by Sharon Lee Thony, who built its business using Fiverr.[22]

In February 2021, Fiverr acquired creative talent marketplace Working Not Working.[23]

In October 2021, Fiverr acquired education and training platform CreativeLive.[24]

In November of 2021, Fiverr acquired freelance management platform Stoke Talent for $95M.[25]

Criticism

In 2017, Fiverr was criticized for advertisements portraying unhealthy living and excesses in work behaviors as ideals to live up to.[26] The company has also been criticized for undervaluing freelance labor and pushing down prices.[27][28]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Fiverr International Ltd. 2021 Annual Report (Form 20-F)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 17 February 2022.
  2. ^ "Freelance Voices: How Global Freelance Platforms Are Supporting Ukrainian Freelancers". Forbes. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  3. ^ "How to Make Money on Fiverr(7 step by step guide to start earning with fiverr)". The Laptop Bucks. 17 July 2020. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  4. ^ Pfeiffer, Eric (3 April 2012). "How Fiverr.com Is Changing the Creative Economy $5 at a Time". Yahoo News Blog. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  5. ^ Hoover, Lisa. "Fiverr Outsources Your Small Jobs for $5". Lifehacker. Retrieved 8 March 2010.
  6. ^ Pilon, Mary (16 March 2010). "What Will People Do for $5? Fiverr Lets You Find Out". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 10 April 2011.
  7. ^ Bilton, Ricardo (10 December 2013). "Fiverr launches its first iOS app to help mobilize the up-and-coming gig economy". Venture Beat. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  8. ^ Henry, Alan. "Fiverr Brings Its Low-Cost Side-Hustle Marketplace to Android". Lifehacker. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  9. ^ Aisha Gani: Amazon sues 1,000 'fake reviewers', The Guardian 18 October 2015
  10. ^ Demmitt (16 October 2015). "After undercover sting, Amazon files suit against 1,000 Fiverr users over fake product reviews". geekwire.
  11. ^ "Fiverr CEO on Raising $60 Million in Fresh Funding: 'It's a Land Grab Right Now'". TechCrunch. Retrieved 4 October 2021.[permanent dead link]
  12. ^ Kolodny, Lora (11 November 2015). "Fiverr Pockets $60M to Become Go-To Freelance Marketplace". Dow Jones & Company. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  13. ^ "Israels Fiverr Lists on NYSE". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  14. ^ "Fiverr Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2020 Results". Nasdaq. 18 February 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  15. ^ "Fiverr Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2019 Results". 19 February 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  16. ^ Marks, Gene. "Apple Boosts IPad Air Performance By 40%…And Other Small Business Tech News". Forbes. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  17. ^ Tress, Luke. "Fiverr launches AI-powered automated logo maker". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  18. ^ Tiffany, Kaitlyn (27 June 2017). "Fiverr Launches 'Pro' Tier for Handpicked Freelancers". Techcrunch. Retrieved 17 May 2018. Fiverr has announced its acquisition of Veed.me, a well-established video freelancing site useful mainly for businesses looking to hire videographers to shoot ads locally
  19. ^ Ha, Anthony (24 January 2018). "Fiverr acquires And Co, maker of software for freelancers". Techcrunch. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  20. ^ Singh, Manish (13 February 2019). "Fiverr acquires content marketing platform ClearVoice". VentureBeat. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  21. ^ Thony, Sharon Lee (5 August 2020). "Welcome to the Next Chapter of SLT Consulting!". SLT Consulting. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  22. ^ "Fiverr International Ltd". Apps Run The World. 26 October 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  23. ^ "Fiverr adds creative muscle with the acquisition of Working Not Working". adage.com. 11 February 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  24. ^ Ben-David, Ricky. "Israel's Fiverr acquires US online learning company to offer education, training". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  25. ^ "Fiverr acquires Stoke Talent for $95M, adding freelance management tools for employers to its platform". TechCrunch. Retrieved 30 July 2022.[permanent dead link]
  26. ^ Pershan, Caleb (23 March 2017). "Tragic Ads Attempt To Glorify Desperate Hell of Gig Economy". SFist. Archived from the original on 25 March 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  27. ^ 5 (very, very long) Reasons Why Fiverr is the Worst Place to Start Freelancing, and Why We Still Use it Anyway.
  28. ^ Corey Pein (2018). Live Work Work Work Die: A Journey into the Savage Heart of Silicon Valley. Metropolitan Books. ISBN 978-1627794855.

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