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Platforms that match freelancers with customers offer a valuable service. Finding people on your own would take a lot of time, which you could assign a value to
by gregjor 3y ago
Platforms that match freelancers with customers offer a valuable service. Finding people on your own would take a lot of time, which you could assign a value to.
"Justified" asks the wrong question. The platforms offer a service. If you use the service the platform can profit from the transaction. How long would such platforms stay in business if they had to operate for free, or only get a fee on the first engagement?
Toptal doesn't operate as a platform like Upwork and Fiverr. They hire their people out and make money by marking up the rate/fee.
- yousss 3y agoI guess I agree with you on the "providing a service means they can profit from the transaction". Yeah I was wrong by using the word "Justify". I meant more like: is it something that will last? In other markets, like music and movies/shows, the (what I see as similar) "pay per track" business model didn't resist compared to the subscription business model.
- gregjor 3y agoNot the same model. Big difference between paying for something that has negligible cost to make more copies, and paying for someone to write software, a song, a movie. The agent model has already lasted a long time, in many domains where there's a need to match talent with customers.