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99designs

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Pretended leer (talk | contribs) at 21:25, 7 November 2018 (move infobox; join paragraphs that sort of formed a short pseudo-list, but not long enough to really make it a plainlist, add "and" at some of those places; add link). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

  • Comment: Hi. As disclosed on the Talk page, I'm an experienced Wikipedia editor but have a WP: COI here as a paid consultant to 99designs. I still did my best to abide by the five pillars - especially to write a neutral article about the subject and adopt a NPOV. Cognizant of the grounds for denial cite above, I've made a bunch of changes. Fist, this company's entire business model, going back more than 10 years, caused a controversy in the graphic design community. I've alluded to it in the lead, now, and moved up the large paragraph about the criticism and controversy so it's the second graph in "History." So the criticism of the company is now prominent. I deleted language that the company is the largest in the contest space, as that seems borderline promotional, even though it's true. I removed language about follow-on work in case that seemed promotional. I removed language about the shift of work toward agencies after they added a direct hire option as that's too inside ball. I've tightened up language in various other places. I added a separate section for financials to make it clearer that this is a substantial business. In general, I would say for better or worse, this company was an early and influential player in a shift to the gig economy, where the barrier to entry to work in a field was dramatically lowered by technology, with the accompanying disruption of lower prices and displacing entrenched professionals. Recording this history in Wikipedia is valuable. Design is very important in contemporary society and this platform is one of the big channels for getting design done. BC1278 (talk) 20:05, 30 October 2018 (UTC)BC1278


99designs
Type of site
Freelance marketplace, Online outsourcing, Employment website
Founded2008
HeadquartersMelbourne, Australia,
Australia
Founder(s)Matt Mickiewicz, Mark Harbottle
Key peoplePatrick Llewellyn, (CEO)
IndustryInternet
URL99designs.com

99designs is a Melbourne, Australia based company that operates a freelancer platform for connecting graphic designers and clients. The company was founded in 2008, and has a United States office in San Francisco.

History

99designs was founded by Matt Mickiewicz and Mark Harbottle as a spin-off of Sitepoint, a website started in 1998 as a forum for web developers and designers. Designers on the site's forums began self-organizing contests based on fictional client briefs.[1][2] The founders decided to test charging a fee to post briefs for real projects, eventually creating 99designs as a separate company to hold the graphic design contests.[1][3]

In 2008, the company opened a San Francisco office, because the majority of the platform's clients and designers were in the United States.[4][5] By 2012, the site had 175,000 designers in 192 countries.[6] And by 2016, it had about one million registered designers.[7]

The platform was later redesigned to allow customers to directly search for and hire designers, outside of design competitions.[8]

In 2012, the company acquired a European competitor called 12designer, based in Germany.[6][9] In 2013, the company acquired LogoChef, a Brazilian competitor.[10] And in 2017, the company relocated back to Melbourne.[11][12]

Financials

In 2011, the company received USD$35 million in financing from Accel Partners and other investors.[13][14] It subsequently raised another $10 million in 2015.[7][11]

The company became profitable in 2017,[8] and in February 2018 reported $60 million a year in revenue.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b Craig, Elsie (2012-05-21). "Xconomy: 99designs Crowdsources Its Own New Website Design". Xconomy. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  2. ^ Dubois, Lou (2011-06-27). "Matt Mickiewicz, Co-founder of 99designs". Inc.com. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
  3. ^ Lacy, Sarah (2012-01-24). "Get Over It, Haters: 99designs Has Tipped". Pando. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  4. ^ Anderson, Cathy (2016-05-27). "How These Aussie Small Businesses Have Cracked the US Market". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
  5. ^ King, Rachel (2008-10-27). "The Designer-Small Biz Connection". Fast Company. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  6. ^ a b Empson, Rip (2012-08-07). "99designs Makes Its First Acquisition, Scoops Up European Rival 12designer". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  7. ^ a b Redrup, Yolanda (2016-03-09). "Design marketplace 99designs releases growth figures as it weighs up possible IPO". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
  8. ^ a b "Graphic design marketplace 99designs hits profitability 9 years after launch". VentureBeat. 2017-10-24. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
  9. ^ Sharma, Mahesh (2012-08-31). "99 problems but a design ain't one | ZDNet". ZDNet. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  10. ^ "Crowdsourcing giant 99designs acquires LogoChef, continues global expansion". VentureBeat. 2013-08-27. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  11. ^ a b c "As 99designs turns 10, CEO Patrick Llewellyn plans for an Australian IPO". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  12. ^ Wallbank, Paul (2017-10-24). "99Designs pivots to agencies as it returns to its Melbourne roots ahead of ASX listing". Mumbrella. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
  13. ^ Primick, Dan (2011-04-29). "Why 99designs raised $35 million from Accel Partners". Fortune. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  14. ^ Khoo, Valerie (2013-05-16). "Going global: how one Melbourne start-up did it". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2018-07-27. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
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