| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Design |
| Founded | May, 2007 |
| Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Key people | Ross Kimbarovsky, Co-Founder; Mike Samson, Co-Founder |
| Products | Custom Logo Design, Website Design, Illustration, Marketing Materials, Industrial Design, Copywriting |
| Employees | 14 |
| Website | www.crowdspring.com |
Crowdspring (written "crowdSPRING") is one of the largest marketplaces in the world for crowdsourced creative services. [1] Entrepreneurs, small businesses, startups, big Brands and agencies who need a custom logo design, website design, other graphic design, industrial design or copywriting post what they need, when they need it and how much they'll pay.[2] Once posted, creatives from around the world (over 100,000 from 200 countries) submit actual work. Buyers choose from among actual work (currently an average of more than 110 entries per project), not bids and proposals. [3]
crowdSPRING was co-founded in May 2007 by Ross Kimbarovsky and Michael Samson. crowdSPRING launched its online marketplace publicly in May 2008. crowdSPRING is based in Chicago.[4][5][6][7][8][9]
More than 100,000 graphic designers and writers from 200 countries work on crowdSPRING.[10] Unlike traditional marketplaces, where buyers select from among bids and proposals, crowdSPRING uses an innovative business model - buyers select from among actual designs to the buyer's specification, submitted by multiple designers. Buyers average more than 110 designs per project.[11] More than 25,000 entrepreneurs, small businesses and agencies from over 73 countries have leveraged crowdSPRING's creative community for help with graphic, web and industrial design, and for help with written content (including company and product names).[12]
crowdSPRING handles full project management, file transfer, payment, legal contracts, and communication (public and private). Designers can create profiles and create portfolios on the site. The crowdSPRING marketplace offers comprehensive feedback, statistics, ratings, and community forums. crowdSPRING offers all buyers a money back guarantee [13][14]
Contents |
Wired (magazine) Small Biz of 2008, Business.com best people solution, 2008 finalist for the Chicago Innovation Awards, the Illinois Technology Association 2009 Newcomer, a top five finalist worldwide for a 2009 Webby Awards for Community, named an Official Honoree for the Services and Applications Category in the 13th Annual Webby Awards, and 2009 Stevie Awards for best product/service (crowdSPRING was a 2010 finalist for best e-commerce site in the Stevie Awards, and a top five finalist for Tech America Foundation's American Technology Award in the Internet Services and E-Commerce category.
crowdSPRING maintains a blog which was launched in mid 2008 and is ranked by AdAge to be among the top 50 marketing blogs in the world. [15]
When it launched publicly in mid 2008, the company and its business model received some criticism because crowdSPRING's marketplace works on a speculative model and challenges traditional ways of buying and selling graphic design, industrial design, and copywriting services. This is the process of asking professionals to complete custom work for the chance of getting payment.[16] crowdSPRING embraced and actively participates in the debate about its spec work business model.[17][18]