Fiverr's Upmarket Surge Continues with the Announcement of Fiverr Pro, Acquisition of Veed.me

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - June 27, 2017) - Fiverr, the marketplace for creative and digital services for entrepreneurs and small businesses, today introduced Fiverr Pro, the newest high-end initiative of Fiverr's global marketplace of talent. The new offering blends the efficiency and simplicity of Fiverr's one-click order, e-commerce marketplace with hand-picked, professional talent to meet the needs of every entrepreneur and small business. As part of Fiverr's larger goal to grow its professional freelance community and dominate the digital freelance ecosystem, the industry leader has announced the acquisition of Veed.me, a high-end video and animation marketplace featuring professional freelancers working with clients such as Facebook, Google and Slack. The terms of the deal are not public.

"The Fiverr marketplace has always solved the biggest pain point freelancers have: getting clients and generating income," said Micha Kaufman, CEO of Fiverr. "As it's evolved, we've recognized the growing demand from entrepreneurs for bigger and more complex projects that sometimes need highly professional freelancers with years of experience. Through Fiverr Pro, we're bringing professional freelancers an easy way to get work, while adding the high-end, trusted talent entrepreneurs struggle to tap into. Bringing a high quality, vertical player like Veed.me into the fold is yet another step in moving upmarket and creating the biggest horizontal freelance marketplace."

Founded in 2012 by Yoav Hornung, Oren Hod and Nuriel Zuaretz, Veed.me has become a quality resource for connecting both large and small brands with a global community of over 3,500 professional videographers.

"Fiverr is a company we've always looked up to," said Yoav Hornung, CEO of Veed.me. "We share a vision of providing high-end services through an accessible and collaborative marketplace, and when the opportunity arose to combine forces, we knew it was an ideal match for Veed.me's community of creatives and clients."

America's Entrepreneurs Struggle to Access Talent

Entrepreneurship is emerging as the most aspirational ideal in today's culture, but the success of a nation of builders depends on the resources around them and their ability to easily tap into those tools. A study conducted by Morar Consulting together with Fiverr of over one thousand American entrepreneurs and small business founders revealed that three quarters of America's entrepreneurs have previously hired freelance talent to help build their businesses. While four out of five of these entrepreneurs see freelance talent as important to their business's success, two thirds of those surveyed struggle to find the help they need. An analysis of the time spent finding, vetting and hiring a freelancer points to a substantial loss. America's entrepreneurs are spending over 11 hours a week getting the help they need, equating to over $1,500 of lost productivity.

For more information on the Fueling Entrepreneurship Report, click here.

The Next Chapter in Efficiency, Trust and Opportunity

Fiverr Pro eliminates the financial and efficiency drain that plagues many entrepreneurs seeking out freelance help, while maintaining Fiverr's freelancer-centric model of demand generation. Freelancers and clients can expect:

• Curated, high-end talent: Fiverr Pro Gigs are hand-vetted and carefully curated so buyers can easily find the right talent.
• Stellar customer experience: All Fiverr Pro clients and freelancers will have dedicated, 24/7 support, with personal success managers assigned to freelancers.
• Guaranteed trust: With Fiverr Pro's selection of talent, buyers can feel confident putting any project, big or small, in the hands of freelancers.

To build a strong talent base on Fiverr Pro, Fiverr has taken three approaches. First, the company has sought out high-end professionals already providing services on its rapidly growing global marketplace to offer Pro services. Second, Fiverr has attracted professional freelancers with strong portfolios including work with Google, Sony, Nissan and Vodafone to join the marketplace. This includes various influencers, such as social media content expert Elliot Tebele, whose JerryMedia agency has gained notoriety for a broad range of brands across social channels. Lastly, Fiverr has sought out strategic acquisition partners, such as Veed.me. The addition of Veed.me illustrates Fiverr's appetite for expanding its business not just through strong organic growth, but also by acquiring professional, vertical supply and demand that strengthens its horizontal marketplace.

The process to become a Fiverr Pro freelancer involves rigorous hand-vetting to ensure a high level of quality across the entire interaction, from introductory communication to complex collaboration. The advantage for Pro freelancers comes through Fiverr's ability to solve their biggest pain point: driving customer demand for their services. Additionally, Fiverr's management tools handle all administrative tasks, from proposal to payment, leaving freelancers to focus on what really matters; the work.

Freelancers looking to join the marketplace may apply to Fiverr Pro here.

"The way businesses are being built today has been transformed by the rise of highly skilled independent workers, but the way talent has been found hasn't evolved rapidly enough," said Steve King, partner at Emergent Research. "By making it easier and more efficient to find and engage skilled independents, Fiverr Pro benefits both freelancers and the businesses that hire them."

Beginning today, Fiverr Pro services are available for prospective clients and freelancers in four categories: 1) Writing and Translation 2) Graphics and Design 3) Digital Marketing and 4) Video and Animation with plans for further expansion into other categories throughout the coming months and year. As part of the continued rollout, Veed.me will continue to operate as its own marketplace, with plans to integrate its community into the larger Fiverr marketplace in the near future.

Here's what Pro freelancers are saying:

"Most of my business today comes through local channels and word of mouth," said +Aziz, a Fiverr Pro freelance marketing expert based in New Orleans. "The opportunity to expand beyond my physical surroundings means attracting a broader range of clients without devoting extensive time to marketing myself and my business."

"Being an independent freelancer can feel daunting at times," said Stephanie Caudle, a Fiverr Pro freelancer with expertise in SEO content development based in North Carolina. "You want freedom and control, but ultimately, it's still on you to find clients and handle all of the backend work. The increased exposure and project depth of Pro allows me to grow my business while keeping me focused on the work itself, instead of the administrative side of the business."

About Fiverr

Fiverr is the world's largest marketplace for creative and digital services, including graphic design, copywriting, voice overs, and music and film editing. Fiverr's mission is to democratize lean entrepreneurship by giving entrepreneurs, freelancers, small businesses and even enterprises the resources they need to get things done quickly, flexibly and fearlessly so that they can thrive in the new economy. Fiverr's global community of freelancers have delivered tens of millions of high-quality Gigs from over 100 service categories across 190 countries. We invite you to visit us at fiverr.com, and our blog and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.