<aside> 📅 Under Embargo until 9:00 AM CET Paris, December 9th, 2021
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Paris, December 9th 2021 - Collective.work, a platform that powers teams of freelancers - also known as collectives -, today announces it has raised $8 million in a seed round led by Blossom Capital, together with collective members and prominent business angels (including co-founders of Intercom, Criteo, Aircall). Collective.work is building the SaaS-enabled marketplace to enable any independents to create and run collectives with a professional back-office and access opportunities. Collective.work is already the largest platform for freelancer teams worldwide.
Since its start 9 months ago within eFounders (the startup studio that has launched several successful SaaS companies, including Front, Aircall, and Spendesk), Collective.work has generated significant interest, as it's already working with thousands of freelancers and hundreds of companies. The start-up will use these funds to continue developing its product and confirm its leadership position. Collective plans to hire 30+ people by the end of 2022.
Freelancing has grown considerably over the past decade and is expected to continue to expand. More recently, a new form of work is emerging: collectives. Collectives are teams of freelancers, experts, and creators who have decided to combine their networks, skills, and methodologies under a common brand.
The number of collectives worldwide is increasing at a rapid pace. Collective.work recently published a study titled "Collectives in 2021" and found that over 20% of independent workers are already teaming up. They represent ~1% of the service industry and generate $250 billion in the US and Europe. In 2040, nearly 1 in 2 working adults will work in teams of independents.
Creators, experts, and influencers are increasingly leaving agencies and companies to turn their passions into a business. And now, they're teaming up to go faster, offer more value, and work with greater purpose, together with their peers.
Jean de Rauglaudre, CEO and co-founder of Collective.work
The collective form combines the benefits of the traditional company with those of independent work. In a collective, members benefit from each other's support and expertise. They are also able to mutualise internal resources and share expenses. This in turn allows collectives to access larger projects with higher budgets which were once only reserved to traditional companies.
Collectives create a fulfilling way of working. "Collectives are more horizontal than traditional companies", notices Vianney de Drouas, COO and co-founder of Collective.work. "Some collectives already operate as fully decentralised and autonomous organisations. In these collectives, the remuneration system, the governance, and every-day-processes are collectively voted, and subject to evolutions based on a democratic system."
This new way of working offers a better redistribution of the value. When working with a traditional service provider, a significant portion of clients' budgets (from 20% to 80%, depending on the industry) finance the cost of pyramidal structures. On the other hand, collective members work directly with their clients and are paid for what they produce. "A new offer (collectives) is meeting its demand (companies). This a completely new paradigm for both clients and independents" says Collective.work's CEO.
We believe the economy is experiencing a major shift with the emergence of millions of decentralised collectives. What sets them apart from any organisation today is their high level of engagement, expertise, independence, and total transparency.
Thibaud Elzière, Founder of eFounders