Marketplaces have revolutionized the way companies and freelancers are brought together. Their model is enjoying growing success, particularly since the onset of the health crisis.
2 million self-employed workers
Confinement has encouraged the French to set up their own businesses. France now boasts over 2 million self-employed workers, according to the Urssaf Caisse Nationale (formerly Agence Centrale des Organismes de Sécurité Sociale or Acoss). After almost a year of restrictions, some people can no longer see themselves returning to the office, preferring to set up their own business to take advantage of the benefits of auto-entrepreneur status.
Freelance marketplaces on the rise
Malt, Upwork, Les bons freelances... Hundreds of generalist or specialized platforms, local or international, have sprung up in recent years. Their role: to put freelancers in touch with companies in return for a commission. For freelancers, these marketplaces are a way of making new contacts and discovering new companies, but also of insuring themselves against a new customer. If a customer doesn't come back, the platform automatically validates the payment.
So, in addition to matching talents with suppliers, the platforms offer services designed to facilitate this relationship, such as legal advice, insurance and administrative assistance. To stand out from the crowd, some have decided to specialize by profession, business sector or function. This is the case, for example, with Codeur, which mainly targets developers, Webjobs, which targets young people working in the technology market, and Redacteur.com.
Malt: 80 million euros in fundraising
Proof that freelance marketplaces are growing fast, Malt, the platform that connects companies and freelancers, recently completed an 80 million euro financing round with Goldman Sachs Growth Equity and Eurazeo.
Today, Malt boasts over 250,000 freelance consultants and 30,000 customers, including 36 CAC 40 companies. Its success can be attributed to a technology designed to automatically match a consultant's profile with a company's needs. Thanks to the funds raised, the platform intends to strengthen its product offering and is considering opening up in other countries. Already established in Paris, Lyon, Munich and Madrid, it may soon be offering its services in the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and the UK. In terms of figures, the company has set itself the target of achieving sales of one billion euros by 2024.
Competition on the market is increasingly fierce. To make their choice, freelancers carefully study the commissions charged and the number of potential customers, points to which platforms must pay particular attention if they want to stand out from the crowd.