Student – Business Marketplace and Freelance Social Network
Posted by Roman on February 11th, 2009 | Filed under Ideas
Kicking off the new “Ideas” category is a project that my roommate from freshman year of college and I came up with back in ’04. When you put Jesse and I together, we often end up talking about innovation and business ideas. It wasn’t any different back then. He was actually my inspiration to start an ideas category on this blog after he had started one on his.
So here’s one from back when the Eagles were in the Super Bowl and Outkast liked the waaaaay you move:
XYZ is a hybrid social network and online marketplace catering to the needs of two distinct audiences: small businesses and students. Business owner post projects for talented students to browse details and request the assignment. Students create portfolios showcasing their talents, allowing small businesses to also offer assignments direct to qualified students.
For college students, a part-time job or project based role can make all the difference during financially tight college years as they develop their resumes. A small amount of income can add security and stability to a student’s financial position. Unfortunately in today’s economy, just finding that part-time job can be a very daunting task. Often, students resort to working inconvenient hours between classes at their local Starbucks or CVS. These positions offer little intellectual stimulation, have no relation to the student’s course of study and provide few opportunities for professional growth. Many student workers are unsatisfied with their hours and are often disappointed with a minimum wage paycheck. For those on the doorstep of graduation, finding a job will be harder than ever. Due to recent layoffs, the market is saturated with experienced professionals ready to accept positions with lower salaries that would have normally gone to students in entry-level roles.
In addition to flooding the market, layoffs have also encouraged professionals to pursue entrepreneurial ventures. During times of economic turmoil, victims of downsizing are forced into a career change and often begin sole proprietorships as consultants in their respective industries. For many, starting a business is the only way to take control their financial security and future. This is especially true during recessions. The growing number of self-employed professionals has created a demand for affordable support services that small businesses need. Such necessities include branding, marketing collateral and of course, a website. Agencies charge high prices for these services, forcing startups to deplete resources that could otherwise be used to hire employees, create more products or fund an advertising campaign.
Many of the services required by small businesses and startups can be handled via online relationships. XYZ is a catalyst for these relationships, serving as both an online marketplace and a social network. Talented students will be able to create Profile Pages featuring portfolios boasting graphic design projects, web development experience and other expertise from writing to accounting. These pages would showcase the students’ unique skill set and allow for feedback from previous employers who have hired them for projects through the site. Business owners would also be able to get in on the action by creating Project Pages. These pages would define an opportunity similar to a job board posting but with only temporary, project-based roles. Registering for the site and filling out Profile and Project Pages would foster mutually beneficial relationships for students and business owners by providing access to affordable skilled labor and the opportunity for valuable part-time employment. Through XYZ, students would add relevant projects to their resume in their field of study or interest. Businesses would also benefit by avoiding high agency costs and working with students.
XYZ is poised to compete with other online job sites and service marketplaces but initially will be positioned within its own niche, targeting skilled students. Several portals already exist which help partner skilled professionals with businesses needing support in various areas. These include Elance, guru.com, RentACoder and oDesk. Other competitors include websites like Monster and CareerBuilder, which are geared toward long-term projects and full-time roles. XYZ focuses on short-term projects, which could take half an hour to 14 days to complete. Remaining aggressive and viable will not be an easy task, but will be accomplished through innovation and improvement on current models. XYZ will stand above the competition in areas of website usability, project review processes, relationship building tools, interaction/communication as well as stickiness, viral reach and APIs with other social media.
Entering the market will entail extensive setup work as XYZ’s site is developed and launched in order to support all of the features necessary to operate the business. The first step is to recruit a team of one to two ambitious web developers who can build the XYZ website. After launch, the management team will focus on getting widespread adoption. Social media and a campus ambassador (reseller) program will be the primary means used to target the student audience. Initially, traditional internet marketing will be used to reach businesses. The website will make revenue by handling the entire relationship between business and student, including the financial transaction. This feature will transfer funds using escrow after completion of the project. XYZ will charge a commission on that transaction, deducting from the total payment by the business to the student. XYZ may also be supplemented by advertising placement on the site. As XYZ grows, a premium package will be added with either a recurring monthly fee or a yearly fee, appealing to frequent users in exchange for unlimited project posts. Students would only receive payment for a project upon successful completion, lessening the risk a business would face while operating via an online relationship.
Initially, projects like these would be managed via the XYZ site:
- Graphic design (logo, letterhead, newsletter)
- Web design (website, blog)
- Accounting (book keeping, payroll)
- Admin support (data entry, email management)
- Writing (proofreading, press releases)
There are several challenges when starting a “freelancer for hire” website. Most competitors position themselves to accept accounts from anywhere in the world. This is an approach XYZ will avoid in an effort to support our homeland economy. Restricting users to the U.S. will also help reduce the risk of a bidding war, as international workers are often able to charge less for projects. Eventually, XYZ may expand outside of an all-student worker base, but never outside of the U.S. Another concern is the posting of unrealistic projects, including too little pay for a work-intensive proposal. To combat this, XYZ will include a feature where students are able to provide reviews on both the project request and the business relationship they had with the requester. This feature will also help establish a community of users; businesses and students alike, ensuring projects are completed in a timely and professional manner by each party involved.
As the XYZ brand grows, additional features will allow collaboration between multiple student workers, enabling them to work together to complete a project and receive payment as a group. To further describe this element of XYZ, a potential scenario is detailed here. A plumber in Florida is re-creating his image and needs a website and branding to support his business. He logs on to XYZ site and posts a project request with an offer of $1000 for the successful completion of the work. His $1000 then enters escrow and is held until the project is finished. In this scenario, a graphic designer from Connecticut and a web developer from Texas could apply separately for the project, yet collaborate using XYZ as a means of communication during the project lifecycle thus helping determine payment and successfully meet deadlines. After completion, the student team would receive payment from escrow and enter the project review process.
In business deals, the two most important elements are value and relationships. XYZ aims to provide access to both via an innovative portal that functions as a talent marketplace and a social network.
Possible Differentiators
- Live Chat
- Crowd Sourcing
- Project Wall (think Facebook wall)
- Student Feedback
- Project Requester Feedback
- Independent 3rd Party Feedback
- Campus Ambassadors
By the Numbers
- 17.1 million undergraduates and 3.4 million students in graduate or professional schools (U.S. Census 2006) http://is.gd/hW6o
- 25 million businesses operating in the United States. Of these, more than 19 million are small businesses owned by one person. (Wikipedia and U.S. Census Bureau) http://is.gd/hWam
- 413,974 professionals laid off and counting since November 1st, 2008. And, these are only 500 public companies. (Forbes) http://is.gd/bod6
- Nonfarm payroll employment fell sharply in January (-598,000) and the unemployment rate rose from 7.2 to 7.6 percent. Payroll employment has declined by 3.6 million since December 2007; about one-half of this decline occurred in the past 3 months. (U.S. Department of Labor) http://is.gd/6Biu
Any comments with feedback would be welcomed with open arms.
Entrepreneur who enjoys Philly, pro sports, food and travel. Currently supporting several startups with sales and marketing. Recent Drexel grad.
February 15th, 2009 at 11:28 am
[...] haven’t posted an “Ideas” post in a while but Roman’s post the other day sparked my desire to throw another one of my open-source ideas up here. [...]
February 19th, 2009 at 8:40 am
You could be looking at nice little niche here. My big concern is the crowded freelance market which you identified. Why would someone want a student specifically.
Maybe you could buy and adapt the Anthillz platform.
February 23rd, 2009 at 11:32 pm
It’s great to see this idea fleshed out. I agree with Jameson — It could be quite a niche market. And I do think that many companies would hire students because A) they’re cheaper, B) they’re moldable and C) it’s like a try-before-you-buy program. Students get to try the job out and the employer gets to try them out for a small project. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn’t but it’s like getting into a relationship with no strings attached. Don’t we all want that?