INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Superside, a startup aiming to create a premium alternative to the existing crowdsourced design platforms, is announcing that it has raised
$3.5 million in new funding.
It also adding new features like the ability to work on user interfaces, interaction design and motion graphics
Co-founder and CEO Fredrik Thomassen said this allows the company to offer &a full-service design solution.&
You may have heard about
Superside under its old name Konsus
In a blog post, Thomassen explained the recent change in name and branding, writing, &We changed our name and look to align with what we had
become: The world top team of international designers and creatives.&
He told me Superside was created to address his own frustrations after
trying to use marketplaces like 99designs and Fiverr
He argued that there a problem with &adverse selection on those platforms.& In other words, &The best people … don&t remain, because they
don&t have a career path — they&re fighting with other freelancers to get the jobs.&
Superside, on the other hand, is picky about the
designers it works with — it claims to select 100 designers from the more than 50,000 applications it receives each year
But if they are accepted, they&re guaranteed full-time work.
Thomassen said the platform is built for large enterprises that have their
own design and marketing teams but still need additional support
Customers include Uber, LinkedIn, L&Oreal, Cisco, Santander, Amazon, Walmart Tiffany - Co
Hewlett Packard and Airbus
In addition to choosing good designers, Superside also built a broader project management platform.
&We&re
basically automating everything: Finding people, screening people, on-boarding, on-the-job learning, invoicing of customers, project
management, all of the nitty gritty,& Thomassen said
&The only thing not automated is design — that where the human element and the creativity come in.&
Plus, Thomassen said Superside can
turn around a standard piece of artwork in 12 hours: &Nobody else can do what we&re doing in terms of speed.&
The new funding comes from
Freestyle Capital, with participation from High Alpha Ventures, Y Combinator and Alliance Ventures.
&We&re very much a mission-driven
company,& Thomassen added
&For me, the reason to go to work in the morning is to help build an online labor market and create equal economic opportunity for everyone
in the world.&
As 99designs turns 10, CEO Patrick Llewellyn plans for an Australian IPO
