PeoplePerHour

PeoplePerHour
Private
Industry Internet
Service Marketplace
Workforce Management
Founded London, United Kingdom
2007
Founder Xenios Thrasyvoulou
Simos Kitiris
Headquarters London, United Kingdom
Key people
 Xenios Thrasyvoulou (CEO)
Simos Kitiris (CTO)
Website www.peopleperhour.com

PeoplePerHour is a UK-based company whose function is as an online platform giving businesses access to thousands of skilled freelance experts in hundreds of different fields.[1]

History

Founded in 2007 by Xenios Thrasyvoulou and Simos Kitiris,[2] the company has offices in London and Athens.[3]  Businesses opting to use the website are often start-ups or SMEs looking to grow flexibly by hiring freelancers to handle projects rather than hiring in-house or via agencies. Jobs start from little as an hour (“Hourlies”) and can be ramped up as needed to build whole teams online, meaning the model is scalable all the way up to global enterprises. They operate as part of what has become part of the “talent cloud”[4] with thousands of freelancers, offerings a range of skills on a flexible and efficient basis. They also promote the benefits of freelancing as a means to allow people to live more freely, working where and when best suits their chosen lifestyle.

As the leading marketplace for freelance talent in the UK,[5] PeoplePerHour hold a powerful insight into the self-employed segment of the labour market and have created and collaborated on numerous research projects on SMEs, freelancing and the gig economy and provide resources for new and growing businesses and those looking to pursue a freelance career.

There is some debate as to whether the emergence of this type of freelance marketplace is part of a longer-term structural change in the way that companies across the world manage their human resources.[6] Figures from the UK Office for National Statistics show that 358,000 more people aged 65 or over are currently working than was the case a decade ago.[7] Usage statistics from PeoplePerHour indicate that the number of retirees looking for work using the website has increased by 137 per cent during 2012.[7]

Reception

In August 2012, PeoplePerHour was named by the science and technology magazine, Wired UK as one of "Europe's 100 Hottest Startups of 2012".[8] In 2012 its 50-person engineering department relocated to Athens.[9] One of the major investors in PeoplePerHour's is Index Ventures, which gave the company £2M (3.2M dollars) in 2012.[9][10] Mike Volpi has named PeoplePerHour among the three "most underrated companies" in the Index's portfolio.[11] In its previous seed round, the company had raised approximately £425k.[12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Recruitment site offers freelance jobs". Daily Mirror. 20 July 2012.
  2. ↑ Jamillah Knowles (19 July 2012). "PeoplePerHour publicly launches hourlies for freelancers offering services by the hour". The Next Web.
  3. ↑ "Startup News: Brooklyn Tech Triangle Seeks Master Plan; Reuters is Now Distributing Animated Content". Beta Beat. The New York Observer. 17 July 2012.
  4. ↑ Biro, Meghan M. "Will Leaders Embrace Talent In A Cloud?". Forbes.
  5. ↑ Melfi, Steven. "UK Based PeoplePerHour Launches Freelance Marketplace in the United States | Business Wire". www.businesswire.com.
  6. ↑ Maija Palmer (14 November 2011). "Virtual companies face the connectivity challenge". Financial Times. (subscription required)
  7. 1 2 Joanna Robinson, Daily Mail, 20 September 2012
  8. ↑ "Europe's 100 hottest startups 2012", Hugo Cox, Wired Magazine, 15 August 2012
  9. 1 2 Index Ventures Raises $442 Million in New Fund by Mark Scott, New York Times
  10. ↑ PeoplePerHour Secures $3.2M From Index Ventures, New Hires, New iOS App by Mike Butcher, TechCrunch
  11. ↑ Invest in Bankrupt Europe? Sure! Clean Tech? Oh, Hell No. by Sarah Lacy, pando.com
  12. ↑ Index Ventures invests in PeoplePerHour as business flows East to West
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