World's largest freelance marketplace connecting millions of businesses with independent professionals.
The Workplace Depot
The Workplace Depot, a U.K.-based e-commerce industrial supplies company with 20,000+ products, needed high-quality artwork for every stage of the product life cycle. Hiring full-time employees was difficult, and agencies were too costly. The team needed a scalable way to produce diverse creative assets without slowing product timelines. They built a core freelance team distributed across multiple regions to cover specialized creative needs. The team included specialists in 3D animation, email marketing, user manuals, packaging design, and graphic design. Time zone differences were used to enable 24-hour productivity cycles. The approach reduced spend compared with agencies while enabling rapid output. Hundreds of videos were created within months, along with hundreds of packaging designs. The distributed team model supported ongoing content production across the product life cycle.
I've been with Microsoft for more than 20 years and I can divide those 20 years into several different eras. We're currently in the freelance era. I can easily say that the freelance era and working with Upwork has been the greatest change, particularly with regard to production and budget. It's been a positive experience for my team and has become part of the workflow across different departments. Our experience with the freelance economy and Upwork has given us the basis for continual production in the future and even larger scaling of our team and department within Microsoft.
Ken Circeo
Creative Director, Office Video and Production Team
I'm a big proponent of Upwork because it has definitely opened up opportunities and skill sets that we'd otherwise not be able to readily get. The cost savings from contracting talent outside of the U.K. are significant. Hiring a 3D animator through Upwork, for instance, saves us 85% compared to an agency. The efficiency gains from working in different time zones are massive. It's always nice to come back to work in the morning and see their tasks completed.
David Barnes
Head of Marketing
One of the biggest advantages of utilizing freelancers is finding a great variety of talent with different skills. And bringing on new talent quickly as our needs change.
Carol Taylor
Director Content Experience
Using Upwork is such a no-brainer in terms of the cost and the work that we can accomplish. I'm such an Upwork evangelist that I often talk to other businesses about using the platform to find global talent. Why limit your search to candidates who can commute to your office when you can work with the best person for a project from anywhere in the world? The quality talent is so high that for a long time, the only people that had master's degrees in our company were people we contracted on Upwork.
Bryan Goltzman
Owner
The safety features are nice, but what really builds our confidence in Upwork is how we consistently find experts who deliver on highly technical, complex projects. We want the best talent available, no matter where they are located. A large percentage of the freelancers we hire are referrals from freelancers we first met on Upwork. Upwork helped us build a community of incredible talent, which means we now spend even less time recruiting than before.
Gabriel Richman
Founder and CEO
Omic OS
Omic OS needed specialists who combined deep biological knowledge with modern AI expertise, and those profiles were rarely available locally. The team also needed to keep recruiting overhead low to stay focused on core priorities. With a lean 15-person organization, they had to extend capabilities without adding full-time headcount. They built a global network of experts to fill critical gaps quickly. The team hired a clinical geneticist from Scotland and a systems engineer in Vietnam to manage their HPC cluster. They also used AI matching tools to identify suitable specialists. This approach helped them scale expertise on demand while keeping the core team lean. They found matches within days instead of months and hired in less than a week. The network expanded to cover 20+ specialized skills as needed. A freelancer ultimately became Chief Scientific Officer. This enabled the 15-person team to operate with the capabilities of a much larger organization.
Microsoft
Microsoft needed to increase freelancer use for PowerPoint template design while maintaining consistent quality. The team started with smaller efforts that refreshed existing templates. As needs grew, the scope expanded and required more structured day-to-day coordination. They ran an initial pilot focused on refreshing existing templates and then expanded into designing new templates and graphics. The team built a structured talent pool that included a design consultant and a project manager to manage daily activities, track milestones, and review deliverables. They also created briefs with clear guidelines to help standardize expectations as work ramped up. The pilot scaled from template refresh work into new template and graphics design. A structured talent pool and written briefs supported consistent deliverables as more work was added. Collaboration across the effort was supported using SharePoint, Teams, and Power BI.
Liquid Screen Design
Liquid Screen Design, a creative swag company that designed custom campaigns, needed highly skilled designers who could deliver quality work quickly. Traditional agencies had not consistently delivered quality talent within budget. The team faced pressure to scale support beyond design while maintaining quality and speed. They built a high-performing global freelance team across 3 countries that supported inside sales, support, order operations, design, and analytics. They implemented custom job post questions to filter AI responses and conducted video interviews to evaluate fit. They also used inclusive team-building practices that treated freelancers as valued team members. They supported 7+ departments with freelance specialists. They achieved 20% year-over-year steady productivity growth. They maintained 7+ years of strong freelance partnerships, with their oldest relationship dating back to 2018.
Omic OS
Omic OS, a systems biology AI platform for drug discovery, needed specialists with both deep biological knowledge and modern AI expertise. Those combined skills were rarely found locally. The team also needed to stay lean while building capabilities that usually required a much larger organization. They built a global network of experts to fill highly specialized roles. The 15-person team brought on a clinical geneticist from Scotland who later became Chief Scientific Officer. They also engaged a systems engineer in Vietnam to manage their HPC cluster. Matching support and AI-assisted tools helped them identify suitable experts quickly. They found matches within days instead of months, which accelerated how fast work could start. This speed freed resources for core priorities and reduced time spent on recruiting. The lean team operated with the capabilities of a much larger organization by expanding expertise on demand. Their network and community referrals supported future hiring needs as well.
Microsoft
Microsoft’s Office Video and Production Team faced a request to produce nine videos within 10 days, which exceeded the capacity of its small internal team. The timeline was extremely tight and created a bandwidth challenge for existing staff. The team needed a way to deliver quickly without sacrificing quality. The team used an enterprise talent solution to find skilled independent video production professionals who could work quickly and cost-effectively. They staffed the project with external support to extend production capacity beyond the in-house team. They adopted a hybrid approach that combined full-time employees with independent talent to keep production moving at scale. The initial project was completed in nine days and required zero editing on the delivered work. The team met the original goal of producing nine videos within a 10-day window. This approach freed internal team members to focus more strategically and enabled continued production and larger scaling over time.
Microsoft
Microsoft's Office Video and Production Team faced a request to produce nine videos within 10 days, far beyond their small internal team's bandwidth. The team needed to scale production quickly without sacrificing quality. Traditional approaches could not meet the timeline with available resources. Microsoft used an enterprise talent platform to find skilled independent professionals who could deliver quick, low-cost, high-quality video production at scale. The team engaged independent video production talent to expand capacity beyond the internal team. Microsoft implemented a hybrid work model that combined full-time staff with independent professionals to meet demand. The initial project delivered nine videos in nine days. The delivered work required zero editing, exceeding expectations. The hybrid approach freed internal team members to focus more strategically while enabling ongoing production and larger scaling.
Liquid Screen Design
Liquid Screen Design needed highly skilled designers who could deliver quality work quickly for custom swag campaigns. Traditional agencies did not consistently provide the right talent within budget. The team also needed a dependable way to scale specialized support beyond design as demand evolved. They built a high-performing global freelance team spanning inside sales, support, order ops, design, and analytics. They implemented custom job post questions to filter out AI-generated responses and added video interviews to improve screening. They also invested in inclusive team-building practices that treated freelancers as valued team members. The approach supported work across 7+ departments and enabled steady year-over-year productivity gains. The company sustained 20% YoY productivity growth while working with freelancers across 3 countries. They maintained long-running partnerships, with the oldest relationship dating back to 2018.
Microsoft
Carol Taylor, Director Content Experience at Microsoft, was asked to increase freelancer use for design work. The team needed to refresh existing PowerPoint templates while maintaining consistent quality. They also faced the challenge of scaling work beyond small updates as demand grew. Microsoft piloted freelance support by starting with small template refresh projects. The effort expanded into creating new templates and graphics. The team built a structured talent pool that included a design consultant and a project manager to handle day-to-day coordination, track milestones, and review deliverables. They also created briefs and guidelines to keep output consistent as projects ramped up. The pilot grew from refresh work into broader template and graphics design. Day-to-day execution became more manageable through a structured talent pool with dedicated coordination and review. Briefs and guidelines helped keep quality high as volume increased. Collaboration tools supported the team as onboarding needs changed.
Created in 2015 through merger of Elance and oDesk, becoming the world's largest freelancing platform with 18 million registered freelancers and 5 million clients. Publicly traded company (NASDAQ: UPWK) facilitating over $3.8 billion in gross services volume annually across 8,000+ skills. Serves everyone from one-person startups to 30% of Fortune 500 companies including Microsoft, Airbnb, Bissell, and GE. Features AI-powered talent matching, work marketplace with hourly and fixed-price contracts, and enterprise solutions with dedicated account management. Known for comprehensive platform including time tracking, milestone payments, talent badges, and Upwork Business Plus offering pre-vetted top 1% of talent.
For starting out
Upwork’s global freelance marketplace
Access to AI-powered features
Collaboration and project tracking tools
For growing
Instant access to pre-vetted top 1% of talent
Uma Recruiter
Teams controls
The Workplace Depot
The Workplace Depot, a U.K.-based e-commerce industrial supplies company with 20,000+ products, needed high-quality artwork for every stage of the product life cycle. Hiring full-time employees was difficult, and agencies were too costly. The team needed a scalable way to produce diverse creative assets without slowing product timelines. They built a core freelance team distributed across multiple regions to cover specialized creative needs. The team included specialists in 3D animation, email marketing, user manuals, packaging design, and graphic design. Time zone differences were used to enable 24-hour productivity cycles. The approach reduced spend compared with agencies while enabling rapid output. Hundreds of videos were created within months, along with hundreds of packaging designs. The distributed team model supported ongoing content production across the product life cycle.
Skills
Project Details
Omic OS
Omic OS needed specialists who combined deep biological knowledge with modern AI expertise, and those profiles were rarely available locally. The team also needed to keep recruiting overhead low to stay focused on core priorities. With a lean 15-person organization, they had to extend capabilities without adding full-time headcount. They built a global network of experts to fill critical gaps quickly. The team hired a clinical geneticist from Scotland and a systems engineer in Vietnam to manage their HPC cluster. They also used AI matching tools to identify suitable specialists. This approach helped them scale expertise on demand while keeping the core team lean. They found matches within days instead of months and hired in less than a week. The network expanded to cover 20+ specialized skills as needed. A freelancer ultimately became Chief Scientific Officer. This enabled the 15-person team to operate with the capabilities of a much larger organization.
Skills
Project Details
Microsoft
Microsoft needed to increase freelancer use for PowerPoint template design while maintaining consistent quality. The team started with smaller efforts that refreshed existing templates. As needs grew, the scope expanded and required more structured day-to-day coordination. They ran an initial pilot focused on refreshing existing templates and then expanded into designing new templates and graphics. The team built a structured talent pool that included a design consultant and a project manager to manage daily activities, track milestones, and review deliverables. They also created briefs with clear guidelines to help standardize expectations as work ramped up. The pilot scaled from template refresh work into new template and graphics design. A structured talent pool and written briefs supported consistent deliverables as more work was added. Collaboration across the effort was supported using SharePoint, Teams, and Power BI.
Skills
Project Details
Liquid Screen Design
Liquid Screen Design, a creative swag company that designed custom campaigns, needed highly skilled designers who could deliver quality work quickly. Traditional agencies had not consistently delivered quality talent within budget. The team faced pressure to scale support beyond design while maintaining quality and speed. They built a high-performing global freelance team across 3 countries that supported inside sales, support, order operations, design, and analytics. They implemented custom job post questions to filter AI responses and conducted video interviews to evaluate fit. They also used inclusive team-building practices that treated freelancers as valued team members. They supported 7+ departments with freelance specialists. They achieved 20% year-over-year steady productivity growth. They maintained 7+ years of strong freelance partnerships, with their oldest relationship dating back to 2018.
Skills
Project Details
Omic OS
Omic OS, a systems biology AI platform for drug discovery, needed specialists with both deep biological knowledge and modern AI expertise. Those combined skills were rarely found locally. The team also needed to stay lean while building capabilities that usually required a much larger organization. They built a global network of experts to fill highly specialized roles. The 15-person team brought on a clinical geneticist from Scotland who later became Chief Scientific Officer. They also engaged a systems engineer in Vietnam to manage their HPC cluster. Matching support and AI-assisted tools helped them identify suitable experts quickly. They found matches within days instead of months, which accelerated how fast work could start. This speed freed resources for core priorities and reduced time spent on recruiting. The lean team operated with the capabilities of a much larger organization by expanding expertise on demand. Their network and community referrals supported future hiring needs as well.
Skills
Project Details
Microsoft
Microsoft’s Office Video and Production Team faced a request to produce nine videos within 10 days, which exceeded the capacity of its small internal team. The timeline was extremely tight and created a bandwidth challenge for existing staff. The team needed a way to deliver quickly without sacrificing quality. The team used an enterprise talent solution to find skilled independent video production professionals who could work quickly and cost-effectively. They staffed the project with external support to extend production capacity beyond the in-house team. They adopted a hybrid approach that combined full-time employees with independent talent to keep production moving at scale. The initial project was completed in nine days and required zero editing on the delivered work. The team met the original goal of producing nine videos within a 10-day window. This approach freed internal team members to focus more strategically and enabled continued production and larger scaling over time.
Project Details
Microsoft
Microsoft's Office Video and Production Team faced a request to produce nine videos within 10 days, far beyond their small internal team's bandwidth. The team needed to scale production quickly without sacrificing quality. Traditional approaches could not meet the timeline with available resources. Microsoft used an enterprise talent platform to find skilled independent professionals who could deliver quick, low-cost, high-quality video production at scale. The team engaged independent video production talent to expand capacity beyond the internal team. Microsoft implemented a hybrid work model that combined full-time staff with independent professionals to meet demand. The initial project delivered nine videos in nine days. The delivered work required zero editing, exceeding expectations. The hybrid approach freed internal team members to focus more strategically while enabling ongoing production and larger scaling.
Skills
Project Details
Liquid Screen Design
Liquid Screen Design needed highly skilled designers who could deliver quality work quickly for custom swag campaigns. Traditional agencies did not consistently provide the right talent within budget. The team also needed a dependable way to scale specialized support beyond design as demand evolved. They built a high-performing global freelance team spanning inside sales, support, order ops, design, and analytics. They implemented custom job post questions to filter out AI-generated responses and added video interviews to improve screening. They also invested in inclusive team-building practices that treated freelancers as valued team members. The approach supported work across 7+ departments and enabled steady year-over-year productivity gains. The company sustained 20% YoY productivity growth while working with freelancers across 3 countries. They maintained long-running partnerships, with the oldest relationship dating back to 2018.
Skills
Project Details
Microsoft
Carol Taylor, Director Content Experience at Microsoft, was asked to increase freelancer use for design work. The team needed to refresh existing PowerPoint templates while maintaining consistent quality. They also faced the challenge of scaling work beyond small updates as demand grew. Microsoft piloted freelance support by starting with small template refresh projects. The effort expanded into creating new templates and graphics. The team built a structured talent pool that included a design consultant and a project manager to handle day-to-day coordination, track milestones, and review deliverables. They also created briefs and guidelines to keep output consistent as projects ramped up. The pilot grew from refresh work into broader template and graphics design. Day-to-day execution became more manageable through a structured talent pool with dedicated coordination and review. Briefs and guidelines helped keep quality high as volume increased. Collaboration tools supported the team as onboarding needs changed.
Skills
Project Details
Full service creative production company helping brands maximise the impact of their marketing content
Human Cloud Verification ensures that the listed end customer is verified. It's used across kudos, customers, and business cases, and performed by Human Cloud. Think about it like a background check.
Empowering US startups with unrivaled access to global engineering talent, seamless hiring, and improved retention.
Human Cloud Verification ensures that the listed end customer is verified. It's used across kudos, customers, and business cases, and performed by Human Cloud. Think about it like a background check.
An independent global marketing consultancy delivering outsized growth.
Human Cloud Verification ensures that the listed end customer is verified. It's used across kudos, customers, and business cases, and performed by Human Cloud. Think about it like a background check.
