fiverr
Fiverr was founded by Shai Wininger and Micha Kaufman on February 1, 2010. Wininger came up with the concept of a marketplacethat would provide a two sided platform for people to buy and sell a variety of digital services typically offered by freelance contractors. Services offered on the site include writing, translation, graphic design, video editing and programming.[5][6][7] Fiverr’s services start at US$5, and can go up to thousands of dollars with Gig Extras. Each service offered is called a "gig".[8]
The website was launched in early 2010 and by 2012 was hosting over 1.3 million Gigs.[9] The website transaction volume has grown 600% since 2011. Additionally, Fiverr.com has been ranked among the top 100 most popular sites in the U.S. and top 200 in the world since the beginning of 2013.[4]
On June 1, 2010, Fiverr received a seed investment of US$1 million from Cubit Investments, and in May 2012, Fiverr secured US$15 million in funding from Accel Partners and Bessemer Venture Partners, bringing the company's total funding to US$20 million.[3]
In December 2013, Fiverr released their iOS app in the Apple App Store,[10] and in March 2014, Fiverr released their Android app in the Google Play store.[11]
During August 2014, Fiverr announced that it has raised US$30 million in a Series C round of funding from Bessemer Venture Partners, Accel (formerly known as Accel Partners) and other investors. The round brings their total funding to date to US$50 million.[3]
In October 2015, Amazon.com started legal action against 1,114 Fiverr sellers it claims provide fake reviews on the US version of its website. Fiverr did not dispute Amazon’s allegations and stated: “As Amazon noted, we have worked closely together to remove services that violate our terms of use, and respond promptly to any reports of inappropriate content.”[12]
In November 2015, Fiverr announced that it had raised US$60 million in a Series D round of funding, led by Square Peg Capital. The round brings their total funding to date to $110 million.[13] At the same time, the company announced that it was expanding the marketplace to allow sellers the ability to price productized services, known as Gigs, at prices above the original US$5 price.[14]
