we have about 100 developers signed up so far, and our success hinges on our ability to make awesome matches for developers...so the more freelance devs sign up, the better the matches will be :)
> Our payment platform requires that clients use escrow for guaranteed timely payment.
it makes me think that matchist takes a %-based cut. If this is the case then I want nothing to do with them. And if this is not the case then they should really re-work their copy to avoid setting off alarm bells in potential customer's heads.
Right, because a middleman that finds work for you and handles making sure you get paid, taking your potentially risky freelance business and making it slightly more like a stable job deserves exactly zero of your precious money. I don't understand people sometimes.
Take a deep breath. I didn't say they deserve zero of my precious money. I said I didn't want them taking a percentage.
Also, it's more of a problem of not being upfront. I suspect based on their wording that they take a percentage but there is no clarification on that unless I advance in their sign-up process by pressing "Get Started". I don't want to get started before I know what I'm getting started for...
We take a 10% fee from the developer's payment. We understand that might not be everybody's cup of tea and we're open to any constructive feedback you might have.
From my perspective that amounts to an enormous cut. I understand that you guys are attempting to mitigate the not-getting-paid risk, but I've been able to do that on my own by choosing good clients. My feedback would be:
1) find a way to disclose the details of how this works for developers on the landing page or on a linked FAQ. I'm simply not going to "Get Started" if I think crucial details are being withheld from me. The pitch put me on the defensive from step 1 which is not a good place to start.
2) Think about adding tiering to your pricing. 10% could make sense for freelances who are just getting started and need to establish themselves with some initial portfolio work but I don't think it makes sense for higher paid freelancers who would otherwise still consider using your platform to find new and interesting projects.
On a positive: the layout and design of this landing page are very well done. The page is very easy to scan and the draw to the call to action button is palpable without feeling salesy or un-balanced.
Yeah, you absolutely need an FAQ - there's hardly any copy on the site.
I think something like a 5% cut would be reasonable if the entire process was pain free. Maybe 10% for a one-off project, or 5% if you maintain a $49/mo subscription.
You could also partner with other companies to add value to the $49 - like a curated "special offers" page for services that a freelancer could use or resell to their clients.
10%! Whoa! That's insane. For the scale of projects I do as a freelancer, I'd be paying you about $3000-$5000 per project. Which is insanity for jobs board with an escrow service.
That's great feedback. We are not really a jobs board...think of us like a recruiter who is technical and actually does their job right. Recruiters take upwards of 40% for project matches...that are pretty bad.(from what I've heard from talking to other freelancers)
I think it all comes down to the client screening. If the service works as advertised and saves you significant time finding good clients, increases your rate because you have more worthwhile options to choose from and so can charge more, and/or gets you projects that are more interesting and fulfilling to work on, 10% is cheap. Tons of developers give up a much higher cut than that to work at agencies for those exact reasons.
When we talked to freelance developers, the two biggest complaints we heard were filtering clients and not getting paid on time. These are the two problems we want to solve with matchist: better matches and guaranteed payment.
We do take a percentage cut, and we are super transparent about it. If you sign up, you'll have a call with myself or my co-founder and I tell you everything you want to know in addition to getting to know who you are and what projects you like to work on. We're definitely a service and very hands on to ensure a great experience.
Thanks. I suggest SWIFT - http://www.swift.com - as another option - if you also plan to offer this to people (developers and/or consumers (of developer's work) outside the US. It's been around for ever, and is reliable and used by zillions of businesses worldwide. I've used it myself with no issues.
TL;DR; If you have the talent to do the sort of work these sorts of services require, then you have the ability to do it without them.
Just my two cents here (with the caveat I could be talking out of my behind since I don't know these people), but I'd discourage anyone considering a career in freelance design/development from using these sorts of services.
The hardest part of making a long term go at this sort of work is learning how to sell yourself and having the hard discussions about business, money, and commitments. Using these sorts of services rob you of that experience, and your working relationship ends up being more employee than independent, but without the hard fought protections employees deserve.
What these services promise you is high quality projects, and an escrow service for getting paid. You can, and should, set these sorts of protections yourself. If you are going to try out these sorts of services as training wheels, be sure to carefully read anything they have you sign, and make sure it could never be used to impact your future, 100% independent career.
Those are all great points, but I want to differentiate matchist from "these sorts of services." We focus on making quality connections to people you would otherwise not meet (whether geographic barriers, time limits, etc). Services in the past have worked on automating these interactions and end up in a price war towards the bottom: we get to know devs as people and only give them projects they would pick themselves. We want to streamline freelance so that freelancers do what they do best instead of being in meetings all day.
My understanding is that GroupTalent works with bigger companies to subcontract freelance talent. We are not working with large companies, but entrepreneurs/agencies/smaller entities.
that's good to know. another difference is that GT works with teams (correct me if I'm wrong) and matchist is currently one developer matching per project
I'm curious to know what the difference this service and the one oDesk provides? The %-cut is the same, minus the more personal service from matchist, I'm assuming.
The site doesn't explain the vetting process, which is something that I'm also curious about.
Great question. oDesk is great for a lot of things. But from our chats with freelance developers, they don't find oDesk great for finding quality clients worth the time and money to work with.
At matchist, we're focusing more on the vetting process and less on finding the cheapest developer around.
10% fee so that I don't have to deal with non-payment issues or even finding new projects would be game-changing for quite a few freelancers out there. But to do this, two major hurdles must be accomplished:
1) Matchist needs to show that they can do this. Waiting for developers to take a leap of faith is a fools game. Show me how you intend to ensure prompt payment, filter out cheap clients, and consistently provide work, and I would gladly pay as high as a 30% fee. But if you expect people to trust a new company out of the blue, all you will get is developers with no other options, and chances are there is a reason they have no other options.
2) Matchist needs to give the clients a way to ensure that they will receive quality work. The clients seeking the work are the ones that can hang themselves out to dry using this system, so what value does it add for them? If you can show only the best freelancers available are picked, chances are very good there will be a line out the proverbial door to use your service. But this is a reputation that needs to be built or clearly explained
Hey Joe, these are great points. As startup people, we all take risks on new services. Innovation would never work if people didn't take risks and only used what they were familiar with. You can look at the founders of the company and see that we have good experience: I'm an entrepreneur who's used to working with devs (founding member of FeeFighters) and my partner is a developer who used to be freelance and would have loved this service. We speak technical and understand the challenges. 2) We are working on building our reputation and will only be as good as our matches...especially in the beginning. I'd be happy to chat with you (or anyone) and clearly explain everything that goes into matching...it just all doesnt fit on a landing page!
This is a great idea. Screening clients in addition to developers creates the right kind of marketplace for both sides, one that is focused more on quality work than price. If you screen effectively and still have enough good clients left over, this will bring in the strong developers, which will in turn generate greater interest from clients. Kudos! I hope you can pull it off.
This looks interesting. How does Machist get their clients? And what do they do to ensure client quality? A bad client who doesn't really know what they want, or over/under communicates can be a burden. I feel like the only way to attract top clients is to build a great reputation with top devs, which is like a chicken/egg thing.
And how does the communication with clients work? Does matchist drop you off once you're on the job, leaving you to your own devices with the client? Or do they help out/mediate along the way? And how do they continue to collect their 10% fee after communication has been established between freelancer and client? Freelance projects can drag on for a long time. What happens if the client doesn't like the work and refuses to pay, or wants infinite changes and additions?
Many people have balked at a 10% fee, but I'm great with that as long as finding work requires 0 effort on my part. I do wonder about how well this will scale
"How does Machist get their clients?"
We are utilizing a combination of content marketing, working our own networks, and participating in various startup communities to find entrepreneurial clients looking to build their betas and MVPs.
"And what do they do to ensure client quality?"
We used a combination of a personal phone call and their submitted information to determine the quality of the client and their submitted project.
"And how does the communication with clients work?"
Once we've matched you and the client has funded the first milestone through our payment system, you're set off on your own to get your work done. When you need to communicate with the client, you can do so using the matchist internal messaging. Each time you need to get paid or have a client fund a milestone, you will do so through the matchist interface.
"Or do they help out/mediate along the way?"
If you and your client can't come to an agreement about a dispute, we're happy to step in and help out.
We're in the process of getting a developer FAQ page up to get all these common questions answered immediately for ya.
At the moment, we are accepting U.S. based developers only. We hope to change that down the road. I know that's a shitty answer, but due to our payments provider, and the fact that we don't want to jump in the deep end right away, that's how we're rolling for now.
Okay. Please consider setting up a page to collect email addresses of non-U.S. developers for if/when you expand to international later. WorkMarket does that, IIRC.
this is pretty cool, personally I'd part with 10% to only deal with vetted clients and be paid on time.
Minor point - I think the min width of your layout is too large (Chrome). Especially with the right justified navigation, I didn't even see the last two links and on the home page I've got to do some side scrolling.
56 comments
[ 3.3 ms ] story [ 138 ms ] thread> Our payment platform requires that clients use escrow for guaranteed timely payment.
it makes me think that matchist takes a %-based cut. If this is the case then I want nothing to do with them. And if this is not the case then they should really re-work their copy to avoid setting off alarm bells in potential customer's heads.
Also, it's more of a problem of not being upfront. I suspect based on their wording that they take a percentage but there is no clarification on that unless I advance in their sign-up process by pressing "Get Started". I don't want to get started before I know what I'm getting started for...
1) find a way to disclose the details of how this works for developers on the landing page or on a linked FAQ. I'm simply not going to "Get Started" if I think crucial details are being withheld from me. The pitch put me on the defensive from step 1 which is not a good place to start.
2) Think about adding tiering to your pricing. 10% could make sense for freelances who are just getting started and need to establish themselves with some initial portfolio work but I don't think it makes sense for higher paid freelancers who would otherwise still consider using your platform to find new and interesting projects.
On a positive: the layout and design of this landing page are very well done. The page is very easy to scan and the draw to the call to action button is palpable without feeling salesy or un-balanced.
I think something like a 5% cut would be reasonable if the entire process was pain free. Maybe 10% for a one-off project, or 5% if you maintain a $49/mo subscription.
You could also partner with other companies to add value to the $49 - like a curated "special offers" page for services that a freelancer could use or resell to their clients.
https://matchist.com/developer-faq
We do take a percentage cut, and we are super transparent about it. If you sign up, you'll have a call with myself or my co-founder and I tell you everything you want to know in addition to getting to know who you are and what projects you like to work on. We're definitely a service and very hands on to ensure a great experience.
Just my two cents here (with the caveat I could be talking out of my behind since I don't know these people), but I'd discourage anyone considering a career in freelance design/development from using these sorts of services.
The hardest part of making a long term go at this sort of work is learning how to sell yourself and having the hard discussions about business, money, and commitments. Using these sorts of services rob you of that experience, and your working relationship ends up being more employee than independent, but without the hard fought protections employees deserve.
What these services promise you is high quality projects, and an escrow service for getting paid. You can, and should, set these sorts of protections yourself. If you are going to try out these sorts of services as training wheels, be sure to carefully read anything they have you sign, and make sure it could never be used to impact your future, 100% independent career.
The site doesn't explain the vetting process, which is something that I'm also curious about.
At matchist, we're focusing more on the vetting process and less on finding the cheapest developer around.
1) Matchist needs to show that they can do this. Waiting for developers to take a leap of faith is a fools game. Show me how you intend to ensure prompt payment, filter out cheap clients, and consistently provide work, and I would gladly pay as high as a 30% fee. But if you expect people to trust a new company out of the blue, all you will get is developers with no other options, and chances are there is a reason they have no other options.
2) Matchist needs to give the clients a way to ensure that they will receive quality work. The clients seeking the work are the ones that can hang themselves out to dry using this system, so what value does it add for them? If you can show only the best freelancers available are picked, chances are very good there will be a line out the proverbial door to use your service. But this is a reputation that needs to be built or clearly explained
And how does the communication with clients work? Does matchist drop you off once you're on the job, leaving you to your own devices with the client? Or do they help out/mediate along the way? And how do they continue to collect their 10% fee after communication has been established between freelancer and client? Freelance projects can drag on for a long time. What happens if the client doesn't like the work and refuses to pay, or wants infinite changes and additions?
Many people have balked at a 10% fee, but I'm great with that as long as finding work requires 0 effort on my part. I do wonder about how well this will scale
"How does Machist get their clients?" We are utilizing a combination of content marketing, working our own networks, and participating in various startup communities to find entrepreneurial clients looking to build their betas and MVPs.
"And what do they do to ensure client quality?" We used a combination of a personal phone call and their submitted information to determine the quality of the client and their submitted project.
"And how does the communication with clients work?" Once we've matched you and the client has funded the first milestone through our payment system, you're set off on your own to get your work done. When you need to communicate with the client, you can do so using the matchist internal messaging. Each time you need to get paid or have a client fund a milestone, you will do so through the matchist interface.
"Or do they help out/mediate along the way?" If you and your client can't come to an agreement about a dispute, we're happy to step in and help out.
We're in the process of getting a developer FAQ page up to get all these common questions answered immediately for ya.
https://matchist.com/developer-faq
Minor point - I think the min width of your layout is too large (Chrome). Especially with the right justified navigation, I didn't even see the last two links and on the home page I've got to do some side scrolling.