What is Fiver ?
By: Ahmek Kaya
Tags: Make Money, Google, Shopping, Make Money Online

Fiverr was founded by Micha Kaufman and Shai Wininger, and was launched in February 2010. The founders came up with the concept of a marketplace that 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.[2][3][4] 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”.[5]

The website was launched in early 2010 and by 2012 was hosting over 1.3 million Gigs.[6] The website transaction volume has grown 600% since 2011. Additionally, Fiverr.com has been ranked among the top 100 most popular sites in the United States and top 200 in the world since the beginning of 2013.[7]

On June 1, 2010, Fiverr received a seed investment of US$1 million from Guy Gamzu and other angel investors, 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.[1]

In December 2013, Fiverr released their iOS app in the Apple App Store,[8] and in March 2014, Fiverr released their Android app in the Google Play store.[9]

During August 2014, Fiverr announced that it had 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.[1]

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.”[10]

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.[11] 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.[12]

In June 2019, it listed on NYSE.[13]

On February 19, 2020, the company reported $107.1 million in revenue for the 2019 fiscal year.[14]

Acquisitions

In 2017, Fiverr acquired video creation marketplace VeedMe.[15]

In January 2018, AND CO, maker of software for freelancers, was acquired by Fiverr. CEO Micha Kaufman said at the time that many of AND CO’s capabilities, such as invoicing, are “baked into” the Fiverr marketplace, but “the vast majority of freelancing is happening offline” — and Fiverr wants to enable those offline relationships.[16]

In February 2019, Fiverr acquired premium subscription-based content marketing platform, ClearVoice. Founded in 2014 by Jay Swansson and Joe Griffin, ClearVoice is a venture-backed company headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Adding ClearVoice to the company’s portfolio allows Fiverr to conveniently and consistently provide services for independent professionals as well as larger businesses.[17]

Gigs

Fiverr serves to allow listing and applying for small one-off jobs, or gigs, online. Jobs listed on the platform are diverse and range from “get a well-designed business card” to “help with HTML, JavaScript, CSS, and jQuery”.[18] Fiverr is a company built on the model of listing temporary work positions. Freelancers work in a variety of workplaces, ranging from home to office.[19] Fiverr serves as e-commerce platform to freelancers & companies to sell their services by using their gigs. Gig is basically an advertisement of services. Gig include all the details of a services same like ecommerce products [20] The pricing of Gigs depends on how much a seller earns per completed task.[21] The buyers buy services in the form of gigs.

Criticism

Fiverr has received criticism for advertising very cheap graphic services. At the end of 2014, Fiverr’s Facebook page advertisement saying “You’re paying too much for design” caused a public outcry.[22] In 2013, Fiverr lifted the five dollar base price and began allowing logo designers, graphic artists, voice over artists and other sellers to charge the base prices they set for themselves.

In 2015, after an undercover sting, Amazon filed suit against 1000 Fiverr users over fake product reviews.[23]

In 2017, Fiverr was criticized for portraying unhealthy living and excesses in work behaviours as ideals to live up to. Fiverr also gives 100% privileges to buyers thereby neglecting seller rights. After a job has been completed, a buyer has the full rights to request for a refund.[24] Critics argue that Fiverr needs a balance in their equal-rights policy for both sellers as well as buyers.[25]

In 2018, Fiverr received an “F” rating from the Better Business Bureau, which is the lowest grade that can be given. In 2019, Fiverr received a “B” rating after responding to customer complaints.