ST. LOUIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–OneSpace, a virtual workforce platform that brings businesses and freelancers together, has announced the completion of a $9 million Series B round of funding led by Lewis & Clark Ventures. The company will use this funding to expand its product suite with the anticipated launch of its Software as a Service (SaaS) offering later this year.
“Since 2012, our team’s mission has been to create a best-in-class platform for accessing and managing cloud-based talent,” said Stephanie Leffler, CEO of OneSpace. “We have proven our technology and we’re now ready to put the power of our platform in the hands of enterprises who are, by far, the largest buyers of flexible talent.”
The additional funding will fuel OneSpace’s growth and go-to-market strategy for its SaaS product offering. The company plans to continue offering managed services for enterprises who want external experts to manage their cloud-based talent.
By simplifying administrative tools and adding infrastructure to support the onboarding of internal teams, OneSpace plans to offer a complete solution for managing a flexible workforce. The SaaS product provides businesses with access to OneSpace’s prequalified on-demand freelance talent as well as a robust toolset for integrating internal teams with virtual teams. The company plans to release the self-service version of its platform to enterprise clients by mid-2016.
Data-driven performance measurement tools have differentiated OneSpace in the talent management industry; providing businesses with the ability to analyze and optimize their virtual teams while providing freelancers the tools required to succeed as an external team member. OneSpace claims two proprietary, patent-pending technologies:
QualitySmart™ is a data-driven quality assurance algorithm used by OneSpace to predict the quality of freelancer work submissions
TrustScore™ is a performance scoring and rating system assigned to freelancers based on the quality outcome of work submitted through the platform
Series B funding was led by Lewis & Clark Ventures. Tom Hillman, general partner at Lewis & Clark Ventures, recently joined the OneSpace Board of Directors. Series A lead Highland Capital, along with Answers Corporation executives David Karandish and Chris Sims, also participated in the Series B round.
“We’ve known Stephanie and co-founder Ryan Noble for more than ten years. Our history with them, and OneSpace’s track record, gives us the confidence to support future ambitions. The company’s leadership has established a clear path to success,” said Tom Hillman, general partner, Lewis & Clark Ventures. “We strive to invest in businesses that are enriching the lives of others, and aiding in OneSpace’s product advancement is improving access to a flexible, virtual workforce and the health of the global workforce as a whole.”
To date, OneSpace’s talent network is comprised of more than 500,000 freelancers and has facilitated more than 120 million assignments for clients such as eBay, Facebook, Hallmark, Orbitz, Overstock, Sears and Staples.
OneSpace’s announcement comes on the heels of a transformative shift in the characteristics of America’s workforce, as many studies have suggested the freelance economy is not simply the wave of the future, but very much part of the present. According to a study by the Freelancers Union, there are 53 million Americans – 34 percent of the U.S. workforce – currently working as freelancers. Moreover, according to Oxford Workforce’s 2020 Report, 83 percent of companies will increase their use of flexible workforces over the next three years.
The shift is being driven by new technologies that make it easier for large enterprises to find and deploy flexible talent coupled with an increasing number of professionals preferring the flexibility of a freelance lifestyle.
The funding follows the recent announcement and introduction of a new company name and brand identity.
Leffler said, “We selected the name OneSpace because we help enterprises unify internal and external talent in a single platform.”
ABOUT ONESPACE
OneSpace is the industry leader in a multi-billion-dollar marketplace, providing companies on-demand access to a skilled and scalable workforce. OneSpace serves 14 of the top 30 online retailers and 3 of the top 10 publishers on the Internet, including Staples, Overstock and eBay. Founded by Stephanie Leffler and Ryan Noble, OneSpace is backed by Lewis and Clark, Highland Capital and Draper Fisher Jurvetson. The company has invested over five years in its scalable workforce technology, has two patents pending, and maintains a team of 60 in its St. Louis-based corporate headquarters. OneSpace’s talent network includes more than 500,000 freelancers and independent professionals from around the globe.
To learn more, visit OneSpace at www.OneSpace.com or follow on Twitter @OneSpace_com.