INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
French startup Comet (not to be confused with Zyl, which was formerly named Comet) is building a marketplace of talented tech and data
freelancers as well as companies that are looking for engineers and teams for a specific project
The company just raised a $12.8 million funding round (€11 million) with Otium Venture and Daphni.While Comet got tens of thousands of
applications, Comet is working with 1,700 freelancers right now
This is a different approach from Upwork, Malt and other existing marketplaces
With Comet, companies can get freelancers on demand, without having to scan through hundreds of profiles.100 clients are using the platform
to connect and hire freelancers
Companies upload their assignments and the Comet team matches freelancers with the right job within 48 hours
Comet currently generates around $1.16 million in transaction volume per month (€1 million).“100 percent of our freelancers are doing
this full time,” co-founder and CEO Charles Thomas told me
“On average, they earn 60 percent more than when they were employees.“Some freelancers say that they want to become a parent and spend
more time with their kids
It represents 30 percent of our freelancers
Others work just like a normal employee, around 230 days per year
It represents a big revenue increase.”But Comet doesn’t want to stop there
According to the startup, freelancing is the future of work
So it means that you might need to put together a team of freelancers for a new project
Comet can now put together teams of multiple freelancers with a project manager, a back-end engineer, a mobile developer, etc
It accounts for around 15 percent of Comet’s business right now.Comet also wants to convince tech people that they can ditch their jobs
and become a full time freelancer for little effort
The company helps you set up a professional bank account, get health insurance, pay less on your coworking space and more
Comet works with Alan, Qonto, Shine, Youse and other products.When you first apply to become a freelancer on Comet, you’ll first get a
call from an HR student (a freelancer on Side) to see if you have the right soft skills
If you pass this first test, you’ll get a technical challenge.The company also gathers feedback about each freelancer
When you sign up, Comet automatically looks at your past job experiences and open source activity on LinkedIn, GitHub and Stack Overflow
The company automatically sends emails to CTOs at previous companies to get some feedback
And of course, just like on all marketplaces, clients can rate freelancers after each job.Comet takes a 10 percent cut on each transaction
On average, freelancers earn $150,000 per year before taxes (€130,000)
The company plans to expand to London and Berlin next year.
