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" It's less of a necessity to have someone in-house."
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Finding web technicians from a Welsh golf course
To most web developers, the word "links" means the Internet. To Patrick Morrow, it also means golf. He set up Armidia.com, his small online development and support business, in Llanfairfechan, Wales, to have time for the game he loves. But how many Web technicians can he find in rural Wales? Not many, he admits. Yet Armidia now competes with larger firms in the Web solutions market by outsourcing their needs through Elance. They're even considering holding off on hiring an onsite database programmer. "With experienced individuals available on Elance," Patrick says, "it is becoming less of a necessity to have someone in-house." View profile.
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" They delivered a top quality product under serious time constraint."
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Harvard, Duke, Chicago enlist Elance talent
First, students in the Entrepreneurship Club at Harvard Business School needed a web site redesigned. They got that nailed down with Elancer firm Winters Ripp Design. Then they needed two logos done. Elance Guaranteed Service Provider Susan Stevens Creations delivered there. Next they went for a PowerPoint presentation. Walker Consulting turned it around in 48 hours. And Harvard’s students are not alone -- other schools completing projects include Duke, Chicago, and NYU. "Winters Ripp Design delivered a top quality product under a serious time constraint," writes Kara Murphy, student at Harvard. "Without question, we would choose to work with this firm again." View project.
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" They have a pool of highly educated people."
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British buyer discovers Romanian talent gold mine
"Help!" That's what Robin Little said to a computer-savvy friend when he called to get some programming done. "Go to Elance," the friend replied. So Robin posted his project, and within two hours had bids from the U.S. and India. The next day he had more bids, and questions on the message board -- "including an intelligent enquiry from a Romanian team of programmers." Robin awarded the project to the team, Thinking Deep Software, and got the job done within budget, under deadline, and to his specifications. "I suspect this has been as satisfying an experience for the programmers as it has for us," Robin says, "since in Romania they have a pool of highly educated people and cannot reach by traditional means the western markets."
View project.
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" Projects were completed literally overnight."
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Software development from India: 130 and counting
They call themselves the "Prism Gang," and they work while their clients sleep. They're Prism Software, Ltd., based in Nagpur, India, and they've completed over 130 Elance projects since 1999. With a staff of 40, they've built new Web sites, done shopping cart development, Java programming, beta testing, and more. Elance is the "complete platform on which to build our growth," says Pradeep Kothari, Prism director. Les McKeown of Yellowbrick, a San Francisco employee development solutions provider, agrees. "The Elance system really helped cut down time in finding and checking references." And the time zone differences between the U.S. and India were a huge advantage, he adds. "It allowed for projects to be completed literally overnight." View profile.
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" You don't always have to meet your business partners in person."
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Matchmaking firm finds perfect partner half a world away
Their business is matching up people with people. But when it came to finding web designers, they were at a loss. So top U.K. dating agency, Drawing Down the Moon, turned to Elance for their new website, LoveandFriends.com. They posted a three-part project: for a logo, cartoons, and additional images. And they found exactly what they needed... in New Zealand. In an interesting twist of the matchmaking formula, the geographical distances between the parties was an advantage. Elancer Roberto Corona worked while U.K. buyer Andy Maccabe was sleeping. "Our clients definitely prefer to date someone they can meet," Andy says. "But I think we've shown you don't always have to meet your business partners in person." View project.
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" We posted on Thursday night. It was done on Friday afternoon."
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Custom Christmas cards done overnight
Last-minute Christmas shopping is as familiar to the holiday season as Santa Claus and mistletoe. Lyla Kuriyan, in the marketing department at Elance, needed Christmas party invitations designed for her company -- and done fast. "We posted a project at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday." she says. Within three hours, she had 16 bids. She chose Longshadow Graphics, and the first draft came in at 10:00 that night. The invitation was headed for the printer Friday afternoon. How long would it have taken if she'd put in an order at a design shop in the San Francisco Bay area? "Up to two weeks." View project.
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