Gigster raises $20M from investors including Marc Benioff and Michael Jordan • Hacker News Board

Re: Gigster raises $20M from investors including Marc Benioff and Michael Jordan

#41

Post by jypepin » Wed, Aug 30, 2017, 3:44 PM UTC

notyourwork wrote: post #39

mdasen wrote: post #32

Gigster has found a sweet spot in providing experts in fields like machine learning and blockchain, where talent is hard to come by — and so too are full-time jobs, Dickey said. I think that's where it breaks down a bit. Full time jobs seem pretty plentiful even for mediocre devs. Gigster's model (based on their site) is to have top-tier talent that can easily get a very high paying, stable job. What I've yet to find…

I think this is a bait and switch for what they are selling. Devs don't take this the wrong way but I think this site is for mediocre engineering talent to get freelance jobs without changing their geographic position. Like you mentioned, why would a great engineer working at a big name company with plenty of options switch to this type of situation. Freelance world is brutal, milestones are hard to quantify and the…

Ability to work the hours you want, part time, from wherever you want? I assume most people who decide to go freelancing is not for the steady money but for the freedom.

Re: Gigster raises $20M from investors including Marc Benioff and Michael Jordan

#42

Post by jonbarker » Wed, Aug 30, 2017, 3:44 PM UTC

appleflaxen wrote: post #27

any time celebrity investors start making news, I automatically raise an eyebrow. the $20 million matters, of course, but what possible relevance does the identity of the investor have?

The celebrity has large budgets for other projects, and he or she may direct to the other project manager: 'please use my other investment's product, I want to make sure it actually works'.

Re: Gigster raises $20M from investors including Marc Benioff and Michael Jordan

#43

Post by nathan_f77 » Wed, Aug 30, 2017, 3:50 PM UTC

ctvo wrote: post #35

Has anyone used Gigster and had a positive experience? How did they compare in costs, schedule and quality?

I applied last year in May, and haven't heard anything since then.

Re: Gigster raises $20M from investors including Marc Benioff and Michael Jordan

#44

Post by nathan_f77 » Wed, Aug 30, 2017, 3:52 PM UTC

elsewhen wrote: post #24

throw8888 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any insights on what's better than Gigster? Asking for meself.

TopTal.

No way, the rates on TopTal are terrible. I was using them for a while but won't go back unless I really need some work.

I think you can get paid much, much more on platforms such as Gigster and 10X Management.

Re: Gigster raises $20M from investors including Marc Benioff and Michael Jordan

#45

Post by oldboyFX » Wed, Aug 30, 2017, 3:53 PM UTC

throw8888 wrote: post #38

elsewhen wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

TopTal.

How is it better? TopTal pays 3-5 times less and differentiates rates by country where contractor resides.

So you're saying that Gigster pays their subs ~$180/h? That's over $330,000 per year. So how much do they charge clients then? ~$300/h?

I doubt it. Their prices are probably similar to TopTals.

Re: Gigster raises $20M from investors including Marc Benioff and Michael Jordan

#46

Post by dopamean » Wed, Aug 30, 2017, 4:02 PM UTC

notyourwork wrote: post #40

mathattack wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your last sentence captures a common Sales blunder that happens even when celebrities aren't involved.

Curious, if you were pitching how would you try to identify the decision maker?

Is it crazy to just ask?

Re: Gigster raises $20M from investors including Marc Benioff and Michael Jordan

#47

Post by throwaway9122 » Wed, Aug 30, 2017, 4:24 PM UTC

I worked at Gigster and I would say to stay far away. Far far away. I worked there to work on python/django/rails/startup stuff. The move to enterprise is sure to kill them. No good developer wants to do enterprise dirty work and enterprise companies want clunky outdated stuff. They exhausted the startup scene to the point I'm sure they have a really bad reputation among startups.

So many issues that the point is just to screw the clients and take their money. No top talent. They started something called lambda and actually most of the backend is plugged from existing code. Also you won't get paid like they say, you will fight to get paid and still it will be disputes after disputes. They still owe me money and when I disputed with them, they took me off the network. It's all a huge lie. They got sued by someone already. No benefits nothing. You're good though if you're in on the scam. My teammates bullshitted about the client/project we were working on and many people left. Buyer beware!

Re: Gigster raises $20M from investors including Marc Benioff and Michael Jordan

#48

Post by s73ver_ » Wed, Aug 30, 2017, 4:39 PM UTC

nfRfqX5n wrote: post #37

anyone know if the part time projects are too time consuming to do with a full time job?

Back when I was with them, about 2 years ago, there really weren't any part time projects. The one project I worked on I was the second developer for, and most of my time was spent untangling their spaghetti so I could actually get something done.

Re: Gigster raises $20M from investors including Marc Benioff and Michael Jordan

#49

Post by throw8888 » Wed, Aug 30, 2017, 5:31 PM UTC

oldboyFX wrote: post #45

throw8888 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is it better? TopTal pays 3-5 times less and differentiates rates by country where contractor resides.

So you're saying that Gigster pays their subs ~$180/h? That's over $330,000 per year. So how much do they charge clients then? ~$300/h? I doubt it. Their prices are probably similar to TopTals.

Gigster offers fixed price projects, based on $100-150/hr rate.

If you manage to get things done faster, which can happen pretty often, you end up with rate even better.

And yes, it's possible to make that amount of $ on gigster

Re: Gigster raises $20M from investors including Marc Benioff and Michael Jordan

#50

Post by mathattack » Wed, Aug 30, 2017, 6:17 PM UTC

notyourwork wrote: post #40

mathattack wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your last sentence captures a common Sales blunder that happens even when celebrities aren't involved.

Curious, if you were pitching how would you try to identify the decision maker?

Situational. Sometimes you can ask, "Who needs to approve this decision?" or "Who controls the money?" It helps to have a good rapport with whoever your first contact is. In many ways, today's large enterprise Salespeople have to be good at helping their sponsor navigate their own company to get a sale done.