Keep pulling the thread on Hayden Brown.
Upwork launched a new business unit and brand called 'lifted' by combining two acquired companies with its existing enterprise business.
In January 2023, Upwork's leadership made a strategic decision to be a first mover in adopting generative AI, despite internal debate and uncertainty.
To accelerate its AI strategy, Upwork formed a small, isolated team to reimagine the company's platform with an AI-native foundation.
Upwork was the first company in its industry to suspend operations in Russia and Belarus following the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022.
Approximately 75% of Upwork's own corporate workforce consists of freelancers.
Hayden Brown predicts an enduring shift where companies will move towards having a smaller core of full-time employees and a larger contingent of freelance talent.
Upon becoming CEO, Hayden Brown implemented a "graceful leave program" that offered a severance package to all employees, allowing those not committed to a new, more demanding strategy to exit the company.
Upwork's revenue approximately doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Upwork's client base includes Fortune 100 companies such as Microsoft, Airbnb, and Cloudflare.
Upwork was formed in 2015 through the merger of its predecessor company, oDesk, and its primary competitor, Elance.
The Upwork platform features over 130 categories of work and has 250,000 AI specialists available globally.
Upwork positions itself as a unique platform for complex, large project work, differentiating from competitors focused on small, transactional tasks.