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Online Work Pioneer Elance Raises Capital to Fuel Growth
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA, Jan 24, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) --
Elance, the Internet platform used by businesses to gain instant
access to 1 million independent workers online, today announced that
it has secured $16 Million in expansion capital led by the Stripes
Group with existing investors, New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and
Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, participating. The investment will
fund Elance's growth as more businesses build contingent workforces
in the cloud.
"It is clear that a structural change in traditional employment is
underway," said Fabio Rosati, CEO of Elance. "Work is no longer
confined to the 9-5 and the office: people are working online with
multiple clients as a career choice and companies are hiring online
teams as a core business strategy. This investment will help Elance
keep up with demand and continue to innovate work."
Additionally, Dan Marriott, managing partner at Stripes Group, and
Paul Hsiao, partner at NEA, were appointed to Elance's Board of
Directors. Marriott, whose firm led the investment, brings extensive
experience building market-leading Internet businesses such as
Ticketmaster, Citysearch and Match.com.
"Elance has an impressive track record of innovation and growth. The
company is leading the category of online work which is fast becoming
a global market opportunity," said Ray Lane, managing partner at
Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. "We are excited to work with the
Elance team to further develop and execute the company's strategy."
In 2011, Elance experienced tremendous growth: the number of
businesses hiring and the number of online professionals working on
Elance grew more than 120 percent since 2010. Businesses posted more
than 650,000 new jobs on Elance in 2011 and contractors have earned
nearly $500 Million to date on the platform. Elance is a true global
marketplace with more than 160 countries represented which actively
use its online work platform.
About Elance
Elance, the world's leading platform for online
employment, helps businesses hire and manage in the cloud.
For businesses looking to staff-up a team on an hourly or project
basis, Elance offers instant access to talent and the ability to
build and manage entire teams online. For independent professionals
who want to work online, Elance offers access to qualified clients, a
virtual workplace and guaranteed pay for great work.
The company is privately held and headquartered in Mountain View,
California and Oslo, Norway. For more information, visit Elance at
www.elance.com.
About Stripes Group
Stripes Group, founded in 2003 and based in New
York, is a private investment firm focused on growth-stage minority
and majority investments in rapidly growing and profitable internet,
software-as-a-service, technology-enabled services and branded
consumer products companies. For more information, visit Stripes
Group at www.stripesgroup.com.
About New Enterprise Associates
New Enterprise Associates, Inc.
(NEA) is a leading venture capital firm focused on helping
entrepreneurs build transformational businesses across multiple
stages, sectors and geographies. With approximately $11 billion in
committed capital, NEA invests in information technology, healthcare
and energy technology companies at all stages in a company's
lifecycle, from seed stage through IPO. The firm's long track record
of successful investing includes more than 170 portfolio company IPOs
and more than 280 acquisitions, including investments in technology
leaders like Data Domain, CareerBuilder, Diapers.com, Fusion-io,
Groupon, Juniper, Macromedia, Salesforce.com, and TiVo. In the U.S.,
NEA has offices Washington, D.C. and Menlo Park, California. In
addition, New Enterprise Associates (India) Pvt. Ltd. has offices in
Bangalore and Mumbai, India and New Enterprise Associates (Beijing),
Ltd. has offices in Beijing and Shanghai, China. For more
information, visit NEA at www.nea.com.
About Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers
Since its founding in 1972,
Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers has backed entrepreneurs in over 500
companies in the energy, digital and life sciences industries. Today,
KPCB portfolio companies employ more than 250,000 people. More than
180 of the firm's portfolio companies have gone public; many others
have achieved success through mergers and acquisitions. For more
information visit KPCB at www.kpcb.com.
Media Contact:
Emily Borders
Borders+Gratehouse
Phone: (415) 963-4174 ext. 1
Email: emily(at)bordersgratehouse.com
SOURCE: Elance
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