A Visit with crowdSPRINGA New Source for Creatives and Buyers

I paid a visit to new Chicago start-up, crowdSPRING last week.  I met their community manager, Angeline, through Twitter and wanted to get to know the crew a bit better. After all, we start-ups in town like to know who's new on the scene and how we can help them out.

crowdSPRING's idea is simple: post a logo/design need of any sort and name your price. Creatives from around the world bid on the job by submitting their ideas. You provide feedback, collaborate, etc. and pick the winner. Pete, the team's Director of Marketing, mentioned that many of their designers have other full time jobs and the crowdSPRING model lets them compete on a global scale.

I talked to a few local designers about the model and some are fans, while others don't think it enables them to present their full portfolios to would-be clients. I can respect both sides on this one, but as a start-up I like the idea of naming my price and having the globe compete for my business.  Author's note: I used local professional designers for my CondoPerks, Gals' Guide, Bsolutions and Chicago Tech Report logos:). 

Here are the video interviews I shot at crowdSPRING's temporary offices on W. Lake Street. Highlights: meet the co-founders, the head of marketing, the team's community manager and get some VC tips.

Comments

[Laura Roeder]

As a designer I find this incredibly frustrating but if people want to work for free that is their prerogative. The problem is not about presenting your full portfolio, it's about working doing the hard work for free with a slim chance that you'll ever be paid for it. This poses a problem for legitimate businesses in that it can confuse our clients as to how the process works. I've had clients ask me for spec work before, not because they are trying to take advantage of me but because sites like this make them think that process is the norm. Also the whole thing just devalues the work of professional designers.

[CTR]

Hi Laura,

I hear ya on that...one note the crowdSPRING folks mention is that this concept is ideal for those designers that may pursue this work part time. It gives anyone the chance to try out their skill set, with those folks knowing that their work may not be selected...

[Mike]

Hey CRT, and thanks so much for the great piece. We are so proud of the community of creatives that we are building at crowdSPRING and very much appreciate the attention. We recognize that the crowdSPRING model is not for everyone and that it will never replace the "traditional" way buyers source creative services.

Having said that, we also recognize the crowdspring provides opportunities for both buyers and creatives which they can not find elsewhere: access to users worldwide, real value, protection of intellectual property, and the chance for creatives to compete ion a truly level playing field. On crowdSPRING creatives no longer compete on their education, the strength of their p[ortfolio, or the length of their client list;the only thing that matters is how good your idea is!

So thanks again and we're looking forward to more great stuff!

Mike Samson
co-Founder
crowdSPRING

[Emil]

Our project recently wrapped up at crowdSPRING, and we couldn't have been more pleased. We're operating on a shoestring budget and crowdSPRING couldn't have launced at a better time for us.

We're completely overhauling the design of our site and needed a logo to match. The artists who worked on our project really challenged themselves.

I think people really need to look at the bigger picture here. If I was a creative I'm sure my number one goal would be to get paid. But, the other benefits are huge:
1. My work is getting global exposure on a wildly popular crowdsourcing site.
2. I'm inexperienced getting much needed practice and getting my feet wet in the business world.
3. At points, I can collaborate with the rest of the community to come up with something I otherwise would not have.
4. I am building an even deeper portfolio for myself.
5. Oh, yeah, it's a community and I can learn from it without even participating.