ODesk
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
Some sections are still being researched2 / 4
Sections to complete：02 · 05
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
oDesk was an online freelance marketplace founded in 2003 by two friends, Odysseas Tsatalos and Stratis Karamanlakis, who wanted to work together even though one was in the U.S. and the other in Greece. Originally created as a staffing firm, it became a marketplace where registered users could find, hire, and collaborate with remote workers. On December 18, 2013, oDesk and rival Elance announced their merger to create Elance-oDesk; in 2015 the combined company rebranded as Upwork, upgrading the oDesk platform under that name while phasing out the Elance platform. Upwork went public on Nasdaq in 2018 (raising $187 million at a $1.5 billion valuation) and remains a leading global freelance platform.
02 / FAILURE REASONS
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Founded
Odysseas Tsatalos and Stratis Karamanlakis founded oDesk as a staffing firm that became an online marketplace for hiring remote workers.
- Merged with Elance
On December 18, 2013, oDesk and Elance announced their merger to create Elance-oDesk.
- Rebranded as Upwork
Elance-oDesk rebranded as Upwork, upgrading the oDesk platform under the new name and phasing out Elance.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN / AFTERMATH
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.