Freelancing is not a profession anymore. It’s a lifestyle. A lifestyle that embraces flexibility. From seasoned professionals to rookies, freelancers from all walks of life are leaping into the gig economy to make money out of their passion. Getting signed up on a freelance marketplace platform is one of the various strategies of freelancers to find opportunities, especially for beginners with little to no experience and a limited network in the industry. There are tons of freelance platforms out there, Fiverr and Upwork being the most popular ones, but today we will deep dive into a rising platform, Contra.
Ben Huffman and Gajus Kuizinas are the two visionary folks behind the platform. Ben is a college dropout turned self-taught music producer with an entrepreneurial spirit, and Gajus, a seasoned web developer with a remarkable history as an entrepreneur. From being a ghostwriter at Sony UK to kickstarting his own meal-providing service venture, Ripe, Ben recognized the potential of the freelancing market. After a successful exit from Ripe in 2019, he decided to revolutionize the freelance landscape with Contra.
In the past ten years, Gajus, the CTO and Co-founder of the platform, has proved to be the expert in the tech domain by launching two companies in the past ten years. One of them is a proprietor platform to launch and manage social media campaigns, Anuary, and the other is a data aggregation platform, Applaudience. He is also the man behind reducing the loading time significantly of one of the largest media websites, Mail Online. Check out his LinkedIn profile to read all the epic tech-savvy things he has done in his career.
Contra.com launched on Product Hunt on 23rd February 2021 with a bang and went on to win the following badges like a topper of the class.
In my exploration of Contra.com, I found the website's navigation incredibly user-friendly, making it a breeze to find what you need. Moreover, the communication tone used throughout the platform is relatable and engaging, catering perfectly to Gen-Z freelancers. They ask for a few basic details to set up the profile, and then they provide a dashboard to add work, offerings, and details to enable the wallet.
While completing my profile, Contra helped me with its AI suggestions to write a captivating introduction, and a compelling name for my services, and even shared suggestions for the services I should offer based on my expertise. This will definitely help eliminate the user’s procrastination to come up with titles or services and avoid delays in completing the profile.
Unlike most freelance platforms, Contra does not charge any fee or commission on a freelancer’s income; rather, it operates on a freemium model. The brands can post opportunities and the freelancers can apply for it without spending a dime. The platform enhances freelancers’ lives by offering a ‘Contra Pro’ subscription at 12$/Mo. This is one step towards their vision of being included in the ecosystem of freelancer tools rather than acting as a middleman between brands and freelancers.
Apart from being commission free, the other distinct features include accepting payments in stablecoin, generating invoices, data analysis, and custom portfolio builder. The last feature is only exclusive to Contra Pro subscribers. So, how do these features enhance the experience and make freelancers' life easy? To delve deeper into the Contra experience, I chatted with one of the platform’s star freelancers, Vaibhav Khulbe. He is a Contra Pro subscriber and is highly recommended on the platform for website development and technical writing.
Custom Portfolio Builder:
One of the best things is their Pro membership. Once you’re a member of Contra Pro you get a free and live portfolio website of your own! It takes the content like project, services, recommendations etc from your Contra profile so it’s very easy to change/update the content and you get a portfolio with beautiful templates and themes that you can further customize. Plus, they have a great Discover feature where anyone can filter or search for other freelancers. They have Pro Analytics with deeper insights (but you can use them without a Pro subscription as well). All these tools and features help me. - Vaibhav
This feature allows freelancers to build their own custom websites instantly. From fonts to themes, they can change it as per their preference. The platform also provides a free domain to share on social platforms. This becomes the storefront for the freelancers and enables them to present themselves as a brand to clients. According to me, this is a changemaker and an impactful tool.
Generating Invoices & Contracts: Once the two parties’ interests align, Contra generates a contract based on the services offered and the amount. After the completion of work, the freelancer can fill in the details in a form to generate the invoice.
Data Analytics: The platform also provides invaluable insights to freelancers which helps them discover who has viewed their profile from which part of the world and if they have listed any opportunities. And if that’s not enough, they also share the source driving traffic to the profile.
The Payments:
When both the client and the freelancer sign the contract and the client deposits an upfront payment (which we can customize), the project officially begins. The rest of the payment is held in escrow. After the client approves the submitted work, the freelancer gets the remaining balance. Then we can easily withdraw it to our bank accounts. You can receive the payment in Contra Wallet as soon as the client approves the work. Rest after withdrawing depends a lot but usually you can get your amount in the bank around 3-4 days. Vaibhav said.
Furthermore, freelancers can receive the payments in USDC in their wallets. One of the benefits of receiving money in USDC is that international transactions happen in seconds. The independent can convert the USDC into fiat money by withdrawing it to the local bank. You can check out their guide to know more about the payout. This counters one of the prominent problems faced by freelancers in the US & India delayed payments or not getting paid at all.
The relationship between the client and freelancer doesn’t end with just one project on Contra.
There's always room for repeat business and long term collaborations and the platform makes it easy to repeat a project or start a project with the same client.
Recommendation goes two ways, the client and the freelancer, both have the option to endorse each other. This is a good opportunity for freelancers to get retainer clients to achieve sustainable income.
Moreover, Vaibhav appreciated the community support and service of the start-up.
Regarding community support, it’s one of the best I’ve seen. You can join their Slack community and the Contra community team members do their best to keep the community engaging and informative. They’re always a DM away if we have any queries. If you don’t want to join the community, their support service is top notch. You can expect a response within minutes!
While Contra offers various impressive benefits, being a newbie in the freelance market, it does come with its fair share of limitations. When asked about the challenges regarding the platform, Vaibhav replied,
One big limitation is that as it’s a new platform, not many companies and clients know about it. This affects the number of opportunities you see on the job feed. They're usually low when compared with other platforms.
Which I believe is more of a temporary challenge that every start-up goes through when they enter the market. However, Vaibhav added that opportunities listed on the platform are managed by the Contra team itself to make sure the feed is not filled with spam, bad quality, or low budget projects.
As I conclude this blog, I feel optimistic about Contra’s future and the possibilities it holds for freelancers. The platform’s current set of features did stand out from the other freelance marketplaces, and I am looking forward to seeing how it evolves to further support freelancers’ journey. Your time and attention are truly appreciated. Stay tuned for more detailed deep dives into the world of tech start-ups. Until next time, happy freelancing!
Amazing writeup with great insights. Thanks for having me 😁