Toptal
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Freelance |
| Founded | 2010 |
| Founders | Taso Du Val Breanden Beneschott |
| Headquarters | United States  |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Taso Du Val (CEO) |
| Website | www |
Toptal is a global remote company that provides a freelancing platform, connecting businesses with software engineers, designers, finance experts, product managers, and project managers. The company has no headquarters.[1]
History
[edit]Taso Du Val and Breanden Beneschott founded the company in 2010. Du Val was previously an engineer at Fotolog and Slide.com[2][3] while Beneschott was an undergraduate at Princeton University.[4] The name stands for "top talent", and it was started as a virtual company with no dedicated offices.[5][6]
Toptal had more than $1 million in revenue by the time Beneschott graduated from Princeton.[4] The co-founders moved to Budapest, Hungary to access software developers with fewer employment options than in the United States.[4]
Talent search and growth
[edit]The firm developed personality, language, and skills testing to remotely screen engineering candidates, and accepted the top 3% of several thousand monthly applicants.[2][3][7]
The firm matches business engagements with developers from its network and brokers the terms of each job.[3] In 2015, it expanded to include freelance design.[8] In 2016, it acquired the freelancer platform, Skillbridge, which offered freelance accountants, statisticians, and consultants in market research, financial modeling, and due diligence.[9] In 2017, the company launched a vertical specializing in software engineers and designers for the automotive industry.[10] It also launched a vertical for blockchain engineers in February 2018.[11]
Funding
[edit]Toptal accepted a $1.4 million seed round of financing from Andreessen Horowitz and angel investors including Quora founder Adam D'Angelo.[8] The company is said not to have raised additional funds since its seed round because it has been profitable.[8] In 2015 and 2016, Toptal's annual revenue was $80 million and $100 million respectively.[3][4]
References
[edit]- ^ "Toptal". Remote.co. 2020-02-07. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
- ^ a b Soshana, Solomon (19 March 2017). "Dropout turned entrepreneur helps find talent amid engineer squeeze". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
- ^ a b c d Ankeny, Jason (8 September 2015). "Why a High School Dropout's Staffing Company Is in a Class of Its Own". Entrepreneur Magazine. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
- ^ a b c d Hartmans, Avery (17 September 2016). "This startup has no offices and unlimited vacation, and its cofounder has lived in more than 30 countries in 5 years". Business Insider. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
- ^ Rockwood, Kate (26 October 2017). "How to Build a $100 Million-Revenue Business With Zero Offices". Inc. Magazine. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
- ^ Caminiti, Susan (3 April 2018). "The dream job that's all the rage across America". CNBC. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
- ^ Lagorio-Chafkin, Christine (5 November 2014). "How To Build A Killer Team--Sight Unseen". Inc. Magazine. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
- ^ a b c Constine, Josh (7 October 2015). "Massive Freelance Engineer Marketplace Toptal Now Sells Designers". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
- ^ Taft, Darryl (6 April 2016). "Toptal Buys Skillbridge to Advance Freelance Tech Market". eWEEK. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
- ^ Winter, Drew (28 November 2017). "Supplier Toptal to Fill 'Extreme High-Skilled Talent Gap'". WardsAuto. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
- ^ Stein, Samantha (14 February 2018). "Blockchain engineers are in demand". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-07-02.