Information Technology Reference
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existed 20 years ago. This is definitely a topic that will get close attention from the
press, investors, and technical entrepreneurs.
Fiverr
Fiverr is another niche company that depends on the internet and the web to exist.
There are thousands and perhaps millions of independent graphic artists, web de-
signers, gardeners, cartoonists, and other arts and crafts providers. Fiverr provides
a place to advertise services and also to receive payments for small jobs or tasks
that cost as little as $5 or as much as $500.
Fiverr was founded in 2010 in New York by Micha Kaufman and Shai
Wininger. There are also offices in Tel Aviv, Israel. Fiverr reports about 1.3 million
services are offered, and many are offered for a flat fee of only $5.
Some of the services found on the Fiverr website are basically hobbies. For
example, people offer to teach family recipes, restore old photographs, or create
customized cartoons. Other services are more business oriented, such as document
writing or editing.
The draw that Fiverr has for both vendors and potential clients is that it con-
denses into one accessible website hundreds of marketable skills, none of which
are likely to be needed by more than about one person out of 50. But if a million or
more potential clients visit the website, then enough transactions occur for some
of the vendors to receive significant funds. In fact, about 15% of Fiverr vendors
regard the service as a key source of income, which is surprising for such a young
website.
The Fiverr business model is somewhat reminiscent of eBay, which turned vir-
tual yard sales into a profitable web business. Fiverr hopes to turn small “gigs”
into a profitable business. The idea is interesting. Fiverr has already been ranked
in the top 20 websites in terms of monthly visits, which is quite a coup.
Fiverr is an example of a company that is providing what seems to be a useful
service to thousands of independent craft and technical personnel. Not only does it
give them access to a huge audience on the web, but it also handles the complex-
ities of processing payments between clients and vendors.
Flattr
This is another new company with another interesting new niche that could not ex-
ist without the internet and the web. It is in the emerging business of crowdfunding
and allows subscribers to donate funds to interesting websites.
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