Upwork began as two rivals, Elance and oDesk, that merged and became the largest online market for freelance work. A business posted a job. Freelancers around the world sent proposals. Upwork handled the contract and the payment. When the company went public in 2018, many people already earned part of their income working remotely. Stephane Kasriel, chief executive since 2015, took the combined company to the market as the biggest name in the field.

Work Without the Building

Elance and oDesk started from the same idea: skilled work does not need to happen in the client's building. Elance launched in 1999. oDesk followed a few years later with tools that tracked remote work hours. The two rivals merged in 2013 and took the name Upwork in 2015. The combined company bet that trust, payments and reviews in one place would keep both sides coming back.

Remote Work Goes Normal

Upwork priced its shares at $15 in October 2018 and opened well above that price. Over the following years it shifted toward larger business clients and higher fees. Then the 2020 pandemic made remote work normal, and the marketplace drew new attention. Upwork remains a public company and one of the best known names in freelance work. Its shares trade on Nasdaq under the ticker UPWK.

Cover: The Carpenter, Jan van Vliet. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for a carpenter at his bench (work for hire).