Dutch start-up Fring is excited to announce a significant new investment, welcoming tech entrepreneurs Marc-Paul Brandt and Michiel van Hulst to the board in early November. Founded by creative talent experts Edwin van de Bospoort and Stijn van Aert, Fring is a game-changing platform that directly connects innovative companies with creative and digital freelance talent worldwide.
Developed in response to the growing need for streamlined access to freelance talent, the Fring platform provides organisations with access to a real-time resource of thousands of available freelancers. From skilled designers and developers to expert marketers and media talent, Fring is transforming the landscape of hiring freelance professionals, helping companies efficiently plan the perfect team while connecting freelancers to find challenging projects both easily and socially.
The market is ready for disruption
Whether a leading digital agency or an international corporate team, freelance talent is an increasingly integral part of a project’s success. With the Netherlands Central Bureau of Statistics estimating that 1 in 5 workers will be self-employed by 2030, the role of freelancers is only set to grow. “Finding and recruiting the best available freelancers is often a chaotic process,” explain the Fring Founders.
“The resulting lack of the right people on the job is a headache for directors, HR and project managers. The traditional recruitment sector often takes advantage of the lack of information between supply and demand. Fring breaks open the misty market of freelance recruitment and joins the warm, relational way of how freelancers and companies prefer to find each other: via-via. There is clearly room for disruption and a different approach, and many companies can no longer ignore freelance capacity.”
Fring’s mission is to redefine the world of freelance recruitment, making it simpler to create world-class teams for exceptional projects and superior results. For companies, the best available talents are booked quickly and easily on the platform’s clear planning dashboard. Freelancers maintain their network and share their availability via the free app to quickly find their best next project. With Fring, you can see the availability of freelancers from your personalised talent pool as well as browse the entire Fring directory in just one click, eliminating commission costs and saving time.
The future of flexible working
Fring focuses on the creative, digital, tech and media sectors and counts renowned internationally operating agencies, design houses and media parties amongst their first clients. This latest investment is a testament to the gap in the market. “We are charmed by Fring; by their vision, knowledge and approach to the current challenges of organising flexible talent in the creative sector,” comments Michiel Van Hulst (Freshheads and Werkspot). “The labour market is undergoing enormous changes. Freshheads specialises in developing digital marketplaces where supply and demand come together, so we have a lot of expertise in the labour market mediation sector. Our knowledge, therefore, came together perfectly in a co-investment in Fring.”
“Finding and retaining freelancers is always a laborious process,” adds Marc-Paul Brandt, Founder of eFocus (acquired by Valtech) and Shopworks. “Ultimately, you want a permanent pool of freelancers to be flexible enough for the often somewhat erratic process of completing complex projects, or to add very specific knowledge when needed. Freelancers that you have worked with before, and of whom you, therefore, know what their contribution can be, are, in my view, essential for the success of a digital agency.”
The regional development company Oost NL is also investing in the start-up from the MKG fund and emphasises the advantages of Fring in the current zeitgeist. Investment manager Gijs Luesken: “Fring offers both companies and freelancers more transparency, without the intervention of recruitment agencies. An important step for the increasing number of freelancers in the Netherlands. During the corona crisis, we were able to see how important it is for businesses to scale up and down in a timely manner. Fring thus makes a positive contribution to making the labour market more flexible.”
