 | |
Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Design |
| Founded | May 2007 |
| Founder |
|
| Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois, USA |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | Custom Logo Design, Website Design, Illustration, Marketing Materials, Industrial Design, Copywriting |
Number of employees | 701 |
| Website | www.crowdspring.com |
Crowdspring (written "crowdSPRING", legally crowdSPRING, LLC) is an online marketplace for crowdsourced creative services.2
Overview
Crowdspring was co-founded in May 2007 by Ross Kimbarovsky and Michael Samson.3 Crowdspring launched its online marketplace publicly in May 2008. Crowdspring is based in Chicago.456789
More than 200,000 graphic designers and writers from 200 countries work on Crowdspring.10
Blog
Crowdspring maintains a blog which was launched in mid-2008.11
Crowdspring has faced ongoing criticism regarding its speculative business model, which involves asking designers and writers to submit completed work with no guarantee of payment unless their submission is selected.12 Critics argue that this practice can result in many contributors effectively working without compensation, despite Crowdspring collecting fees from clients.13
In some cases, participants have expressed frustration with delayed or missing payments, further fueling criticism about fairness and transparency on the platform.14 Crowdspring has responded to such feedback by stating that they provide a global platform to connect creatives with businesses and offer opportunities to grow their portfolios.15
References
References
- "Business Profile CrowdSpring, LLC". Better Business Bureau.
- [1] Crowdspring homepage
- Steiner, Christopher (2009). "The Creativity of Crowds". Forbes.
- "Creative designs, ideas get chance to stand out at CrowdSpring". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
- Company snapshot Businessweek
- Crowdsourced Design: Is Crowdspring the next iStockPhoto?
- review Information Week
- Christopher Steiner The Creativity of Crowds February 16, 2009 Forbes
- Rafe Needleman CrowdSpring leverages weasel economics June 12, 2008 CNet
- LeFlore, Ann (2018-06-16). "Crowdspring Review – Legit or Scam". 9 to 5 Work Online. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
- "Crowdspring Blog". Crowdspring.
- Walker, Rob (May 31, 2011). "The Crowd Is Wise—but Can It Draw?". Slate.
- "The NO!SPEC campaign vs. Crowdspring". Retrieved 14 July 2017.
- "Crowdspring Reviews on Trustpilot". Trustpilot. Retrieved 21 January 2025.
- "Official Crowdspring Blog".