Merlin is a collaboration tool for today’s digital nomad marketers

Photo credit: Yuvipanda.

Sometimes in the startup game, you can be too focused; so invested in an idea that you can’t see past it. That might stop you from innovating and cause you to miss the train on other exciting projects or developments. Melvin Yuan knows a lot about trying on different ideas. He previously co-founded startups like YFind Technologies (acquired by US company Ruckus Wireless) and original art marketplace The Commissioned.

Merlin’s offering is based on today’s increasingly distributed workplace.

His latest idea is Merlin, an enterprise software product that lets marketers and advertisers from around the world work together. A project manager can enlist a copywriter from the US, a graphic designer from Indonesia, and an SEO specialist working from a beach in Thailand to complete a contract.

The dashboard allows project members to manage business tasks, communicate, complete contracts, and process payments. Marketers can acquire clients and work with them to complete a project, all through the website.

Decluttering the creative process

“Merlin enables independent marketing professionals and boutique marketing agencies form teams, win business, and get paid,” Melvin tells Tech in Asia. The software takes care of all the administrative busywork that creative professionals usually balk at. “They love the creative work, the strategic thinking, and tactical execution,” he explains.

See: This startup allows you to commission original art at prices that won’t break the bank

The team’s offering is based on today’s increasingly distributed workplace. It takes advantage of the way social networks have become tools for professional communication and coordination as much as socializing tools – which is why Melvin thinks it’s the right time for such a service.

“If you read [NFX Guild accelerator co-founder and partner] James Currier’s article on market networks, you’ll likely agree that platforms that combine the ability of social networks to connect people and the features of marketplaces to enable these people to make a living, will be powerful and crucial to many huge industries,” he says.

Opportunity knocks

Merlin came along as a result of Melvin’s time with Silicon Valley-based accelerator NFX Guild. His co-founder on The Commissioned, Howie Chang, former head of UI/UX for Singaporean success story Viki and director of products for grocery delivery service Redmart, is also co-founder of Merlin.

“We joined the NFX Guild Winter 2016 Class to learn how to build a market network,” Melvin says. “While we were in it, we identified another industry that’s close to our hearts that lacked a credible market network.”

Merlin is expected to launch in the coming months.