Thailand’s answer to Upwork bags $4.8m

Fastwork’s management team: Jerd Phichitkul, CMO (L); Vasa S Iamsuri, CEO (C); and Chirat Vibhagool, CTO and interim CFO (R) / Photo credit: Fastwork

As Southeast Asia’s startup ecosystem continues to grow, so do opportunities for freelancing, outsourcing, and other short-term contract work.

Online freelancing platforms like Upwork, which raised US$187 million at a valuation of US$1.5 billion in its New York IPO earlier this month, have sprung up to play the role of middleman.

Citing the freshly listed US firm as an inspiration, Bangkok-based Fastwork is aiming to become a leading “gig economy” marketplace for connecting freelancers with startups and small and medium-sized enterprises across the region. It recently raised US$4.8 million in series A funding to help it realize that goal.

As reported earlier this week, Kuala Lumpur-based Gobi Partners led the round through its newly established, US$10 million Gobi-Agung Fund, which is focused on early-stage opportunities in the Indonesian market.

While Fastwork operates in Thailand and its management team – made up of Silicon Valley veterans – is mainly located in the kingdom’s capital, Indonesia is its other key market.

Fastwork employs more than 50 people across both countries, and claims to have clocked 1,100 percent revenue growth since December 2017.

Its online platform incorporates a secure payments system and scores individual freelancers and agents using proprietary tech, helping prospective clients to screen and select them.

While the startup did not elucidate its plans for the fresh funds – saying only that it aims to launch new products and enter new markets – it has been busy expanding on its offering. It recently launched premium services Fastwork Pro and Fastwork Enterprise, which allow the top-performing 1 percent of freelancers and agencies listed on its site to work on larger-scale projects for growth-stage startups.

Other investors that participated in the series A round included Singapore’s Vickers Venture Partners, US-based Partech Partners, and Line Ventures, the Japanese messaging app’s VC arm.