So the headline wasn’t totally accurate – there’s certainly full time talent here – but you get the point. We were thrilled to be featured by Business Insider. You can take a look at the original coverage here.
Said Differently, a startup that’s flipping the traditional agency model on its head by being remote and almost entirely freelance-based, just raised funding from Falfurrias Capital Partners.
Said Differently was cofounded in early 2020 by CEO Rachel Barek and President Brian Skahan, both alums of WPP ad agency AKQA. The firm is completely remote, with Barek based in Washington, D.C., and Skahan in Florida.
Barek and Skahan founded Said Differently — before the pandemic forced companies to work remote and drove many ad professionals to quit their jobs and go freelance — to fix areas where they saw traditional agencies fall short, like adapting quickly to clients’ changing needs and budgets.
They built a 3,000-person network of freelance designers, programmers, strategists, and other advertising staff and a small number of full-timers. “The ratio in the traditional agency model is typically 80% full-time and 20% freelance. We said, ‘Let’s flip that on its head and have 80% freelance and 20% full-time,'” Barek said.
Freelancers are matched to clients by assignment. Said Differently has grown by more than 300% each year since launch and expects to generate more than $20 million in revenue this year from clients like Neiman Marcus and Blue Apron. It plans to use the funding to improve technology it uses for remote work and invest in more talent.
“The traditional agency model is dependent on consistency and growth across every client,” Skahan said. “We don’t have a lot of financial commitments, real estate, staffing. We’re able to make the right recommendations for clients, and sometimes the answer is cutting marketing.”
They’re also trying to appeal to agency employees who have long complained about being overworked and underpaid and don’t want to return to the office. Barek said some Said Differently freelancers make more than her and Skahan combined based on how much work they take on.
Jamie Wace, a former agency strategist who worked for Said Differently last year, said he more than doubled his annual salary working half the number of hours for Said Differently compared to at agencies.
I was burnt out and stressed out,” Wace said. “When I was introduced to Said Differently, it was a breath of fresh air.
This year, Wace was able to start an edtech company, Talamo, for neurodivergent individuals, with the time he saved working for Said Differently.
Investors are pouring money into freelance platforms
Bob Kupbens, Neiman Marcus’ EVP and chief product and technology officer, hired Said Differently to lead Neiman Marcus’ $200 million digital transformation after the company emerged from bankruptcy.
The partnership included helping redesign Neiman Marcus’ mobile app, which Kupbens said went from a 2.5- to a 4.5-star rating in the Apple App Store overnight after the redesign.
“We’re a very agile business,” Kupbens said. “Said Differently gives us the ability to pivot resources and lean into a talent pool that’s exceptional. In a traditional agency, your bias is to use the team you got. With the access to freelancers, we don’t feel constrained by an existing team.”
The advertising sector continues to attract outside funding despite the slowing economy, according to a report from M&A advisory firm Ciesco.
To be sure, many ad agencies see at least some in-person collaboration is critical to their work. But platforms that help companies meet staffing needs including We Are Rosie, Passionfruit, and Publicist have also attracted investment as freelancing has soared in the pandemic.
The investment was the first in the Charlotte, NC-based Falfurrias’ new “Future of Work” focus, where it backs companies reimagining the workplace. The amount wasn’t disclosed, but the firm’s investments typically start at $25 million.
“Said Differently has completely revolutionized the traditional agency model by amassing a collection of global talent that would rival any agency, and I know Falfurrias is excited for them to be the launching pad for additional investments in similarly innovative companies,” said Alexander Jutkowitz, Falfurrias Capital Partners’ executive in residence.
