What's Connected Ventures about?
This is about putting digital professionals directly in touch with the people who need their skills, cutting out the expensive middleman.
Each member of ConnectedVentures has been invited by another member who trusts their skills - this ensures that everyone in this group is at the top of their game professionally.
Simply put, if you've worked with someone you trust, and they highly recommend someone else with the skills you need, then they're most likely the right person for the job.
Who is currently using it?
There are currently 21 freelancers / contractors with active profiles. Take a look at the sample below, or search for people or skills you need now.
Will Colley - "Pixel pimp, photographer with semantic markup."(CSS, (x)HTML, Photoshop, Illustrator, UI Design, Branding, more...)
Lynton Morgan - "Leads a small digital agency which can help you"
Alex Wybraniec - "PHP/Scalability Nightmare Wrangler"
(CSS, (x)HTML, PHP (4.0), PHP (5.0+), JavaScript, JQuery, Photoshop, Copywriting, Illustrator, Flash (AS1), Flash (AS2), Flash (AS3), UI Design, Project Management, Agile, Branding, Linux, MySQL, Scalable Solutions, Fixing Nightmare Projects, more...)
Why was this site created?
The people who created this site have worked for numerous agencies, and have recruited for all of them - one recurring theme became obvious throughout.
Regardless of the what position we recruited for, we noticed that the best people employed were almost always the ones who came highly recommended by people we had worked with - people whose opinions we trusted.
Initially starting as a directory of people with skills we wanted to share and use, the idea soon evolved into this - a peer-to-peer, social recommendation engine for contractors, freelancers and micro-agencies.
Search via skill
(x)HTML .net After Effects Agile ASP Branding C# C++ Cocoa Copywriting Creative Direction CSS Django Final Cut Pro Fixing Nightmare Projects Flash (AS1) Flash (AS2) Flash (AS3) Ideas/Concepts Illustrator Java JavaScript JQuery Kohana Linux MySQL Photoshop PHP (4.0) PHP (5.0+) Project Management Python Ruby on Rails Scalable Solutions Scoping SCRUM Symfony UI Design
Sounds great to me!
How do I sign up?
You can't - unless you're lucky enough to be invited by an existing member.
This invite only approach ensures that only people who come highly recommended can become members.
Most members are reluctant to invite someone who they wouldn't recommend to friends and colleages, ensuring you'll only find the most enthusiastic, finely skilled people here - the perfect people for your next project.
If you're great, you'll soon get invited.
What features are coming?
The site is currently in an early beta - we'll be adding numerous features over the next few weeks - some are already on our development roadmap, such as an advanced search, user reviews, and accounts for digital agencies, so you can bookmark your favourite contractors and build up your network.
Some features will come from you guys - the contact form at the bottom of the page allows you to submit feature requests and ideas, as well as bug reports when things go wrong.
Let us know what you think!
Are you a recruitment agency?
No - in fact, we're the opposite. Our aim is to connect highly skilled, reliable contractors, freelancers and micro-agencies directly to paying individuals and companies who need access their skills.
We don't take a cut, which means employers get more bang for their buck, and the people doing the work get more of the money they would normally be paid.
No wading through piles of speculative CV's.
Just people recommended by people you trust.