Lorem, a platform that connects business owners to a curated, professional network of freelance website designers and developers, today announced it has secured $2.5 million in new funding. The funding was led by Flybridge Capital Partners, with participation by HubSpot, FJ Labs and Fresco Capital.

More than a third of the U.S. workforce is freelancing in some capacity, however over 50 percent of their time is spent trying to find new projects, rather than working and getting paid. Meanwhile, business owners are now juggling 15 to 20 different "do-it-yourself" SaaS tools to build and maintain their website, yet each tool requires more technical expertise to set up, customize and manage on a continual basis. Lorem solves these problems by automatically matching entrepreneurial business owners with high-quality freelancers to work on task-based projects at an affordable price.

"Lorem's co-founders, Charlie and Sam, are young, smart and scrappy entrepreneurs tackling a big problem in our increasingly digital world," said Chip Hazard, General Partner at Flybridge Capital Partners. "With nearly 30 million small businesses in the U.S. alone and Lorem quickly seeing these companies use their platform for multiple jobs and spending over $800 a year on average, the market is much bigger than you would think."

Lorem will use this new investment to aggressively hire top talent to support its fast-growing freelance marketplace, which has helped over 1,000 businesses and onboarded hundreds of freelancers since the Lorem platform launched from beta in Spring 2018.

"As small to medium-sized businesses employ an increasing number of SaaS apps to drive growth, it's critical for them to get all the help they need to quickly maximize the power of these tools," said Andrew Lindsay, Vice President of Corporate and Business Development at HubSpot. "We are excited to collaborate with and support Lorem as the team continues to build their platform and empower freelancers and small businesses around the world."

Lorem is the only on-demand freelance marketplace that rigorously vets the experts on its platform, and integrates with the most common software tools used by business owners on a daily basis. By conducting a comprehensive assessment of a freelancer's technical background, professional experience and client service, Lorem assures businesses are matched with the right expert to address their design and development needs.

"Our vision is to empower the modern day business owner to succeed with instant access to high-quality and affordable freelance talent. We aim to build a global network of experts and enable freelancing as the future of work," said Charlie Fogarty, co-founder and COO at Lorem. "This additional investment will allow us to continue to solve the problems that millions of freelancers and high-growth companies face in doing business online."

Founded in 2017, Lorem previously raised $1.1 million from Flybridge Capital Partners, Founder Collective and a number of angel investors. Lorem is a graduate of the Techstars Boston accelerator.

About Lorem
Lorem connects businesses owners to a curated, professional network of freelance website developers and designers who can build or improve their website, blog or online store. Founded in 2017, Lorem is the only on-demand freelance marketplace that rigorously vets the experts on its platform, and integrates with the most common software tools used by business owners on a daily basis. To learn more, visit http://www.asklorem.com.