Building the future of business…together
Over the last 6 months, we learned a lot about the consultant/client relationship and what’s needed to manage this relationship in the networked economy. This new release of Mavenlink is a testament to the generosity of our charter community and their willingness to share ideas and recommendations.
Four Key learnings that have strongly influenced our business and technology direction:
- Mavens (Consultants) and Clients found our underlying software very valuable to collaborate to get work done by having all documents and conversations in one place.
- There is a tremendous need for a complete application that helps consultants and clients manage their business relationships from proposal to payment to feedback.
- The “Post a Project” marketplace presents some important challenges for professional, collaborative service engagements, including:
- Clients often need expert assistance to clarify requirements and define projects prior to posting
- Talented consultants are often reluctant to invest the time required to pursue projects in an open marketplace
- Consultants are uncomfortable inviting their existing clients into Mavenlink because the public listing of potentially competing mavens being made visible to clients.
- Businesses are seeking new and better ways to work with and manage external talent.
- Businesses need help finding the right expertise at the right time on an as-needed basis.
- Consultants are seeking new ways to showcase their talent and speed the engagement process.
- Businesses and Consultants alike are seeking purposeful business networking opportunities that help get valuable work done.
What’s Next
Comprehensive Technology Platform: Our core technology, released this week, supports our mission of enabling an entirely new way for businesses and consultants to work together, making it simpler, more efficient, and more economical to get work done. Enabling both businesses and consultants to leverage the platform within a trusted relationship, rather than an open marketplace, was a frequent request that we are now making possible. Immediately following this release, we will be making continuous improvements…daily and weekly.
