Introducing the Freelance Talent Directory

Our team at Embarc Collective is consistently faced with the same question by our member community of startups and our national network of investors and startup supporters: who are the best freelancers to work with for early-stage and high-growth startups?

To provide a better answer to this question, we set out on a mission to train a group of strong and capable Tampa Bay freelancers in “startup speak”—to truly understand the pain points, limitations, urgency, and process that startups have as they scale.

The Freelancer Program launched on August 21, 2021 as a 4-week small-group intensive training led by the experienced startup operators of Embarc Collective. This program enabled us to optimize the talent assets that we have in Tampa Bay while bringing new business and credibility to our market, aligning with our nonprofit mission to make Tampa Bay a destination for bold, scalable, thriving companies.

During the program, our freelancer participants learned from a customized curriculum around:

• Startup Optimization. How to position their freelance work for startups and build a playbook for scoping typical startup projects.
• Effective Project Communication. Becoming well-versed in “startup speak” to effectively win over clients and deliver on their projects.
• Getting $$$. How to build creative payment plans, work with equity, and evolve pricing as their startup clients evolve, too.
• Planning for Future Growth. Prospecting new startup clients and building a talent roadmap that helps their freelance business scale.

Equipped with the skills and specialties to work with high-growth startups, we encourage you to leverage this network for your project-based work or as an extension of your startup team.

We are excited to introduce you to the talented marketing and creative freelancers who are certified by Embarc Collective’s startup specialization program as a part of our Freelance Talent Directory:

Startups, investors, and community builders—Refer and share the Freelance Talent Directory here.

Freelancers—sign up to be notified about our future program dates here.