TopCoder
Outsourcing: The business practice in which a company hires a third-party to perform tasks, handle operations or provide services for the company.
Crowdsourcing: The practice of obtaining information or input into a task or project by enlisting the services of a large number of people, either paid of unpaid, typically via the internet.
Difference:
- Outsourcing you control who gets to do the task. Crowdsourcing you cannot choose who does the task.
Crowdsourcing examples:
- Case Competitions
- Crowdfunding
- Open Innovation
- Wikipedia
- Freelancing like Upwork
Cross-side network effect, same-side network effect
Exam
- Identify that TopCoder is a Two-sided Platform and write down what each of the sides are
- Same-side network effects
- Cross-side network effects
Continue
- For TopCoder, what if the number of clients vs. developers becomes unbalance?
- Too many clients: poor project quality, long delivery time, higher const…
- Too many developers: talent loss, clients taking advantage of developers (e.g., reduced prize amounts)
How TopCoder solved the Chicken & Egg Problem
- How did they onboard developers: they turned the platform into a recruiting pipeline for companies (they can hire the winners).
- How did they onboard clients: they started as a consulting firm and approached smaller to mid sized firms.