Ithaca is a digital platform that delivers key business functions for clients using the flexible workforce.

Ithaca is a more flexible solution to hiring a permanent employee, and more cost-effective than engaging a ‘traditional’ agency. It offers a unique way to structure freelance workforce into project teams, designed to exactly match clients’ objectives, and host their collaboration on our software.

Through a self-service portal, clients can create projects on the platform in one of Ithaca’s three functional areas: Marketing & Branding, Strategy Planning or Financial Analysis. Projects are then matched to a freelance specialist (a Team Leader) who can either complete them alone or assemble a team of other freelancers to help him deliver the assignment.

Unlike other platforms, many of which act as introductory agents, Ithaca provides the infrastructure through which flexible freelance teams can collaborate and deliver projects remotely. Ithaca can support users with payments, contracting (both with clients and between each other) and features a range of collaboration tools, such as project management, collaboration, file-sharing and messaging functionalities.

Several months prior to the Covid pandemic, we were already questioning the inefficiencies characterising the ‘conventional’ methods in which people work. Specifically, we identified talent shortages as an acute problem for companies and believe that the root cause can be attributed, at least in part, to the shortcomings of permanent employment and how this creates an illiquid market for talent.

Due to our personal circumstances, we hold the view that for too many it is impossible to balance truly family life with a career. Will is a father of two children and he found banking lifestyle to be incompatible with his caring responsibilities. Fabio’s family lives in Sicily, which made it impossible to balance a London career with family time. We thought this was a problem worthy of fixing.

On a shoestring budget, we have spent the last twelve months refining our thinking, building the idea and validating the market. We have spoken to c.50+ businesses and 150+ freelancers and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

We are extremely committed to the dream of a more efficient world of work, where the is more flexible and fairer for companies and employees alike.