UnderPinned, the startup that helps freelancers find work, manage work and get paid, has launched its online Virtual Office and opened the doors to its new London hub.
UnderPinned says its Virtual Office brings together every aspect of a freelancer’s working life, enabling them to find and manage their work all in one place, and reduce the administrative burden that disproportionately affects this growing area of the workforce.
Through the platform, Underpinned members can better organise their careers and manage their workload, with simple tools supporting portfolio building, project management, invoicing and automated contracts.
Through its newly-opened career accelerator hub in Hackney, UnderPinned will also now have a physical space for members to work, learn, share ideas and get creative. The hub will enable UnderPinned to provide workshops, mentoring sessions, co-working space and community and networking events. These will all be designed to get new freelancers off to a good start and push those already established to the next level of their career.
UnderPinned members also have exclusive access to 24/7 counselling, legal, and tax helplines in partnership with Digital Risks, as well as a network of shared working space across the UK in partnership with Dispace.
Albert Azis-Clauson, CEO and founder of UnderPinned, said: “Freelancing offers amazing flexibility and freedom, but establishing yourself in this world can be challenging. Often, freelancers struggle to build fulfilling careers and find themselves in the rut of servicing a disparate series of jobs which bear no resemblance to their ambitions. All of this is, of course, before being buried in complicated admin.
“Our Virtual Office helps to solve this by cutting the administrative burden, providing freelancers with a platform to find the work they want, manage their projects, and get paid.”
Ahead of the launch, UnderPinned has raised £400,000, with Crowdcube Chairman Simon Williams and an award winning SEIS and EIS fund the leading investors.
Lead investor, Simon Williams, Chairman of Crowdcube, said: “Freelancing is an exciting and rapidly growing area of our workforce, but too many freelancers currently get over-burdened by admin or stuck in unfulfilling and poorly paid work. Albert and the Underpinned team have come up with a unique offer, that enables freelancers to fulfil their potential as an engine of creativity in the UK economy.”