Fiverr was founded by Micha Kaufman and Shai Wininger in February 2010. The founders developed a two-sided platform where people can buy digital services or sell as freelancers. Such services included translation, copywriting, graphic design, video editing and programming. The services, called Fiverr Gig, start at $ 5 from where the name of the platform comes from (fiver = five), and today range up to several thousand dollars.
The website recorded 1.3 million services offered in 2012. In early 2013, the site was one of the 100 most popular sites in the United States and one of the 200 most popular sites worldwide.
On June 1, 2010, Fiverr received a $ 1 million seed investment from Guy Gamzu and other angel investors. In May 2012, Fiverr received an investment of $ 15 million from Accel Partners and Bessemer Venture Partners. Total investment reached $ 20 million.
In December 2013, Fiverr released an iOS app on Apple’s App Store. In March 2014, Fiverr released an Android app in Google Play.
In August 2014, Fiverr received a $ 30 million (Series C) investment from Bessemer Venture Partners, Accel and other investors. This investment raised the total investment to $ 50 million.
In October 2015, Amazon filed legal action against 1,114 Fiverr vendors allegedly publishing fake reviews on Amazon.com. Fiverr did not dispute the allegations and stated, “We have worked closely with Amazon to remove services that violate our Terms of Use.”
In November 2015, Fiverr received $ 60 million in investment capital (Series D), led by Square Peg Capital. [11] This investment raised total investment to $ 110 million. At the same time, Fiverr announced that it was expanding its marketplace and giving providers the opportunity to place their services at prices above the original $ 5.
In February 2019, the company commissioned Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. to go public in New York. On 13.6.19 the official IPO took place. The stock was trading at $ 21, up 90% on the first day to $ 39.90.
Since 2018, the company has its regional headquarters in Berlin and a localized website for Germany.