Lancebase

Exactly one year ago I started working on Lancebase.io: A freelance hourly rate database.

But of all the ideas I had, why this one in particular?

As I'd been working as a freelancer for a couple of years - I noticed that many freelancers ask themselves the same question: What is a good hourly rate (for me)?

Unfortunately, the answer to that question depends heavily on who you ask:

1. A potential client (who has a certain budget)?
2. A recruiter (who also has his/her own margin to consider)?
3. A befriended freelancer (who probably doesn't have the same expertise as you do)?

If you're a regular employee, then Glassdoor is often a good solution. But for freelancers, a Glassdoor substitute didn't exist.

So the idea of Lancebase is to make the freelance market more transparent, by having freelancers share their own rates anonymously.

This way, you can easily check if your hourly rate is competitive - and if you could increase your rates the next time you start working for a client.

Another reason I chose this idea, was that I thought that in the spirit of the Lean Startup, I could validate quickly.

Unfortunately, this didn't happen so quick. But we did get some validation, as there are >100 freelance software developers who have shared their rates.

And now I thought it was a good time to launch on Indiehackers too!