Many of us grew up in a world where the idea of becoming a fine artist was a choice of poverty. And to be fair, the reality of those fine art teachers didn’t make matters any better. As a child, you were conditioned and expected to choose from the “real” professions — like medicine, engineering, accounting, law, and a few others. Being creative was largely considered merely a hobby and not a job.
So you have kids born with ‘innate creative tendencies’ — which is every kid, in a way — made to shut down their pursuit in the name of ‘becoming something’ in society. Blame socio-economic constructs, right? Maybe.
Thanks to the advancement of technology today, newer avenues are being created in various fields with increased demand for work that allows today’s young people to apply their creative and digital skills from home. Artistic tendencies are finding expression in these new realities, from graphic design to branding, user experience to UX writing, photography, and more.
While it is exciting to see, there is still a lot of work to do, as freelancers are still playing beneath their full potential and not being able to command the worth and respect of professionals. When I started graphic design, I would send emails as “we” just to earn the respect of a team. It was that bad.
The creative ones are more empowered today than ever, but still, there is still a lot of work to be done. Many freelancers do their work as something to get busy with while they wait for the real big opportunities. Many others feel small. And for the ones who don’t, society views them like they are. We don’t. That’s why we exist, to change that.
And our stories align
Bolaji Fawole and I turned what started as ‘another graphic designer’ service (as many people regarded it) into a respected agency that today charges tens of thousands of dollars, and has become the platform for many creative professionals. Ayo Aregbede (Co-founder, Engineering), and Segun Oroyo (Co-founder, Design) both transformed what began as ‘side hustle’ while on campus into viable careers that have led them to consult and create value for clients across the globe. We have been and seen what it could mean for a person pursuing creative and digital skills to get the right systems and processes to organize their work like professionals and tick all the right boxes with clients.
With the Fullgap product, we’re trying to scale that level of impact.
Every day, we are asking; “What can we do to help the average freelancer across the continent do better, and achieve higher results on their projects?”; “What can we do to help them communicate better with their clients?”; “How can we help them finish projects faster?”; “How can we help them present themselves better and create the right impressions with clients?”
Filling the gap
While the demand for creative and digital services has grown locally and internationally, (physically and virtually), there remains a greater percentage of freelancers still struggling to get themselves together to maximize these opportunities.
Our mission is to build upon the progress that is already in motion. Many platforms are solving the market problem, and connecting freelancers with clients, but they always restrict their infrastructure to businesses initiated through the platform, and that’s understandable. We think that freelancers can do more if they have one they can use to onboard and work with their clients, regardless of where they got them from. There is a lot happening outside Fiverr, Upwork, and more. People find clients from unlimited places. We are building an unlimited tool that can help stay on top of managing these projects and clients. We are bringing to the table our experience and proximity to freelancers, and researching to gain new insights. All of these would help us create a product with which anyone can do their work better, organize their process, and position themselves for higher chances of success.
When we do our work every day, we do it with millions of freelancers in mind. We’re looking at how much more they can become. We recognize that today, people who choose the creative path have far better chances at success than they would have some 15 years ago. This is exactly why we can’t bear to see that opportunity wasted, lost or under-utilized. This is what keeps us motivated.
When we chant “Power to the creative ones 💪🏾”, this is where we are coming from.
.svg){kind=small}