Fiverr announced on Thursday that it is acquiring online learning company CreativeLive as it expands beyond just freelance work. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Founded in Seattle by Chase Jarvis in 2010, CreativeLive is an entrepreneurial learning platform that facilitates a variety of courses on design, business, photography, video, marketing and more. Instructors on the site include people who have won Pulitzer Prizes, Grammys, Oscars and more.
Fiverr CEO Micha Kaufman said the company is “more than just a work platform” and was seeking to introduce more support for the entirety of the freelance lifestyle, which includes professional education and training.
“The ability to acquire new skills in a rapidly changing work environment and then be able to monetize them is part of Fiverr’s role in leading transformation for buyers and sellers on our platform,” Kaufman said.
“The acquisition of CreativeLive is part of this broader strategy. Chase and the team’s expertise in creating compelling learning experiences across industries is a natural fit for us as we scale this part of our business. The depth and caliber of the courses that CreativeLive offers are exceptional, and we look forward to offering them to our entire community.”
Jarvis said he designed CreativeLive to be a place where people could be creative, learn and find work. Their goal is to fill a gap in the market and appeal directly to creative professionals looking for engaging online courses.
The platform has more than 2,000 courses and dozens of categories to search within. More than 10 million people have used the platform in some way, shape or form.
Both companies said Jarvis would remain CEO, and the company would still be based in Seattle. The company will remain a standalone organization separate from Fiverr, but Fiverr’s current online learning platform — Fiverr Learn — will be folded into CreativeLive.
The Fiverr Learn platform will be expanded to offer more courses and address the specific needs of businesses and freelancers around the globe.
“The future favors people and companies that can create, innovate and adapt to a fast-paced work environment. Core to all this is people’s ability to learn new skills, to think creatively, and operate with a growth mindset. Once thought to be ‘nice to haves’, we now know how these attributes are key to success in any industry,” Jarvis said.
“We are excited to be part of the Fiverr family and to grow our inventory of compelling courses that increase economic opportunity for our community, the Fiverr community and today’s modern workforce.”
Earlier this year, Fiverr announced that it would also be expanding into data and analytics via its first new vertical in nine years.
