Superside: A Startup Case Study – On-Demand Design with a Dedicated Team

Superside

Superside is a subscription-based creative services platform that connects businesses with curated, top-tier design talent. This unique model ensures consistent, high-quality output while removing the hassle of coordinating multiple freelancers. Superside aims to meet the evolving needs of modern businesses by offering a range of design services.

Founding Year: 2015

Headquarters: Wilmington, Delaware, United States

Industry: Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

Company Status: Currently Active

Business Model

B2B, One-sided, Service.

• Clients: Businesses Needing Design Support such as marketing teams, startups, agencies, and enterprises looking for consistent, high-quality design services without the overhead of traditional agencies.

It’s Like: Upwork but with a dedicated team and guaranteed quality.

Superside, like Upwork, connects businesses with skilled professionals for creative services. However, Superside differentiates itself by providing clients with a dedicated team of designers and project managers, ensuring consistent quality, communication, and timely delivery. This eliminates the variability and potential inconsistency of hiring individual freelancers from platforms like Upwork.

• Curated Talent Pool: While Upwork offers a vast, unfiltered pool of freelancers, Superside focuses on pre-vetting and curating top design talent, guaranteeing a higher level of expertise and quality.
• Dedicated Team Approach: Unlike Upwork’s project-based model, Superside assigns dedicated teams to clients, fostering stronger relationships, understanding of brand guidelines, and consistent design language across projects.
• Project Management Included: Superside takes on the project management burden, handling communication, deadlines, and revisions, which Upwork leaves to clients to manage directly.

Inconsistent Freelance Quality, Scaling Design Resources, and Managing Freelancers

• Inconsistent Freelance Quality: Businesses often face challenges finding reliable, high-quality freelancers on platforms like Upwork or Fiverr, leading to inconsistent results and wasted time and resources.
• Scaling Design Resources: Rapidly growing companies struggle to scale their design capabilities, often facing delays and bottlenecks when relying on limited in-house teams or traditional agencies.
• Managing Freelancers: Directly managing multiple freelancers can be time-consuming and complex, involving communication, contracts, payments, and quality control, diverting focus from core business operations.

Curated Network of Designers, Dedicated Project Management, and Scalable Design Solutions

• Curated Network of Designers: Superside offers access to a global network of pre-vetted, high-quality designers, ensuring consistent quality and expertise across various design disciplines.
• Dedicated Project Management: Clients benefit from dedicated project managers who handle communication, timelines, briefs, and revisions, streamlining the design process and minimizing client effort.
• Scalable Design Solutions: Superside’s subscription-based model allows businesses to scale their design needs up or down based on demand, providing flexibility and cost-effectiveness compared to hiring in-house designers or using traditional agencies.

Founding Story

When and How: Superside was founded in August 2015 by Fredrik Thomassen. The idea stemmed from Thomassen’s frustrations with finding reliable freelancers for routine design tasks during his time as co-founder and CEO of Zalora Indonesia and as a consultant at McKinsey & Company.

He wanted to create a solution that provided businesses with on-demand, high-quality design support without the usual risks associated with traditional freelancing.

Founders and Experience: Fredrik Thomassen, a graduate of the Norwegian School of Economics and London School of Economics, brought his experience in consulting and scaling businesses to Superside.

Haakon Heir (COO) and Jing Kjeldsen (CTO) are co-founders.

Solving the Problem: Superside’s solution involved building a platform that connected businesses with pre-vetted, high-quality freelance designers. They implemented a project management layer to ensure clear communication, quality control, and timely delivery, addressing the common pain points of traditional freelancing.

Early Challenges and Growth: Gaining trust in the competitive freelance market, building a reliable designer network, and refining their platform and processes were likely hurdles.

Innovation and Technology: Superside’s success stemmed from combining technology and a global talent pool. Their platform streamlined communication, project management, and delivery, while their curated network of designers ensured quality. Later, they integrated AI-powered design tools to further enhance efficiency and speed.

Key Growth Milestones

• 2015: Founded as Konsus, the company launched its initial platform offering on-demand design services.
• 2016: Accepted into Y Combinator’s startup incubator in January, accelerating growth.
• 2019: Rebranded from Konsus to Superside, reflecting its evolved mission and services.
• 2021: Secured a $30 million Series A funding round, enabling further technological advancements and market expansion.
• 2022: Expanded services to integrate AI-powered design solutions, enhancing creative production speed and efficiency.
• 2024: Achieved significant growth, with revenue reaching $44.9 million, indicating the company’s expanding market presence.

Market & Competition

Target Market

• Geography: Global reach.
• Clients: Superside focuses on enterprises and scale-ups seeking scalable and efficient design solutions. They currently have about 400 subscription clients, including well-known names like Facebook, Amazon, Salesforce, LVMH, Shopify, and Puma.
• Suppliers: Superside leverages a global network of freelance designers. Currently, they have 350 external freelancers with plans to increase this number to 1,000 in the coming months and potentially to 10,000 or even 100,000 in the future.
• Market Size: The graphic design market was valued at approximately $57.55 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $76.62 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 5.89%.
• Growth Trends:
  • Increasing demand for design services due to the growth of digital marketing and online businesses.
  • Growing adoption of freelancing and outsourcing by businesses of all sizes.
  • Rising popularity of subscription-based business models.
• Potential New Markets: Superside’s model could be applied to other freelance-heavy industries such as:
  • Web development: Providing businesses with on-demand access to teams of web developers.
  • Content writing: Offering a subscription service for various content creation needs.
  • Marketing and advertising: Expanding to offer full-service marketing and advertising solutions.

The growth trends in these markets mirror those of the graphic design market, with increasing demand for skilled professionals and a growing preference for flexible, on-demand solutions.

Competitor Landscape

Superside operates in a competitive landscape with numerous agencies, freelancers, and platforms vying for clients.

Their subscription model and focus on dedicated design teams differentiate them from competitors such as:

• 99designs: A platform connecting businesses with freelance designers for logo design, web design, and other creative projects.
• DesignBro: Similar to 99designs, DesignBro offers a platform for businesses to access freelance design services.
• Upwork: A general freelance marketplace where businesses can find designers among other professionals.
• Fiverr: Another general freelance platform with a wide range of design services available.
• Dribbble: A platform for designers to showcase their work and connect with potential clients, including businesses seeking freelance designers.

Marketing & Sales

Main Positioning Values: Quality & Variety

Website & Socials

Superside’s website, superside.com, garners around 300,000 monthly visits. Over half of these visits originate from organic search, while direct traffic constitutes a significant portion as well.

Referral and paid search traffic play smaller yet relevant roles, and the company also sees moderate traffic from social media channels.

Social traffic is predominantly LinkedIn (27k), Facebook (53k), Instagram (79k), and YouTube (79k) with a smaller audience on X, and TikTok.

LinkedIn leads the way in social media referrals, followed by Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, and YouTube. The largest share of visitors comes from the US, followed by the UK, India, Canada, and Australia.

Media Coverage

Superside has garnered significant attention in the creative services industry through its innovative solutions and strategic initiatives.

• In November 2024, Superside launched Superads, an AI-powered analytics platform designed to enhance advertising campaign performance.
• Superside (as Konsus), was featured in a Forbes article that highlighted Konsus’s aim to provide reliable, high-quality freelance services, addressing the common concerns and risks associated with hiring freelancers.
• In September 2019, TechCrunch reported that Superside had raised $3.5 million in funding to expand its design services, positioning itself as a premium alternative to crowdsourced design platforms, and adding capabilities like UI/UX design and motion graphics.

Marketing Strategies

• Target Audience: Superside primarily targets businesses, specifically marketing teams, agencies, and enterprises. They focus on those seeking scalable and efficient design solutions without the overhead of in-house teams.
• Customer Acquisition:
  • Blogs and Articles: Superside’s website features a variety of articles that provide insights into marketing strategies, creative processes, and industry trends. This content is designed to educate and inform, positioning Superside as a thought leader in the creative services industry.
  • Videos and Webinars: The company utilizes video content to showcase its platform’s features and benefits. They share expert advice on topics like video marketing strategies and AI in marketing.
  • Social Media Marketing: It actively engages with its audience on platforms like LinkedIn, sharing valuable content and fostering community interaction. They provide tips on building brand identity and creating engaging content, highlighting their commitment to helping businesses succeed on social media.
  • Public Relations: They actively engage in PR, getting featured in publications like Forbes and TechCrunch.
  • Direct Sales: Their website highlights a subscription-based model with pricing ranging from $3,000 to $80,000 per month, suggesting a direct sales approach for high-value clients.

• • Public Relations: They actively engage in PR, getting featured in publications like Forbes and TechCrunch.
  • Direct Sales: Their website highlights a subscription-based model with pricing ranging from $3,000 to $80,000 per month, suggesting a direct sales approach for high-value clients.

• Supplier Acquisition: Superside sources its talent from a global network of freelance designers, utilizing a rigorous vetting process to ensure quality and expertise. They manage these freelancers internally, providing a single point of contact for clients.
• Demographic Detail: While specific demographics aren’t explicitly stated, their target audience (businesses, marketing professionals) suggests they focus on professionals aged 25-54, with a slight skew towards males (59.7%) based on website demographics.

Product & Innovation

AI-Powered Efficiency

Superside integrates AI-powered design tools to streamline and accelerate specific design tasks, improving turnaround times without compromising quality.

Global Talent Pool

By embracing a remote-first model, Superside taps into a diverse, global talent pool of designers, offering clients a wider range of styles, perspectives, and specializations.

End-to-End Platform

Superside’s proprietary platform centralizes project briefs, communication, design iterations, approvals, and feedback, providing clients and designers with a seamless and transparent workflow.

Financials & Metrics

Revenue Streams

• Superside’s primary revenue stream is from monthly subscription fees paid by clients. They offer multiple service packages to suit varying business needs.
• The packages typically start at around $6,000 per month (Design Essentials) and can go up to $100,000 per month for the comprehensive End-to-End Creative package.

Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR)

• As of 2022, Superside reported an ARR of $45 million, reflecting substantial growth driven by its innovative design solutions.

Funding and Investments

• In 2016, Konsus got $1.5 million from Sam Altman and Slack Fund. Then, in 2019, they got another $3.8 million.
• Superside raised $30 million in a Series A funding round co-led by Prosus Ventures and Lugard Road Capital.

Employee Count

• Approximately 841 as of January 2025

Structure & Culture

Organizational Structure

• Executive Leadership: Fredrik Thomassen (CEO), Haakon Heir (COO), and Jing Kjeldsen (CTO) are co-founders. They lead the company’s strategic direction and overall vision.
• Department Heads and Vice Presidents oversee specific areas such as Talent, Video Services, Engineering, Advertising Services, and Sales. This structure indicates a departmental organization to manage various business aspects.
• Teams: Given their service offerings, Superside likely has dedicated teams for project management, design, technology development, marketing, sales, and customer support.

Culture and Values

• Customer-Centricity: Their focus on providing high-quality design services with quick turnaround times, clear communication, and dedicated project management suggests a strong emphasis on client satisfaction.
• Innovation: The integration of AI-powered design tools and their continuous platform development point to a culture that values innovation and efficiency.
• Global Collaboration: Their distributed team model, leveraging a global network of designers, indicates a value for diversity and collaboration across geographical boundaries.

Impact & Success

Customer Feedback

Clients express satisfaction with Superside’s ability to deliver high-quality design services within short turnaround times. The dedicated project management and access to a diverse pool of creative talent are frequently cited as key advantages.

Success Stories

Companies that have used Superside’s services have glowing testimonials as seen in the reviews below:

Growth & Future

Challenges and Risks

• Maintaining Service Quality While Scaling: As Superside continues to grow its client base and designer network, ensuring consistently high-quality service delivery across all projects will be an ongoing challenge.
• Competition: The creative services market is highly competitive, with many traditional agencies and freelance platforms vying for clients. Superside needs to constantly innovate and differentiate itself to stay ahead.
• Managing a Distributed Workforce: Effectively managing and maintaining communication, collaboration, and culture within a globally distributed team can present challenges.

Future Plans

• Superside aims to expand its client base, enhance its platform capabilities, and explore new service offerings to meet evolving market demands.
• Their recent launch of Superads, an AI-powered analytics platform, suggests a strategic move towards incorporating more data-driven solutions into their offerings.

Key Takeaways for Entrepreneurs

• Embrace the ‘Elasticity’ Mindset: Just like cloud hosting revolutionized server access, think about how you can create ‘elastic’ solutions in your industry. Can you offer scalable services that adapt to client needs without the limitations of traditional models?
• Capitalize on Shifting Trends: Superside’s success was amplified by the pandemic’s impact on remote work. Stay alert to major shifts in your market and be ready to adapt your business to capitalize on new opportunities.
• Target Giants, Strategically: Don’t be afraid to focus on high-value clients (even if it means saying no to smaller ones). The stability, volume, and brand recognition from large clients can fuel growth and attract top talent.
• ‘Hide’ Complexity, Deliver Simplicity: Superside streamlines the freelance experience for clients. What complex processes can you simplify in your business to offer a more user-friendly experience?
• Build Your ‘Freelancer Infrastructure’: Superside’s strength lies in its curated network of freelancers. Think of this as building your own internal talent pool. How can you attract, vet, and retain top-tier freelancers in your field?
• Own the Entire Customer Journey: Superside provides a single point of contact and a unified platform for all design needs. Strive to own more of the customer journey within your niche, offering a seamless and comprehensive solution.
• Don’t Wait for Funding to Validate Your Idea: Superside operated for years before securing significant funding. Focus on building a strong foundation, and proving your model, and the investment will follow.