

Show HN: Kenvak, representation for freelance web professionals - kennedysgarage
http://kenvak.com

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rmcastil
Interesting business concept. From their copy it seems like their goal is to
remove a lot of the pains developers have associated with doing freelance. My
main concerns would be

1\. How much does the service cost. Is it a percentage of your rate? Is it
flat?

2\. What is their vetting process for clients/freelancers. They claim to "only
represent the most talented designers and developers". That's quite the claim.

3\. How do they provide payment protection?

I'm fine with the contract negotiation, representation, and customer relations
but the other business offers need more details.

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kennedysgarage
My name is Kennedy and I am represented by Kenvek I would love to help answer
any questions.

1\. They take 10%. Which makes sense to me as my rates and time varies from
project to project.

2\. Brian, the main man behind it, who represents me is only taking on 10 full
time freelancers at this time. He wants to start small and is in no rush take
on a bunch of people. This way he can focus on the best people. The vetting
process right is strong referrals

3\. This is something that I had concerns with as well. Like anything else he
is trying new things as he goes. The current process is to hold the money from
the clients in the bank account for the sanity of both client and freelancer.
For me collecting payments has always been a pain with a lazy client.

edit: formatting

~~~
rmcastil
Thanks for the reply!

> the current process is to hold the money from the clients in the bank
> account for the sanity of both client and freelancer.

Sounds kind of like an escrow service. What kind of measures does he have in
place if there is a discrepancy between the client and developer? For instance
what if the client feels cheated somehow and wants some money back. Admittedly
if you're a good contractor and have vetted your clients this hardly ever
happens but there are edge cases.

~~~
kennedysgarage
Thinking about I am pretty sure that it is an escrow. I haven't had to worry
about collecting payments from a client in a while. I look at it more as a
safety net for both me and the clients. Brian helps establish goals and
milestones to make sure everyone is on the same page at all times. This helps
to ensure no one feels cheated.

------
ryanSrich
> Generally the most frustrating part of freelancing is dealing with the
> business side of things.

I strongly disagree. The hardest part of freelancing is finding quality
clients. Not finding leads, not the legal work, not the accounting, not
anything else.

What would be interesting is a service that coaches clients on how to be
reasonable. How to have realistic expectations, how to set a realistic budget,
how to ask for the right things and when to just let the designer or developer
_do their job_ .

That's a service I would pay for.

~~~
revak
Hey ryanSrich, I'm Brian, an agent @ Kenvak. I agree with you that finding
qualified clients is one of the toughest if not the toughest aspect of
freelancing. The great thing about Kenvak is we have amazing relationships
with some world class clients, of which we have vetted. Kenvak will also be
doing a weekly blog with coaching tips for freelancers. I am only representing
10 web professionals, this is to ensure the highest quality service for each
freelancer.

------
gearoidoc
In my experience the hardest part of freelancing is the actual selling.
Getting leads isn't difficult, nor is drawing up contracts. It's getting from
"Hello" to a signed contract thats difficult and these guys (AFAICS) don't
help with that.

If they did I'd certainly be interested!

~~~
revak
gearoidoc, I agree with you, going from "hello to a signed contract" can be a
timely process. What we have found is that by being selective with the
freelancers that we represent, clients are confident that their finished
product will meet or exceed their expectations. I am only representing 10
freelancers at this time so it allows me to develop a relationship with each
web pro. When companies contact us for work, they know that we only represent
the best, thus making the selling aspect easier.

------
robwco
So basically become an employee because 'Gosh freelancing is scary!'

~~~
kennedysgarage
My name is Kennedy and I am represented by Kenvak. I wouldn't say it's scary
and I actually handle the business side of things quite well. I have found
that the non-billable hours dealing with client is a waste of time and it's
nice to have someone take care of all the business things so I can focus on
being creative.

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nnx
What's your main differentiator compared to other similar recently launched
services (eg. getlambda.com) ?

~~~
revak
nnx, I'm Brian, an agent with Kenvak. We are only representing 10 web
professionals at this time. This allows us to focus much more on each
freelancer.We spend a few days reviewing each freelancers work, our
freelancers let us know their ideal clients and we match them with projects
that they are excited to work on.

------
ryanjanvier
Interesting concept. However, it is not very useful to someone like myself who
has a niche market.

~~~
revak
Why not?

~~~
ryanjanvier
My specific target niche is First Nation organizations and small businesses in
Northern Alberta, Canada. I would prefer to be represented by someone who
understands the unique needs of my customers. However, I do see value in your
service for someone who works with multiple niches.

~~~
revak
You are correct, we are not a great fit for everyone. We take pride in getting
to know both who we represent and the clients.

~~~
ryanjanvier
All the best to you and your team.

~~~
revak
Thanks!I wish you success in your endeavors.

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sergiotapia
What fees does Kenvak take upon project completion? Percentage based, flat-fee
per pay tier?

~~~
kennedysgarage
They take 10% of the project.

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gadders
So this is a recruitment agent, then.

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kennedysgarage
My name is Kennedy and I am represented by Kenvak. I am not the biggest fan of
recruiters. A recruiter is hired and paid by a company to find people to fill
that role. My rep Brian is paid by me and he works for me.

~~~
gadders
Not in the UK, at least.

I work as a day rate IT contractor. A recruitment agent matches candidates
with roles, and takes X% on top of what the company pays me. Not a million
miles away from what you describe.

~~~
kennedysgarage
That is very interesting. I would love to know more about how this works in
the UK. Do you have any agents that you have worked with in the past that I
can check out to have a better understanding.

