Somehow, faster than you can say, “supply chain,” 2022 is coming to an end. It goes without saying that it’s been a tough year for everyone, particularly for those of us in hardware and manufacturing. Perhaps more than any other industry, ours is highly dependent on international markets and trade, and as a result, we feel the shocks from war, unrest, and inflation particularly acutely. This year’s challenging economic climate impacted every agency, enterprise, and startup we work with, forcing everyone to tighten their belts and prioritize efficiency over the rapid growth that characterized much of the pandemic period of the past two years.
Despite everything happening around us, 2022 was a surprisingly good year for informal. In tough times, more companies turn to freelancers to get their work done, and more professionals turn to freelancing to gain greater independence and supplement their income. In many ways, 2022 marked a significant evolution for us. We grew a lot across the board, but most significantly as a platform for matching great freelancers with great clients. Where we got our start in 2019 as a small, scrappy collective operating exclusively in New York City. We’re finishing 2022 as an international network of hundreds of the best professionals in hardware engineering, design, operations, creative, and marketing. Here are just a few highlights from the year:
- Paid out over $2.2 million to informal members.
- Doubled the number of freelancers in the informal community.
- 7 new brands designed (Zendo, Stakt, and Lodge, to name a few).
- Over 100 clients served and hundreds of new products made.
- Over 100 events both online and offline.
- 9 new cities now have Hardware Meetups. We’re launching many more in 2023!
- 5x growth of our internal team from January 2022.
- $0 raised by outside sources. We’re bootstrapped and damn proud of it.
As we look toward 2023, we’re excited to continue nurturing the client relationships we built in 2022, and welcome new clients into the fold. Equally exciting is the prospect of welcoming new members into the informal community, though we’re committed to resisting the urge to grow our ranks to thousands, at least not yet. Our priority has always been to find the best people, not the most people. Quality over quantity.
A huge "thank you" to all of our clients, freelancers, and community members for another great year. We truly couldn’t have done it without each and every one of you.
Have a project for 2023 or want to learn more about joining the collective?
