C
Crew (Previously ooomf)
Handpicked Freelance Web Design & Web Developers
About Crew (Previously ooomf)
Crew, originally launched as Ooomf, was a technology company based in Montreal that developed and operated a curated online marketplace connecting businesses with freelance creative talent. The platform was founded by Mikael Cho, Luke Chesser, Stephanie Liverani, and Angus Woodman. Cho's journey into entrepreneurship began after moving to Montreal and struggling to find work without speaking French, which prompted him to start his own company. Initially a design agency, the team identified a significant pain point in managing non-creative tasks like legal and finance, which inspired the pivot to a marketplace model designed to streamline the connection between quality projects and skilled professionals.
The business operated as a two-sided marketplace, serving both project owners seeking talent and a pre-vetted network of independent designers, illustrators, and developers. Crew's value proposition was its high-quality, invite-only network of freelancers who had completed projects for notable companies like Dropbox, Medium, and Tinder. The business model was commission-based, taking a fee from the total project value facilitated through the platform. Over its lifespan, the company processed over $40 million in projects and attracted talent from more than 32 countries.
A significant milestone in the company's history was the creation of Unsplash, a side project that initially served as a marketing tool for Crew. Launched as a simple Tumblr blog with ten free, high-resolution photos, Unsplash's popularity grew at an explosive rate, eventually eclipsing the core business. Faced with Crew's slower growth and lack of profitability, alongside Unsplash's rapid expansion, the founders decided to focus their efforts on the photo-sharing platform. This strategic shift led to the sale of Crew to Dribbble, a prominent online community for designers, in April 2017. The acquisition allowed the founding team to dedicate its resources and personnel entirely to growing Unsplash as a separate entity.
Source: Dealroom company dataKnowledge graph
More headlines
Funding history
Company financing events and reported valuations.
| Deal type | Date | Amount | Valuation | Investors | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACQUISITION✓Exit | Apr 2017 | $0 | — | Dribbble | — |
| SERIES B✓Equity / VC | Jul 2015 | $10M | $40M | Boldstart Ventures · Real Ventures · Accomplice · LDV Capital | — |
Growth signals
Latest recorded traffic for Crew (Previously ooomf) is 1.6K monthly website visits, down 60% over the last three months. Crew (Previously ooomf)'s team grew 300% over the past year.
Similar companies
Company identity and context are open; selected comparison metrics preview what is available on the platform.
Investments and acquisitions
Recent portfolio relationships for companies that also act as investors or acquirers.
Investors
From Dealroom's funding and investor records, grouped by the round each investor first entered.
Seed5 investors entered at this stage
Real Ventures
Boldstart Ventures
Inovia Capital
Fred Destin
Naval Ravikant
Series A8 investors entered at this stage
Accomplice
LDV Capital
AngelList
BDC Capital
FounderFuel
ZenStone Venture Capital
Atlas Venture
LaunchCapital
Other known investors1 additional known investor
Dribbble
Source: Dealroom Talent Intelligence.
Global footprint
Market sentiment
An AI-synthesised read of the highest-engagement posts about Crew (Previously ooomf) on X, ranked by likes and reposts, corporate channels excluded.
Reading the room on X — pulling top posts and synthesizing themes…
Source: X recent search ranked by engagement (likes + retweets) · Synthesis by Claude · Cached for 1 hour
See Crew (Previously ooomf)’s full profile on Dealroom
Request a free trial to see the complete deal history, financials, people graph and growth signals.
Takes under a minute. Already use Dealroom? Log in.