Loudsourcing

About Loudsourcing

Loudsourcing, operated by parent company Stunning Inc., is a prominent South Korean online platform that functions as a specialized marketplace for design and creative services. Established in June 2011 by CEO Kim Seung-hwan, the company identified a critical market gap: small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and startups increasingly needed high-quality design work but struggled with the resources to hire full-time designers or engage traditional agencies. Loudsourcing was founded to bridge this divide by connecting these businesses with a vast pool of freelance design talent.

The company's core business model is built on crowdsourcing, primarily through design contests. A client initiates a project by posting a brief and setting a prize money budget for a specific need, such as a logo, package design, website/app UI, or even naming and slogans. Designers from the platform's large community, which exceeded 200,000 members by late 2021, submit their concepts. The client then selects the winning design and receives the usage rights, while the winning designer is awarded the prize money. This model provides clients with a multitude of design options—averaging over 24 submissions per contest—at a predetermined cost, effectively mitigating risk and streamlining the procurement process.

To diversify its revenue streams and service offerings, Loudsourcing has expanded beyond its initial contest-based model. In late 2021, it launched 'Loud Market,' a service allowing designers to sell pre-made designs or offer specific, fixed-price design packages directly to clients in a one-on-one transaction format. This was followed by the introduction of a 'Designer Matching' service in 2023, which enables clients to receive and compare quotes from multiple vetted designers for their projects. The platform also caters to larger enterprises and public institutions, such as KBS, Lotte E&C, and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, often handling complex branding projects and even managing entire contests on their behalf.

The company's growth trajectory is underscored by successful funding rounds, including a Series A in 2020 and a KRW 6 billion bridge investment in the third quarter of 2021 from investors like DSC Investment and Mirae Asset Venture Investment. This capital has fueled the platform's expansion and solidified its position in the creative marketplace. Revenue is generated through fees associated with contest postings and commissions on transactions conducted through its various services.