When I wrote about Upwork (UPWK) in November last year, the company known for connecting freelancers and businesses through its online platform was showing some ambiguous traits:
- It was operating in an important and growing industry with a substantial market opportunity – although, on further inspection, the addressable market turned out to be considerably smaller than advertised by the company.
- It had the potential of strong network effects through its platform business model - however, the leader in the fragmented market for connecting freelancers and businesses seemed far from established.
- It showed healthy