YouTeam Review: Is It Legit or a Scam?

The popularity of remote work has skyrocketed in recent years. Technological advances have made it easier for people to collaborate globally. As a result, more companies turn to outsource marketplace and specialized services to fill gaps in their teams.

An example is YouTeam – an online platform that connects businesses with experienced remote talent.

Check out this YouTeam review to know more about what precisely the talent site has to offer. And what makes it different from other outsourcing marketplaces.

What is YouTeam?

YouTeam is a one-of-a-kind network of over 50,000 pre-vetted talent pool engineers. Most are from development agencies around Europe, Latin America, and London firms.

They match tech executives with the exact talent they need. And they are backed by Y Combinator and Horizon Capital.

YouTeam is an online service that connects development agencies with talented web developers, designers, digital marketers, writers, and more.

The company vets each freelancer before they approve to join the platform and lists their skills on their profile. It ensures businesses can find the exact professionals and delivers precisely what they are expected of.

How YouTeam Works?

Software and web development are consuming the online world. But, software developers and other technical talent are in limited supply.

With this, large IT businesses compete for the best engineers. And there has been an increase in remote working freelancers or turning to offshore agencies.

The issue with either method is the same: ensuring that outsourced work is of excellent quality. And that the people working on your project are a good match with the rest of your team.

YouTeam is a British startup company that established a marketplace for offshore talent. They initiated a hands-on approach to connecting individual developers and agencies.

They also include major enterprises with extra developer capacity. And match companies or small businesses looking to expand their development teams through outsourcing.

YouTeam adopted the matching engine model. The goal is to bridge the gap between employing an individual freelancer and the extra scrutiny an agency provides.

For starters, no consistent mainstream technology for identifying a reputable organization. Second, it is challenging to discern whether a company has a suitable team for the project. It is because engineers are rarely disclosed until the contract is signed.

Next, the interests of the client and the provider might diverge in different ways. And so there is often little trust, especially at the beginning of the collaboration.

The YouTeam marketplace addresses this concern by including profiles of individual developers from the supply-side firms with which it has collaborated.

Instead of hiring an agency and hoping for the best who will become part of your outsourced team, the whole process is to contract with specific individuals at the agency for a defined period of time or over the course of a much longer project.

Local development agencies provide entrance to the top talent in many overseas markets in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. But, the way the market operates is incorrect.

Their premise is simple: people are far more essential than companies, so they consider people skills first. That is what occurs on the YouTeam platform. You find engineers you want to collaborate with first, and then you meet their agencies. Employees can now choose the projects they want to work on.

See Related: Toptal Freelance Rates: Know Your Worth When Bidding

How does YouTeam differ from other company IT outsourcing?

After submitting a project request, YouTeam’s matching engine finds profiles of developers who are a good fit for the project. What makes YouTeam unique from other outsourcing marketplaces is they suggest developers available to start work within the next week or two.

Instead of visiting hundreds of software development firms, spending your personal time researching them and their developers, or conducting interviews and negotiating contracts and pricing. You can get this information in a single point through YouTeam’s unique matching model.

Clients can look at CVs and portfolios in very loose brief. They can handpick and interview developers before working with software companies that use them.

Clients can engage a developer and work much faster than with traditional outsourcing. It is because sometimes it takes 6-8 weeks to work on a project.

YouTeam conducts an impartial pre-vetting procedure on the software development companies that provide developers for their talent pool.

Individual coders’ skills are validated, and they must pass a HackerRank for Work test.

Clients are assigned a client-side Customer Success Manager. They will help them communicate with the software developers and legal and financial issues.

Clients enjoy a risk-free work process and have enough initiative. Since YouTeam provides escrow instruments, it ensures payment is made only upon acceptance of work.

See Related: Fiverr Review: Is It Legit or a Scam?

How to sign up for YouTeam?

Their talent pool is only accessible by invitation. And they carefully select which development houses to invite.

Before approval to join their talent pool, all companies go through a multi-stage due diligence process. It includes reviewing their track record and third-party references.

They also interview staff at all levels, conduct a thorough legal review, assess their process and culture, and assign technical test tasks and interviews to all developers.

Requirements needed to start working on the YouTeam platform

• The developers will be based in Eastern Europe or the Americas: close to the clients. It is because real-time work is a top priority for YouTeam.
• You’re at ease with the staff augmentation model (outstaffing);
• You have prior experience working with clients in the United States or the European Union. And can give testimonials, case studies, and so on upon request;
• You have a team of more than 20 developers;
• Your company’s talent pool includes of Mid-to-Senior and Senior developers. And they have engaged with clients in English.
• You can give any papers that YouTeam may need for its due diligence operations. It is for entity, identity, and bank account verification purposes.

How To Launch Projects On The YouTeam Platform?

1. Find a Perfect Match

The YouTeam’s Support Team assists clients in locating an engineering team that meets their needs. They conduct interview calls and help with the negotiating process.

When founding a perfect match, YouTeam drafts an NDA and a Service Agreement for the project.

2. Pay the First Invoice

YouTeam’s contractor will send the client the first invoice after signing the contract. It will be via email. After logging in to their account on the YouTeam platform. They can also locate it in the Invoices section.

The invoices are issued in advance of the Services. And it will be supplied during the next Servicing Period. The Servicing Period is usually two weeks or a month long.

They will receive deliverables at the conclusion of each. They will have five business days to review the results.

The money will be transferred to the contractor within five business days. It is if clients have no complaints. Or the clients can approve the delivery on the YouTeam site earlier.

If the contractor has not supplied Services in compliance with the contract’s technical requirements and Project Specifications. Clients can contact their assigned Customer Success Specialist. With this, YouTeam will delay payment until the disagreement is resolved.

The contractor will send a new invoice at the end of each Servicing Period. It is critical to pay it before the start of the new Servicing Period.

3. Kick-off Call and Start of the Project

YouTeam holds a kick-off call for the client and the new team when they pay the first fee.

A kick-off call’s goal is to connect cooperation participants. It is also for discussing project essentials such as:

• Tools for project management and communication.
• Create, assign, and report on tasks.
• The tasks and responsibilities of team members.
• Business and support hours for the team
• Expectations for time reporting.
• Project completion dates.

4. Accept the Project Delivery

The contractor submits work results at the conclusion of each Servicing Period. The client has five business days to provide feedback.

They can go to the invoicing part of the YouTeam site and press the “Confirm” button to release the payout. It is if they have no complaints about the delivery quality,

If the clients do not select the “Confirm” button within five business days. The system will assume they have granted a tacit agreement to the delivery.

They can connect to their Customer Success Manager if clients have any concerns. YouTeam can postpone the payment until they resolve the matter with the contractor.

5. Payment Release

YouTeam releases the funds to the contractor once the client has accepted the deliverable.

Clients should ensure they have taken care of the new invoice at this step. It is to ensure the development process is constant and seamless.

See Related: Toluna Review: Is It Legit or a Scam?

How Projects Are Managed By Partnering With YouTeam?

Every project has several levels of management.

• Clients – All clients are in charge of their team and may communicate with each member. They make the rules.
• Customer Success Manager from YouTeam – It comes at no cost to every client. They operate as an account manager for the project. They encourage communication between parties. And they also handle legal and financial aspects of the project and resolve disputes.
• Project Manager – It is workable to engage a skilled project manager from the software agency with which they work. This person can work on the project full-time or part-time. And they will ensure that everything goes as planned.

How does YouTeam differ from Upwork?

Upwork is a freelance marketplace. YouTeam’s talent pool does not include any freelancers. That’s one of the major differences between the two platforms.

All professionals on their page are full-time middle and senior developers. And most of them are from software development firms in South America and Eastern Europe. If you hire them, they will be focused on your project. And their time and workspace will be organized and managed.

All businesses in their talent pool go through a multi-stage due diligence process. It includes reviewing their track record and third-party references.

It includes asking their whole team relevant questions and conducting a thorough legal review. And they assess their processes and culture. And they assign technical test tasks to developers who are supposed to be on YouTeam.

YouTeam also offers a “concierge” service to each customer. They provide specialized support from a Team Advisor during the hiring process.

They also have a Customer Success Manager. They promote communication between parties throughout the project which is free of charge.

See Related: Toptal vs Upwork: What Is Better?

Pros and Cons of YouTeam

In this YouTeam Review, we will also evaluate the pros and cons of the platform. The biggest benefit of YouTeam is its curated selection of experienced remote professionals. Businesses don’t have to worry about sifting through thousands of unqualified applicants.

YouTeam has done this by vetting each applicant before adding them to the platform. Plus, there are no upfront costs involved with YouTeam. You only pay when you hire someone from the platform.

Another reason to trust this company is they are among the listed companies under GC Covert Security. As you can see from the image below. GC Covert Security Ltd is a London-based professional security services firm.

They are focused on offering bespoke solutions to high-end corporate, retail, and events industries. The company focuses on security and investigations. So you can guarantee that the website is legitimate and safe.

On the downside, some users have reported problems with project management within the system. Also, there are issues with payments not going through at times.

Businesses can access qualified professionals using YouTeam’s services. But they may also compete against other companies for those same professionals. And it is due to limited availability on the platform.

Is YouTeam Legit?

Yes, YouTeam is a legitimate outsourcing marketplace. It offers a curated selection of experienced remote professionals. And so businesses don’t have to worry about sifting through thousands of unqualified applicants.

There may be minor hiccups along the way. But YouTeam remains one of the most reliable platforms for experienced remote talent.

With the extensive vetting process and wide selection of professionals available for hire. Businesses will find what they need from YouTeam’s services without hassle or difficulty.

FAQs

Related Resources

• PeoplePerHour Review: Is It Legit or a Scam?
• Hireable Review: Is It Legit or a Scam?
• SolidGigs Review: Is It Legit & Worth It?