What &Friends does

&Friends is a London-headquartered creative production company and talent management platform that serves brands, advertising agencies, and large enterprises globally. The company operates two interlocking offerings: (1) a full-service creative production capability delivering TVC, photography, video, CGI, animation, online series, and documentary content for clients such as Vodafone, Gruppo Campari, Revlon, Audi, John Lewis, and BBC x tourism boards; and (2) the TEAM+ platform, a proprietary freelancer management system that provides a 360-degree view of client talent pools and supports sourcing, onboarding, managing, and paying creative professionals. Its FlexSourcing methodology blends in-house teams, outsourced specialists, and agency servicing under a single senior producer point of contact, allowing clients to assemble and dismantle specialist production teams by market.

The company was founded in 2017 (previously operating as Mr. White) and expanded globally in 2022 through a merger with Sydney-based Cavalry Freelancing, which added APAC scale and an established freelancer marketplace. Following the merger, &Friends operates hubs in London, New York, and Sydney, and serves a community of 2,000+ pre-vetted specialists across 100+ countries on behalf of 350+ client companies. The leadership structure is a co-CEO model (Tom Maberly and Dave Bentley), with Matt Carroll as CCO and Rich Barlow as GM APAC.

The business model is a hybrid of marketplace and professional services. On the platform side, &Friends charges a 15% commission on successful freelancer bookings (presented as approximately half the industry standard), with multiple payment options including direct invoicing, PAYG employment, and full payroll. On the production side, services are sold on a quote-based, project-specific basis across three engagement modes (Full-Service Creative, Production Facility, and Talent & Resourcing). Distribution combines direct enterprise field sales, self-service platform usage, and agency channel partnerships, with a content-led marketing approach anchored by case studies, executive thought leadership, and trade event activations.

Name

&Friends

Legal name

&Friends

Website

https://andfriends.world

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

&Friends is a London-based creative production company and freelance talent platform that helps brands, agencies, and enterprises source vetted creative specialists and run content production across 100+ countries via its TEAM+ platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Creative Production Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (541810), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418), Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures (7114), Software Publishers (513210)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Integrated Full-Service Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Affiliate Marketing & Partner Networks (BPAMALAI), Creator Management & Talent Representation (BPAFAHAB), Digital Workplace & Collaboration Consulting (BPAHAEAH)

Keywords

• Creative production services
• Talent management platform
• Freelance marketplace
• Content production agency
• Advertising production services

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Freelancer Commission: Platform fees charged when freelancers are successfully booked through &FRIENDS. Starting at 15% of booking value, significantly lower than industry standard rates. Also offers payment options including direct freelancer invoicing, PAYG employment through the platform, and full payroll solutions.
2. Creative Production Services: Full-service creative production for brands, including TVC, photography, video content, online series, CGI, animation, and campaign assets. Services provided end-to-end from concept to delivery.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

&FRIENDS is a full-service creative production company that delivers end-to-end marketing content for brands (TVC, photography, video, online series, CGI, animation, campaign assets). The company also operates the TEAM+ talent management platform, a proprietary SaaS system that connects businesses with a global community of 2,000+ pre-vetted creative freelancers across 100+ countries, managing the complete freelancer lifecycle from sourcing and onboarding through payment.

Product overview

&FRIENDS is a full-service creative production company and talent management platform that operates through two main offerings: (1) the &FRIENDS Platform and TEAM+ system for managing the complete freelancer lifecycle from sourcing through payment, and (2) three creative production service models (Full-Service Creative, Production Facility, and Talent & Resourcing). The platform also encompasses FlexSourcing methodology for blending in-house, outsourced, and agency talent, with Cavalry representing its APAC talent community after a merger. Content production capabilities include documentary series like Perspectives for Campari and interview series like What Goes Into Designing...

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• &FRIENDS Platform (TEAM+) Proprietary SaaS talent management platform (TEAM+ - Talent Expansion And Management+) enabling companies to source, book, onboard, manage, and pay creative freelancers globally from a single system. Provides a 360-degree view of client talent pools with central management for communication and collaboration.
• Cavalry APAC talent platform for advertising and digital professionals providing access to a global community of creative specialists and makers. Now operates as part of the integrated &FRIENDS platform.
• Full-Service Creative End-to-end content production service where &FRIENDS handles projects from concept to delivery, allowing clients to focus on the bigger picture. Covers TVC, photography, video, online series, CGI, animation, and campaign assets.
• Production Facility Production partnership service for clients who own their creative ideas but need a production partner to turn ideas into finished content. &FRIENDS serves as the execution partner while the client retains creative direction.
• Talent & Resourcing Specialist creative talent support service for clients who manage content projects in-house but need additional specialist creative resources. &FRIENDS provides vetted freelance talent to supplement client teams.

Quantifiable outcome

• Deliverables completed in weeks rather than months (Vodafone Neo campaign delivered 250+ assets per campaign including CGI, photography, and video in 8 weeks)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Cavalry FreelancingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2022Sydney-based talent platform merged with &FRIENDS in 2022, combining Cavalry's APAC freelancer marketplace with &FRIENDS' global content production capabilities. This merger created the integrated TEAM+ platform and extended &FRIENDS' global reach and influence. Cavalry co-founder Dave Bentley moved to &FRIENDS as Co-CEO; Rich Barlow continues to lead APAC operations.
• Hue & CrycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner agency collaborating with &FRIENDS and Campari Bar Academy's Creative Director Monica Berg on the 'Perspectives' documentary series exploring global bar culture. Hue & Cry contributed to the editorial platform and creative direction alongside &FRIENDS' production capabilities.
• Campari Bar AcademycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing partnership with Campari's Global Bar Academy team in Milan for content production including the 'What Goes Into Designing...' interview series and the 'Perspectives' three-part documentary on global bar culture, shot across 10+ countries.
• Trans+ On ScreenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDirectory of trans and non-binary professionals in TV and film, founded by Alice Blanc. &FRIENDS supports the platform and collaborates on LGBTQ+ creator initiatives, including interviews and industry advocacy content on supporting LGBTQ+ creators behind the camera.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Toptal: Toptal operates a curated network of top freelance talent worldwide with focus on premium quality, including creative and marketing professionals. Comparable to &Friends in pre-vetting approach and concentration on higher-end enterprise engagements rather than open marketplace volume.
• MediaMonks (Monks): Monks (formerly MediaMonks within S4 Capital) is a global creative production and digital advertising services company serving enterprise brands across markets. Closely comparable to &Friends in combining global content production with technology platforms, though operating at much larger scale.
• Superside: Superside is a tech-enabled creative production company delivering on-demand design and creative services to enterprise brands via a global talent pool. Highly comparable operating model to &Friends: distributed specialists, on-demand delivery, and platform-based engagement for enterprise marketing teams.
• Hogarth Worldwide: Hogarth is WPP's global creative production and adaptation arm delivering content production services for major brands across markets. Directly comparable to &Friends as both offer end-to-end content production for global enterprise brands, although Hogarth operates at vastly larger scale as part of WPP.

Emerging players

• Bark: Bark is a marketplace connecting businesses with local professional service providers, including creative, marketing, and media production. Comparable as a marketplace facilitating access to creative freelancers, though more SMB-skewed than &Friends' enterprise focus.
• Twine: Twine is a global creative services marketplace connecting brands and agencies with freelance creative professionals (designers, video producers, animators). Comparable to &Friends in the freelance creative talent marketplace space, with smaller enterprise focus.

Broad incumbents

• Upwork: Upwork is the largest global online marketplace connecting businesses with freelance talent across categories including creative and design. While much broader and bigger than &Friends, it competes for the same freelance creative talent and enterprise customer wallet, especially via Upwork Enterprise.
• Prodigious (Publicis): Prodigious is Publicis Groupe's global production network providing content production at scale for the holding company's brand clients. Comparable to &Friends as a scaled, globally distributed production service for enterprise brands, but operating inside a major holding company.
• Fiverr: Fiverr is a publicly-listed global marketplace for freelance creative and digital services spanning design, video, animation, and content production. Comparable freelance-creative-services overlap with &Friends, though Fiverr focuses on transactional marketplace dynamics rather than managed enterprise production.
• Dentsu: Dentsu is a global advertising and communications holding company operating agencies across markets. Relevant as both a customer of &Friends (using its resourcing) and a competing production service provider across advertising agencies that &Friends also serves.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC6bxVPbMrzo7LIRItaGNdlA
• Facebookfacebook.com/AndFriends.World
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/and-friends-community
• Instagraminstagram.com/andfriends.world

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about &Friends