New freelancer jobs platform Shoutt.ai wants to give freelancers back six wasted hours every week. The founders say they know exactly how that feels
Two freelancers have raised £525,000 to solve a problem they know intimately. Years of cold coffee. Dozens of browser tabs. Endless scrolling through job boards. Shoutt.ai, founded by Saleem Yaqub and Jonathan Eadie, announced their pre-seed round on Monday. SFC Capital led the investment.
Yaqub brings 20 years of freelance digital marketing. He worked with brands such as TikTok, Nando’s and Herbalife, managing over $10 million in ad spend. Co-founder Eadie has 15 years in development and five in machine learning. He previously worked at Amazon and more recently Baillie Gifford, helping launch their first ML-driven systematic strategy.
The £10,000 freelancer problem
According to Shout’s estimations, the average freelancer wastes at least six hours weekly searching for work. That adds up to £10,000 in potential losses annually, according to the platform’s research. Platform fees make things worse, especially for smaller assignments.
Shoutt.ai claims it has built an always-on AI agent to fix this. However, its spin is that human experts trained it to spot relevant jobs 24/7. The platform, the founder’s claim, bundles everything into one personalised feed, giving freelancers a first-mover advantage.
How much does a Shoutt.ai subscription cost?
The platform runs a two-tier subscription model. The freemium model has no hidden fees and is for “part-time freelancers or hobbyists” and is “free forever”.
For most readers, that doesn’t sound promising. For example, with the free version, you’ll get to “view all matches” and pitch for “some gigs”. You’ll receive daily email alerts and an email roundup, directly to your inbox.
The paid “Pro” subscription is €25.99/month and is marketed to “most” freelancers.
You can “cancel the subscription at any time” and apply to unlimited gigs (scanning 4107 sources and counting). You’ll also receive instant Slack pings and daily emails. The company says the paid model and notification process should help freelancers “apply early and win more work.”
The company’s argument is that if you charge £50 hourly and save 25 minutes monthly, the premium subscription pays for itself. Shoutt claims users save 31 hours monthly on average.
Are platform fees worth it?
The big platforms charge serious commissions. Fiverr takes 20% of all earnings. Upwork charges 10-12% for most freelancers. For someone earning £50,000 yearly, that is £5,000-£10,000 in commissions.
But platforms argue they provide value through client acquisition and payment protection. Meanwhile, multiple zero-commission platforms have emerged in 2026.
With 1.57 billion freelancers worldwide earning $1.5 trillion in 2024, and the freelance platform market projected to reach $22.52 billion by 2035, Shoutt.ai enters a growing but competitive market.
Time is money. The question is, will freelancers be willing to pay to find their next project?
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