Company Naming

Upwork, the world’s largest online freelancing marketplace, came to us as they prepared to launch a new offering designed specifically for enterprise employers. While Upwork had long been known as a platform where individual freelancers and companies could connect, this new business would shift the experience for large organizations—opening doors to hundreds of open roles and handling the complex work of sourcing, vetting, and matching talent at scale.

Our friends at Science x Story introduced us to Upwork to create a name that could stand alongside the Upwork brand while signaling a more elevated, supported, and enterprise-ready experience. It needed to feel distinct enough to represent a new level of service, yet connected to the Upwork ecosystem and ethos.

After multiple rounds of exploration and evaluation, the name Lifted rose to the top. Lifted captures the feeling of being supported and cared for, evoking what it means to be in good hands. At the same time, it subtly plays off the “Up” in Upwork, extending the brand’s upward momentum and reinforcing that this new offering is still firmly part of the Upwork family. The result is a name that conveys both the elevated experience enterprise employers can expect and the trusted foundation they already know.