Toptal Blog

The Toptal Blog is the top hub for developers, designers, management consultants, executives, and entrepreneurs, featuring key technology updates, tutorials, freelancer resources, and management insights.

Share
Share
Toptal core team members share their experience, expertise, and perspectives on the Toptal Edge Blog

Featured in

World-class articles, delivered weekly.

By entering your email, you are agreeing to our privacy policy.

The Power of Optionality, Part 2: Volatility to Opportunity with Distributed Teams

Optionality is critical as we confront economic dislocation due to COVID-19. Learn how to identify options, rapidly test hypotheses and prototypes, scale options, and create ongoing learning for your organization with the aid of remote, on-demand talent.

8-minute readContinue Reading
Erik Stettler

Erik Stettler

Erik is a co-founder of a global venture capital fund that has invested in 50 startups (raising more than $500 million) and has realized six exits. He serves as Toptal’s Chief Economist and holds an MBA from Harvard.

Why Diversity of Experience Is Better: A Q&A with David Nuff

David Nuff is a principal at design agency Nuff and part of the Toptal network, where he designs for brands including Cisco, Nestle, and Google. Paul Estes spoke with Nuff about his experience as a freelancer and why organizations are increasingly adopting on-demand talent.

5-minute readContinue Reading
Paul Estes

Paul Estes

Staffing.com editor-in-chief, The Talent Economy Podcast host, and former innovator at Microsoft.

Trusting a Remote Workforce: A Q&A with Michelle Labbe

Michelle Labbe, VP of people at Toptal, leads the people and recruiting teams. Paul Estes recently sat down with Labbe to discuss the culture of a fully remote organization and how it differs from a central office.

5-minute readContinue Reading
Paul Estes

Paul Estes

Staffing.com editor-in-chief, The Talent Economy Podcast host, and former innovator at Microsoft.

How to Make the Remote Work Transition With Ease

A sudden transition to remote work can be challenging. Adopting an iterative approach, maintaining strong communities, and setting up a home office that’s built for productivity are keys to success.

7-minute readContinue Reading
Cameron Chapman

Cameron Chapman

Cameron comes from a design background and is the author of two web design books: Color for Web Design and The Smashing Idea Book.

Remote Reinvention: How to Find Freelance Work

Building up a pipeline of work as a finance consultant requires a portfolio approach to the various inbound and outbound options for lead generation.

5-minute readContinue Reading
Toptal emblem

Toptal Talent Network Experts

Lines of Communication: A Typeface History (With Infographic)

Typeface evolution has been slower than other areas of design but looking back over the past 500+ years shows staggering advancements, from the invention of the printing press to variable web fonts.

7-minute readContinue Reading
Cameron Chapman

Cameron Chapman

Cameron is the former Head of Content at Uxcel, where she was an instructional designer of UX design courses, skill assessments, and other educational design content. She has more than 20 years experience in the design education space, contributing to Toptal’s Design blog, Smashing Magazine, Web Designer News, CodeVisually, and Webdesigner Depot.

The Power of Optionality, Part 1: Tech & Talent

The greatest risks can be systematically converted into valuable opportunities via optionality. This three-part series offers a framework for evaluating risk and reward in extreme contexts while utilizing on-demand talent to leverage these opportunities fast.

6-minute readContinue Reading
Erik Stettler

Erik Stettler

Erik is a co-founder of a global venture capital fund that has invested in 50 startups (raising more than $500 million) and has realized six exits. He serves as Toptal’s Chief Economist and holds an MBA from Harvard.

Remote Work and the Globalization of Services

Until recently, globalization has been about the trade of goods, not services. The ability of companies to hire remote workers allows—for the first time—the global trade of services. This will have major implications for the global economy.

10-minute readContinue Reading
Kleanthis Georgaris

Kleanthis Georgaris

Kleanthis is a seasoned product leader and entrepreneur. He is the former SVP of Product at Toptal and has held other roles in strategy and product at Microsoft, McKinsey & Company, and multiple startups. Kleanthis has a bachelor’s degree in computer science and an MBA from the National Technical University of Athens.

Don’t Build, Integrate: A Guide to CRM Integration

Customer Relationship Management systems provide businesses with more clarity and information about customer behavior, helping boost sales, retain existing customers, and attract new ones.

In this article, Toptal Software Developer Leif Gensert outlines the basic challenges of CRM integration and explains what you can do to make the process as efficient and frictionless as possible.

14-minute readContinue Reading
Leif Gensert

Leif Gensert

Leif has a decade of experience in back-end development using Ruby and Elixir. He’s worked for both large consulting firms and early-stage startups. His side projects and open source contributions ensure he is always up-to-date on the latest tech.

World-class articles, delivered weekly.

By entering your email, you are agreeing to our privacy policy.

Join the Toptal® community.