Toptal develops pioneering journalism software and business model, securing $50 million valuation for news startup.

The client was poised to revolutionize journalism but needed an expert team of developers and strategists able to scale with their business.

Client

A digital-first media organization providing news, reporting, and syndicated content to publishers globally.

Industry

Media and Entertainment

Delivered Services

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Challenge

Professional journalists and editors alone can’t possibly break every story in the world on time. After decades in the industry, a group of startup founders had a solution: an automatic editorial software and journalism platform that could accelerate publication and incentivize timely reporting—but they needed a flexible team to tackle their pioneering plan.

Solution

On-demand expertise

After guiding the client through a discovery period to understand their needs, Toptal Teams assembled a team of product managers, business analysts, and developers to build a powerful cross-platform application and create an optimized business model.

Commitment to growth

The team built a cross-platform solution over the next two years, including a complex rules engine with over 30,000 grammar rules, a submission platform, subject boards, and more, all hosted on Microsoft Azure PMs and business advisors collaborated with the founders to pivot their business model as needed to maximize profitability and sustain growth, funding future development costs.

Outcome

1,400 journalists, 2x faster turn time

The platform Toptal created for the client sources news from over 1,400 internationally distributed journalists who can submit stories via desktop, mobile device, and even speech-to-text. The automated editorial process reduces time spent on manual editing, enabling 2x faster news coverage.

$50 million net worth

Toptal’s team of experts built a rock-solid foundation for the business, helping to secure a $50 million valuation at launch. Using Agile techniques and a strategic, phased rollout plan, Toptal created a business model with limitless scalability and future potential.

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From inception to completion, the team at Toptal exceeded our expectations at every opportunity. We couldn’t be more pleased with the experience and deliverables.
Chief Financial Officer
Journalism Startup

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