Startup Challenge Update: Delegating design with Elance

So... I'm bad at sales. I can't sell things, and it's a problem for me. This is why I've started a challenge for myself I'm calling the "Startup Challenge". I'm going to sell a simple website builder that creates a full domain name to website service for small businesses. Kind of like what launch rock does for startups.

Anyways... this is a brief update on the process, hiring a designer through Elance. At first I was skeptical, I got bids from some people who clearly did not know what I was looking for. For example I had a pakistani design firm send me a fully buzzword-compliant bid on the project that included

"professional and all browsers compatible / mobile compatible design"

So clearly right at the beginning I was a little skeptical. Then I looked into their portfolio and while they looked like they had a decent eye for design, but their implementation was subpar.

It did not feel like Elance was coming through. I kindly rejected their bid and moved on to other proposals. Then the same designer offered to cut there price in half.

At this point, I was ready to move on to Odesk, which to be honest has a far sexier look to it, but later that day I got a bid on a design from Marmon Creations, a U.S. based designer. I had a quick Skype call with him and accepted his bid.

This all happened yesterday (with reference to the time of this writing obviously) so I'm excited to see what designs he comes up with. More to come!