In late March 2022, we announced the acquisition of Comatch, a curated marketplace for independent management consultants and industry experts.

Comatch is Europe’s leading consulting marketplace, having built a strong community of more than 15,000 top independent management consultants and industry experts. Since launching, the Berlin-headquartered marketplace has grown across nine markets with 130 full-time employees. 

Here at Malt, we’re excited to bring Comatch onboard, adding renewed strength to our community of over 350,000 freelancers. As the largest freelancer community in Europe, we’re well positioned to offer Europe’s most comprehensive network of high-skilled freelancers and management consultants, making Malt the ideal partner for all business activities.

But we understand that for our freelancer community, the acquisition raises questions. And rightly so! In this article, we’ve highlighted and answered six major questions we’ve heard from our community over the last few weeks. Scroll down to read the answers or watch the replay of our Malt Community webinar, recorded on the 19th of April, 2022.

1. How can we take advantage of this acquisition? How will the Malt community be impacted?

The goal for this acquisition is to build on the strengths of both Malt and Comatch to bring the best value for all our freelancers. Together, we will broaden and deepen our geographic footprint which already covers 11 distinct regions.

Our freelancer communities will remain separate for now. Having said that, we are already leveraging synergies in our approach to clients and planning ways we can bring the best of both worlds together. These synergies and the diversity of customers means that there will be more projects overall, and on a more diverse range of topics. 

In the medium term, we’ll also be assessing where and how we can broaden our community benefits by sharing best practices, including on administrative & partnership services.

2. How can I be referenced in the Comatch marketplace? Do I need to have 2 profiles to be visible on both platforms?

Since the two freelancer communities will be staying separate for the short and medium term, Malt freelancers will need to apply for a Comatch profile in order to be visible on both marketplaces. 

At this point, it’s important to understand that there are some key differences in the ways the Malt and Comatch marketplaces are set up:

  • The Malt community is completely open – anyone can create a profile and there is no specific eligibility criteria.
  • The Comatch community is a vetted community, and will remain this way. As such, there are eligibility criteria for those wishing to create a profile on Comatch. In order to be accepted you must meet at least one of the following criteria:
    • Have at least 2 years experience in a top-tier management consulting firm, or
    • Be an industry expert with a strong leadership record with at least 10 years experience and a clear industry or functional focus, or
    • Have at least 2 years experience as a founder of a successful start-up or more than 4 years experience in the start-up world in a strategic context or
    • Have at least 5 years experience at a leading digital company and/or profound expertise in digital transformation topics or functions.

You can find more information about these criteria on the Comatch website at https://www.comatch.com/consultants. 

3. Will Malt freelancers get access to Comatch clients and projects?

The short answer is yes. And there are two possible pathways for this to happen:

  • If you meet one of the requirements listed above, you should apply to create your Comatch profile in order to get access to clients and projects hosted by Comatch.
  • If you are a freelancer working in other expertise areas, and do not meet the Comatch criteria listed above, never fear. There is still a way for you to benefit from wider access to Comatch clients and projects. Our teams are currently working to give you access to clients and projects from Comatch. Our plan is to send Comatch hosted projects directly to Malt freelancers via Malt Plus. In this case, you will receive a Malt Plus opportunity from the Comatch entity, with a description of the client and mission.
malt and comatch

4. Does this change anything in the way I currently work with Malt ?

Nothing changes in the way current Malt freelancers work with Malt. If you work as an experienced independent consultant though, and meet at least one of the criteria listed in answer to question two above, we encourage you to also apply to the Comatch community, in order to receive more opportunities relevant to your area of expertise. 

5. Will both marketplaces merge? Or stay separated?

For now, the Malt and Comatch marketplaces will not merge. We are currently looking into the specificities and synergies of the two products and marketplaces and assessing and planning for how to move forward with the “best of two worlds”.

6. What are the next steps for Malt in terms of international expansion ?

While we’re not able to communicate our exact expansion plans at this stage, Malt’s ambition is to become the European leading freelance marketplace, with a strong presence in all major economies of Western Europe. One thing is for sure – we want to use Comatch’s footprint to accelerate and open the countries where Comatch is already present and Malt is not. These include the UK, Austria, Switzerland and the Nordics.

Interested in finding out more? Watch the full replay of our Malt Community webinar, recorded on the 19th of April, 2022.