When the buyer finds a coder they like, they can hire them on the spot. To make the transaction a safe one, the buyer does not pay the coder directly, but escrows the funds into a special Rent A Coder account. This guarantees to the coder that the buyer is credit-worthy, and also reassures the buyer, because the coder receives no money until the work is completed. When the work (or pre-agreed on portion of the work) is completed…the buyer release the funds to the coder. When the work is completed, both parties rate the other party to help future buyers and coders on the site.

    Should a problem arise, the Rent a Coder facilitator will step in to help out. Should a dispute occur, the facilitator arbitrates according to the rules of the site to ensure a fair and equitable outcome for both parties.

How does Rent a Coder make money?

    Rent a Coder makes money as a percentage fee of the final transaction amount. This fee is 15% and taken from the coder. It goes to pay credit card transaction fees, gateway fees, arbitration fees, affiliate fees, advertising fees and the remainder is the company’s profit.

How did the idea for Rent a Coder come about?

    Rent a coder was the brainchild of Ian Ippolito, the CEO of Exhedra Solutions, Inc. As a programmer himself, Ian had been receiving too many requests for custom programming. After turning away paying customer after paying customer he realized that there was a need that was not being met. In January of 2001 he began sketching out the idea while on training trips and a long vacation in Italy. By the middle of the year the site was ready to go live. At the time of this writing…only a year later, the site facilitates an average of 1,217 successful software projects a month. The majority of buyers on the site are from the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia (in order of volume). The majority of coders are from the United States, India and Romania (in order of volume).