# Assemble

> Assemble is the New York enterprise platform formerly known as Publicist. It helps marketing organizations source vetted freelance and fractional specialists, onboard and classify them, run payroll, track budgets and purchase orders, and redeploy proven people through reusable talent benches. Founder Lara Vandenberg launched the marketplace in 2020; customer demand gradually turned it into operating infrastructure for an external marketing workforce, prompting the Assemble rebrand in February 2026.

- **Founded:** 2020
- **Headquarters:** New York, United States
- **Founders:** Lara Vandenberg (Founder and CEO)
- **Products:** Curated talent sourcing and benches, Freelance management system, Compliance and onboarding, Payroll and financial operations, Embedded talent operations
- **Notable:** Built a network reported by Adweek in 2026 at more than 50,000 senior marketing freelancers., Expanded from a project marketplace into an enterprise product covering sourcing, worker classification, onboarding, payroll, purchase orders, and reporting., Raised a $1.9 million seed round in September 2021.

## Products & services

- **Curated talent sourcing and benches** — Vetted pools of freelance and fractional marketing specialists, including reusable benches tailored to an organization’s recurring needs.
- **Freelance management system** — A centralized system for engaging existing and newly sourced contractors across projects and teams.
- **Compliance and onboarding** — Worker classification, jurisdiction-aware onboarding, contracting, and indemnification for independent marketing talent.
- **Payroll and financial operations** — Managed payroll, consolidated invoicing, purchase-order allocation, and reporting on external talent spend.
- **Embedded talent operations** — Dedicated account and talent partners who support sourcing, engagement, and workforce administration.
- **Operator** — A historical Publicist service that let users book one-to-one advice from senior marketing and communications executives.

## Achievements

- Built a network reported by Adweek in 2026 at more than 50,000 senior marketing freelancers.
- Expanded from a project marketplace into an enterprise product covering sourcing, worker classification, onboarding, payroll, purchase orders, and reporting.
- Raised a $1.9 million seed round in September 2021.
- Founder Lara Vandenberg was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in Marketing & Advertising in 2019.
- Rebranded Publicist as Assemble in February 2026 to reflect its wider workforce-infrastructure role.

## Latest updates

- **2026-02** — Publicist rebranded as Assemble, with no change in ownership, team, or leadership, positioning the product as end-to-end infrastructure for external marketing workforces.
- **2026-02** — Adweek reported that Assemble’s network had grown beyond 50,000 senior marketing freelancers and highlighted a shift toward external specialists comprising 30% to 70% of some enterprise marketing organizations.
- **2026** — The company’s current offering emphasizes reusable talent benches, classification, onboarding, payroll, purchase-order tracking, consolidated invoicing, and workforce reporting.

## Links

- Website: https://letsassemble.co/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/publicist-co/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/publicistco
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/publicistco/

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/assemble
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-21