We've all been here: a client with a vague brief, a "simple" project that balloons, an invoice that goes unpaid for months.

The freelance industry has spent 15 years building trust infrastructure pointing in exactly one direction — at us. Toptal's 5-step screening. Upwork's skill verification. Expert-vetted badges. All of it answers the client's question: "can I trust this freelancer?"

Nobody ever built the reverse. No one answers our question: "can I trust this client?"

So I'm building it. Vettly lets you search a client before you accept — payment reliability, scope-creep reports from other freelancers, and an AI analysis of their brief that flags risk signals (unrealistic budget, vague scope, the patterns that predict a nightmare).

It works on day one even without reviews, because the brief analysis is pure signal.