Building The Independent Economy

Independent workers are the new backbone of the US economy.  

Their rapid growth and participation in the workforce (fostered by the pandemic) has come with unique requirements that challenge the traditional banking system.

What are freelancers expecting from their banks?

To better understand this, we sat down with Ayal Levin, General Manager at Lily, New York who helped us understand the financial tools, services and insights freelancers want to have access to.

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Black America is one of the most educated communities in the US. However, it has been underserved and unbanked because of prevalent systemic issues that remain unsolved today.

To better reflect and understand these financial disparities, we sat down with Donald Hawkins, co-founder and CEO of kinly. Donald is not only a member of the community who can understand and feel their needs better than anyone but also someone who is committed to repairing a long-time debt: help them build a generational wealth legacy.

Topics discussed in this episode:

The context that inspired Donald to found his company.
What intrinsic characteristics of the traditional banking and financial industries have made them so unfair.
How money works in America.
How financial disparity affects African American independent workers and entrepreneurs in particular.
What the main financial educational needs in kinly's communities. 
Trends that will shape financial services in the near future.

There used to be a clear path to the work economy in the US: you would move from getting a degree to an entry level position to finally develop a career within a company.

With the advent of the gig economy, independent workers evolved monetizing their skills. However, the fast pace of changes has created a void of tools and support so that these workers can get the most out of their time.

In today's episode, we sat down with Hantz Févry, CEO and co-founder of Stoovo, and we learned what modern employees need to reach their financial objectives and how his company is helping them achieve their goals.

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What are the unique things that come into play when you're an independent contractor versus an employee? 

That's a question John Ellis has asked himself to better serve independent workers' needs. John is the CEO of Soothe, a global platform that connects consumers seeking wellness services with health and personal care providers wishing to grow their business. 

In today's episode we sat down with him to discuss the role of job platforms in the gig economy, what kind of support they should give to independent contractors, and what the main demands are.

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Harry Campbell was a part-time driver with Uber and Lyft before founding The Rideshare Guy; the number one destination for gig workers to stay up to date on the gig economy.

When he started his blog, drivers quickly found him and felt understood. Since then, he has been teaching thousands of them to make the most out of these opportunities.

What drives the gig economy? What are the pros and cons of being a gig economy worker? Are gig workers employees or independent contractors? Listen to the answers to these questions and many more from the man who has walked the ‘driver walk’ before becoming a rideshare thought leader and expert.

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When Kathy Kristof was writing for publications such as Los Angeles Times, CBS News, Kiplinger, Reuters, Forbes, she was constantly pitched by companies offering her part time job opportunities.

She started to dig into them and discovered how contracts were oftentimes one sided, and some of these companies were misleading freelancers about the nature of their relationship.

That's when she decided to found SideHusl, an independent platform review site. Since then, she has devote her career to level the playfield, giving freelancers the power of knowing what they are getting into before saying YES.

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The freelancer workforce is very fragmented and having a space to unify their voice has been crucial to become stronger and advocate better for their needs.

Freelancers Union is the largest and fast-growing organization representing the 56.7 million independent workers across the country and its president, Rafael Espinal, has been relentlessly working on the front lines to expand their rights and extend unprecedented protection.

If you are in the business of serving independent workers and you are looking for ways to do your job better, Rafael Espinal and The Freelancers Union are your must stop on the way to excellence.

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The gig economy is diverse and so are gig workers. 

Although their needs, background, experiences and the industries they work in can vary, there is one common thread that unites them: uncertainty.

On this first episode of Building the Independent Economy podcast, we sat down with Tyler Sonnemaker, who does an amazing job covering the gig economy, labor and workforce issues at Business Insider. 

He is an expert on technology, labor policy, rideshare, delivery, contract/gig workers, workplace discrimination and harassment; and companies such as Airbnb, Amazon, DoorDash, Facebook, Google, GrubHub, Instacart, Lyft, Postmates, Shipt, and Uber.

Are you looking to better understand independent workers’ needs and expectations? Then this episode is a great start! 

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