Building The Independent Economy

What’s Next for the Building the Independent Economy Podcast with Oona Rokyta and Trent Bigelow

In today’s episode, we speak with IEC leaders Oona Rokyta and Trent Bigelow to learn more about what you can expect from the Building the Independent Economy podcast going forward. 

Topics discussed: 

- Short background introductions on who Oona Rokyta and Trent Bigelow are and what their companies — Lance and Abound do. 

- Why going forward, the podcast is being transitioned from Abound to the Independent Economy Council (IEC)

- What the IEC is and who the members are. 

- What the big picture vision for the IEC is and what the next 12 months will look like.

EP 8 - Lili’s Ayal Levin: What Independent Workers Need from Their Bank

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.

Topics discussed in this episode:

• What Lili is and how they help independent workers
• The role banks play in the independent economy
• What independent workers expect from their banks
• How Lili and Freelancers Union are supporting freelancers
• The challenges of redesigning banking for the independent worker
• The future of banking for freelancers

EP 7 - Kinly’s Donald Hawkins: Building Generational Wealth for Black America’s Independent Workers

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.

EP 6 - Stoovo’s Hantz Févry: Helping Modern Employees Reach Their Financial Goals

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.

Topics discussed in this episode:

• Hantz's background and why he founded Stoovo.
• The differences of working in a startup environment vs his beginnings at Google.
• The definition and challenges of the modern employee
• What Stoovo is solving for them.
• How modern employees differ from traditional employees.
• How Stoovo's AI helps gig workers reach their financial goals.
• What Hantz foresees for the future of work.

EP 5 - Soothe‘s John Ellis: How Companies Can Better Meet The Needs of Independent Contractors

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.

Topics discussed in this episode:

• What Soothe is and what problems they are solving
• Incentives for independent wellness workers
• What independent wellness workers were doing before Soothe
• The challenges of serving customers and independent workers simultaneously
• Quality controls that help keep trust and safety on the platform 
• Why wellness providers want to be independent workers
• Top 3 demands from independent workers
• What platforms should be doing to better serve independent contractors

EP 4 - Harry Campbell On The Ins and Outs of The Ridesharing Economy

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.

Topics discussed in this episode:

• How Harry became The Rideshare Guy.
• Harry's self experience driving with Uber and Lyft.
• Primary motivators and benefits of gig economy jobs.
• Are gig workers employees or independent contractors? Harry's views on the current debate.
• Top reason for which many drivers still want to be independent contractors.
• The turnover rate for ridesharing jobs.
• The rise of delivery drivers during the pandemic.
• Challenges that rideshare platforms face to best win over drivers.
• The future of ridesharing as a category.
• The implementation of Prop 22 and what comes into play.

EP 3 - SideHusl’s Kathy Kristof: Making The World a Better Place for Freelancers

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.

Topics discussed in this episode:

• What a side hustle is and what SideHusl.com is all about.
• How Kathy transitioned from being an award-winning financial writer to founding SideHustl.
• The Husl score and how the rating system works.
• Advice to platforms on how to achieve a better score.
• How she noticed an uptick in the interest that badly rated companies put on to achieve a better score.
• Long term trends for independent work and the gig economy.
• Gig economy regulation attempts and some of the negative effects that the California Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) has had.
• What has been different for side hustlers over the last year and how side hustles have become lifesavers during the pandemic.
• How the gig economy is maturing and where it's headed to.

EP 2 - Freelancers Union’s Rafael Espinal: Why Independent Workers Need an All Encompassing Support System

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.

Topics discussed in this episode:

• What the Freelancers Union is and what they do.
• How the freelancer workforce is fragmented and how important it is to build a community around it.
• The state of freelance work in America, the impact COVID-19 had on freelance workers, and the trends moving forward.
• What the freelance economy looks like (from gig workers to designers to construction workers).
• What life was like for independent workers during the pandemic.
• Top 3 ‘Must Have’ in the advocacy agenda for the next couple of years.
• Advice for those that hire freelancers and independent workers to be better allies.
• How startups can get involved and learn more about Freelancers Union.
• Services or apps that Rafael feels like are missing in the space.

EP 1 - Insider’s Reporter Tyler Sonnemaker: Understanding Gig Economy Workers

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! 

Topics discussed:

• How Tyler ended up covering the gig economy
• What makes independent workers unique and what unites them
• Gig economy trends and predictions for next year.
• California Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) and how it’s playing out in different industries.
• Advice to companies that work with gig workers.
• The importance of research to understand gig workers’ issues and whether a solution can help them or not.
• What opportunities startups or the apps that pay independent workers have to better serve them.