Independent work is booming and investors are loving it
Independent work is booming.
Self-employed workers and freelancers are the new backbone of the economy. In just two years, startups catering to this niche of workers have collectively raised $800M.
It’s not a surprise — many people are turning away from relying on only one income stream. Online gig work is a particularly high-growth niche.
The number of global online gig workers ranges from 154M to 435M and is increasing rapidly.
As of 2022, an estimated 36% of working Americans identified as independent workers. A 25% increase from the last time they did an estimate in 2016.
Let’s take a look at what’s happening in the industry.
Types of platforms in this niche that are trending:
♦ Job search platforms, many of which have become niche-oriented
♦ Accounting tools for managing finances
♦ Apps tailored for specific industries
Companies for freelancers & gig workers that are hot on the VC radar:
♦ Instawork — focuses on the hospitality industry, matching employers with short-term, seasonal and temp workers
The company raised 60M in a Series D round recently.
Total funding: $148M
Founded by: Sumir Meghani
Investors: TCV, Greylock, Benchmark, Craft Ventures, and others
♦ Nomad Health — an online staffing marketplace that connects clinicians to healthcare jobs
Total funding: $218M
Founded by: Alexander Nazem, Ryan A. Grant, MD, MS, MBA, FAANS
Investors: First Round Capital, RRE Ventures, JP Morgan & others
♦ Indy — offers advanced AI-powered accounting software for freelancers and professionals
Total funding: $99M
Founded by: Adrien Plat, Come Fouques, Pablo Larvor, Romain Koenig
Investors: Fast Forward, Kerala Ventures & others
♦ WorkMade — where freelancers can forget their taxes forever
Total funding: $7.3M
Founded by: Nick Simpson
Investors: VITALIZE Venture Capital, Slack Fund, M13, and others
♦ Gigs — connects companies to job seekers looking for full-time or part-time hourly roles in their neighborhood
Total funding: $5.7M
Founded by: Allen Narcisse
Investors: Struck Capital, Wonder Ventures, and others
♦ Wripple — marketing’s on-demand talent platform, connecting brands to top-quality freelancers and teams of experts
Total funding: $5M
Founded by: Bonny Davis Block, Shannon Denton, Ray Samuels
Investors: Silicon Road Ventures, Tech Square Ventures, and others
♦ Shakers — allows companies to work with entire teams of freelancers
Total funding: $8M
Founded by: Adrian de Pedro, Héctor Mata, Jaime Castillo Parages, Nico de Luis
Investors: Harvard Ventures, Athos Capital, and others
♦ Wingspan — a platform for freelancers to manage income, benefits, and taxes
Total funding: $17.5M
Founded by: Anthony Mironov, Greg Franczyk
Investors: a16z, Airbnb, and others
It’s exciting to see that so much money is going into this sector 🔥
Have you tried any of these platforms and are you an independent worker?
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