EP29: Gig economy & the Future of Work {Niranjan Nakhate, Co-founder of Futwork previously called Frapp}
On the episode we speak with a founder who has built a company in a space that has now been coined as the "Future Of Work." A space that means the future is driven by the gig or task economy, an array of micro-jobs offered to those willing to perform it at their convenience. We dig into this concept, how this is playing out for the millions who are out of work or are ready to work.
Niranjan also shares how the business has evolved over the years from being a student discount platform to becoming a student verification service to now enabling anyone to get work via Futwork.
The startup boasts more than 300 brands that have used its solution to run gigs and micro-jobs. This includes big names like Samsung, Starbucks, Spotify, Universal Music, Puma, and many more.
Niranjan & Armaan are Narsee Monjee (NMIMS) graduates who started out in 2014 on this journey and have worked through many business models to get to this point. A great listen.
Book recommendation from Niranjan - Lean Startup by Eric Ries
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Checkout futwork.com/ if you have any gigs or projects you wanted done and din't want to go through the hassle of hiring and managing an intern!
Stay Safe & don't forget to share the episode!
V (@varunvummidi)
Timeline:
01:00 - Introduction
03:06 - Handling COVID
05:35 - Slack group to bridge the WFH gap
06:36 - Having a young team
08:25 - Launching the Student Discount card
11:15 - Building a thesis around a student user base
16:20 - Moving away from Offers
18:02 - Why a platform was needed for earning opportunities
20:10 - Getting paid for tasks
27:00 - Pricing in the gig economy
29:47 - Profile of Gig workers
32:45 - Futwork Rebrand
33:07 - Companies embracing gigs/tasks
35:38 - Acquiring Futwokers PAN India
40:09 - Earnings from Gigs
43:10 - Building Trust
46:10 - Running a business as 20 year olds
48:26 - Mistakes that could have been avoided
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