ViVi,network & benefits for gig workers

ViVi’s mission is to help build better economic conditions for gig workers by helping them build financial stability and gain work benefits. More than 57 million U.S. workers are freelancing, a trend mainly driven by the desire to attain a better work-life balance. However, 44% of people freelancing last year reported struggling financially and having difficulty to make their ends meet. The difficulty to land clients, predict income and the shift towards precarious work triggered with the rise of the on-demand platforms has made it harder for workers to afford essential benefits such as insurance, retirement, and sick leave. Benefits that can enable familiar stability but that are systematically granted to traditional employees. Through a new worker-oriented network, ViVi provides gig-workers with a professional representation online that enables them to connect with clients, build various income streams while helping them finance and access work benefits.

The pandemic has exposed the vulnerabilities and the need for a safety net for the non-conventional workforce. However, even before the pandemic, people freelancing in America have struggled financially to afford work benefits (54%) and to cover basic needs such as housing, utilities, and medical care (44%). The economic difficulties are attributed to 3 key factors; 1) The incremental growth of self-employment driven by the desire for flexibility from traditional workers 2) The propagation of certain practices across on-demand platforms that are accelerating the shift towards precarious work. Practices like determining workers' rates while charging high commission fees, or setting workers in a race to the bottom while competing with emerging markets. 3) The inflexible benefit system which ties social security to traditional employment.

As a result, people freelancing lack economic stability. Workers that remain outside platforms struggle to land clients and establish a solid cash flow and those using online platforms struggle maintaining clients and getting a fair payment for the amount of work.

With the destigmatization of remote work and the expected increment of self-employment caused by the higher unemployment rate there's a need for new platforms solutions that can generate better market/economic conditions for the gig economy.

ViVi is a new worker-oriented network that aims to raise the gig economy by creating new standards. Our solution empowers self-employed workers with technology, helping them grow their business, build connections and helping them to finance and access benefits.

Anyone freelancing can sign up and create a Business Page -A professional online representation of their business that enables them to create offers, receive bookings, and payments. Business pages integrate a digital wallet that allows workers to build benefits up in their rates when receiving payments. For example, every time a client books and pays for services, a percentage previously set by the worker goes to a benefit account (digital wallet) where the worker accumulate funds that s/he can used to purchase benefits such as sick time off, insurance and more, within ViVi. This way workers can create their own income opportunities, control their rates and earnings, fund, and access work benefits. 

We use AI to suggest the benefits that better suit the needs of the different type of workers, analyzing income fluctuation, industry, savings and more. Also this technology will help us suggest connections and services that better suit the work requirements from clients.

Our solution initially serves low and middle-income service workers freelancing in the US. Due to the current situation with the pandemic, we are focusing our efforts to encourage remote work among young people (21-39 years old) under unemployment as well as those that were already freelancing. 

ViVi is a company built to change the paradigm of the gig economy, celebrate diversity, prioritize people, and build better economic opportunities for everyone. Our vision is to expand our solution globally and help every independent worker thrive in the online economy. 

We actively involve ourselves within self-employed communities, conduct face to face interviews, and constantly seek feedback from our subscribers. We’re growing our beta list and receiving helpful and positive feedback from them. We keep them engaged through our monthly newsletter and educational content about micro-entrepreneurship, finances, and self-care.

ViVi addresses their needs like any other platform in the market by making it easier for them to run their business online, not working for a platform. With ViVi, workers can easily establish their business online, build a reputatioffer their services, control their rates and earnings, plan, save, and access benefits easily, in one place. 

Our solutions use technology to create better conditions for the independent work-force while helping them build a safety net. The gig economy involves diverse types of "micropreneurs" and complex cash flows. Our solution equips them with all they need to establish their business online, earn better income and automatically save for benefits in every single service they provide.  In future, our system will be also capable of recommending workers' news skills based on different data points and suggest training as part of the benefits. 

Our solution is different from others in 3 ways: 1) We help workers to build a run a business online 2) We give them the tools to build and predict their income. 3) We help them to automatically save, build a safety net and access work benefits.

There are two types of gig work that have been aggregated on the online platforms; first, "geographically tethered work" lead by platforms such as TaskRabbit, care, Thumbtack, and "remote work" lead by platforms such as Upwork and Fiverr. These solutions are consumer-facing-platforms, mediating gig work. Platforms on geographically tethered work heavily govern the interactions between the supply and demand, controlling workers' rates and work. In both cases, workers are cogs in their economic activity. This approach is generating adverse conditions for the gig workforce and making it unsustainable. 

Our solution proposes a worker-centered approach. ViVi empowers gig workers with technology so they can respond to the demands of their clientele while providing ways to build a Safety net. This way workers can grow into small businesses and thrive in the online economy. With ViVi, anyone desiring to work on their own, can have a free professional online representation (Business page) to connect with clients, be found online an establish a reputation. Business pages integrate a store, a payment system and a benefits account. This way, workers of any type can offer any service, receive bookings and payments while saving and funding work benefits.

We are network platform. Our solution is a web-based application. We use AI  to learn about workers interactions in order to provide suggestions for benefits, skills and potential clients.

If workers have the power to create their own economic opportunities, control their rates and build a safety net more people in the gig economy can enjoy better work conditions and thrive in the gig economy. 

Our goal for the next year is to launch our platform and help 1000 gig workers to fully run their business on ViVi.  In order to provide them with exposure and help then connect with clients our efforts demand build build partnerships with corporations, firms, and startups as well with small business organizations and unions. 

Our long term business goal is to make benefits more affordable and easier to access within our platform. To accomplish this goal we require to build significant growth so we can earn power of negotiation with the different benefit providers. We also need to improve and advance our technology to make it easy for users to purchase the benefits. 

We require capital in order to provide technical support, sustain and boost our marketing efforts and implement our benefit store. We also need to build partnerships with big carriers in order to provide more affordable health insurance and other benefits for gig workers.

- Building significant traction to attract insurance companies.

- Seeking strategic investment with venture firms in insurtech space. 

Two founders

One part timer

two contractors

 I 'm an immigrant, Latina, female founder with experience in marketing research, design, ux/ui and international business relationships. I freelanced for more than 5 years and lived as a digital nomad managing marketing teams in Mexico, Brasil, Peru, and Colombia. I Previously confounded 2 social ventures; Doers, a market place for domestic workers helping them access free education and community support. And Hands Up Group- HUG (www.hugsocial.org) a community of young community leaders co-creating social impact projects to benefit communities affected by the armed conflict in Colombia. I'm passionate about leveraging technology to create better economic conditions for people. I'm part of the World Economic Forum Global Shapers and MIT Boot-camp community. 

My co-founder Lawrence Karasek is from Canada. He is also passionate about social impact, economy and technology. He is an experienced technologist and entrepreneur with a diverse history as a start-up founder, corporate technical leader, and software engineer. He is former interim CTO at B-capital and he has worked in a variety of industries including consumer retail, health and fitness, entertainment, and market research over the past 20 years.  He also holds a Master's degree from the University of Waterloo.

We seek partnerships to:

• Reach out top organizations to pilot our solution and present them the talent we have
• Advise on marketing and key partnerships 
• Build connections with investors to achieve our fundraising goals

We charge a small service fee per transaction for both sides,workers and clients. When workers receive bookings our platform helps user to secure the payment.  Also, we have a job board where workers can show interest and client can assign services. 

Solve can help us to gain access to the network and receive entrepreneurship training. So far we have been bootstrapping firmly believing that we can make a difference in the world. However, we need so much more than passion and grit. We need the advice to take better decision, we need to hear the perspective from other solvers, experts, and mentors, we need the support of a community to face the daily challenges of a startup. We need to be surrounded by more people that believe that we can do better as a society and that use technology as a force of good. 

Our solutions improve the work conditions of workers in the gig economy. ViVi helps them to have a professional online representation of their business, connect with clients, and build a safety net.