Insights from Gig Economy Workers, Entrepreneurs, Investors & Policy Makers
Arising from an interactive discussion hosted by Mayfield & The Influencer Series, this ebook shares insights from Lyft drivers, Poshmark, Thumbtack & ProductHunt co-founders, Mayfield investors, and an elected official from the City of San Francisco. Topics include gig economy business models, how and why millennials will propel the gig economy, policy implications of this new way of working and consuming, and the implications on global employment of an increasingly flexible workforce.
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We have over 1.5 million sellers on Poshmark and a large proportion of them are millennials. Many of them are doing this as a hobby but this is also a new way of life for them. It’s been a really interesting journey to watch a new generation embrace a new type of work.
We partnered with the founding teams at Poshmark and Lyft in 2011, leading their Series A nancing rounds in February and August, respectively. Five years later, it has been rewarding to see how Logan & John of Lyft and Manish & Tracy of Poshmark have stayed true to their mission.
I want the gig economy to work — I want to see new job creation and I want consumers to benefit. But are these good businesses? At the end of the day, they rely on people — and, usually, lots of them. The underlying unit economics sometimes don’t work, with some losing money on every transaction. Entrepreneurs need to ask themselves what is different with their on demand business that makes the unit economics better?
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Tim Chang and Navin Chaddha are managing directors of Mayfield, a global venture capital firm with over $2.7 billion under management. The Firm has been championing people for more than 47 years. Mayfield invests primarily in early-stage IT companies in enterprise and consumer sectors. Mayfield invests in India-based companies through a dedicated fund. Since its founding in 1969, the Firm has invested in more than 520 companies resulting in 114 IPOs and more than 160 mergers or acquisitions. Some recent successes include Elastica (acquired by Symantec (NASDAQ:SYMC)), Marketo (acquired by Vista Equity Partners), SolarCity (pending acquisition by Tesla NASDAQ:TSLA), and The Rubicon Project (NYSE:RUBI).
Founded in 2010 by Ravi Belani and Michelle Gonzalez, The Influencer Series hosts intimate, invite-only gatherings of influential, good energy leaders. Everyone invited is nominated by a peer, and screened by a hosting committee.
