Human Cloud

Joy Batra is the founder of Quartz Consulting, a freelance consulting firm that has advised start-ups, venture capital firms, and Fortune 500 companies. Joy is also the author of “The Freelance Mindset” which has been featured in The Washington Post, Fast Company, and Oprah Daily.

Joy represents the trajectory of the freelance economy, particularly with regard to the freelancers themselves. At the forefront of this evolution is the growing category of executive-level freelancers. These individuals embody a profile that aligns seamlessly with roles such as directors, vice presidents, and general counsels — Joy herself serves as a prime example in the realm of general counsel. While certain datasets may categorize them as freelancers earning over 100k, this segment signifies an exciting transformation in the freelance landscape, showcasing the capacity of freelancing to unlock expansive and diverse scopes of work.

Enjoy!

Leaders, Sundar represents the fastest growing segment of the freelance economy...mid level top performers with impressive logos choosing to freelance or build for the freelance economy rather than continue as a Director or above role.

Prior we had Angie Moody who was a top performer at Microsoft, Visa, and Instagram. Then Ernie Park, a top performer at Hubspot. Now Sundar, a Carnegie Mellon grad and top performer at Uber and ready for it...a debt manager at the US Treasury.

A couple of things that really hit me:

Enjoy!

Leaders, Asal is the definition of an HR Changemaker we want on our side. She was Phillips' Global Head of Strategic Priorities Delivery,

What blew me away were four things:

In this episode we'll hit on the elephant in the room - why every Enterprise isn't already 10-30% freelance. As Asal puts it, there's a black box mystery in effective talent management, and there are tough conversations that need to be had to move an initiative as transformational as freelance forward.

We'll also hit on what I believe is the painkiller that we can solve for HR - enabling successful HR transformations by unlocking agility both internally and externally.

Enjoy!

While many experts agree that the freelance economy is the future of work, access to credit is a leading barrier for solopreneurs, freelancers, and freelance marketplaces. While large, traditional companies can leverage credit to grow their business, freelancers as an asset class lack the same traditional banking opportunities, hindering the growth of individual freelancers, thus hindering the growth of freelance marketplaces.

Credilinq is an exciting technology and company that can break this barrier. By building a net new custom technology stack, that enables an algorithmic solution to digitizing alternative data that banks can’t access, Credilinq has built a solution that can embed within marketplaces to provide marketplace users access to credit that traditional banks would overlook.

Deeper than credit, Vikram and Deep encompass the future of entrepreneurs using cutting edge technology to transform the paradigm of work. As you’ll learn, Vikram and Deep have been able to harness digital banking, generative AI, and cutting edge data science to unlock opportunities for traditionally underserved communities.

You’ll also learn how entrepreneurs can harness their expertise to transform an industry.

Leaders,

AI is all the buzz...but what is the practical application of AI for every leader? According to Arvind, GM at Wipro, a leading global digital transformation consultancy, the practical application is that in the next 5 years, there will be a fundamental disruption in the value of intelligent labor.

This disruption will impact everything - including your job, your team structure, and your company structure. Here's a quick example from Arvind. Competitive research that typically takes a week with a human team can take a couple hours with an AI agent.

We've already seen early examples of this through the freelance economy. Whether individuals choose to work as fractional CMO's, COO's, etc instead of continuing on the corporate ladder. Or companies embracing freelancers as a strategic sourcing channel to drive outcomes like North America's leading motorcycle manufacturer leveraging over 30 freelancers to build their collaborative riding mobile application. Or companies like Intuit creating TurboTax Live, a standalone feature made possible by building freelancer talent pools.

Arvind will help us understand early examples of success with AI, describe use cases we can all apply now, and show us how tools like ChatGPT can generate brainstorming ideas.

He will also give us a 4 step process we can apply to start embracing AI:

Step 1: Change our mindset

Step 2: Scope what can be done

Step 3: Leverage Data

Step 4: From Pilot to Production

Leaders,

Rishon is one of the founders of 10x, which is one of the OGs operating as a talent agency instead of a marketplace. In 2012, Rishon and Michael Solomon started 10x and brought decades of experience managing musicians, directors, and other creative entities to the technology sector.

One could argue 10x predicted the future by building a talent agency with a hyper rich and robust talent network instead of being a large horizontal marketplace. Because of this, 10x has carved their place as a trusted and exclusive resource for companies seeking the best and most coveted freelance tech experts.

Key learnings to listen out for:

1: How Rishon and Michael 'entrepreneured' their way into 10x

2: How to build partnerships, robust talent networks, and deep client relationships

3: Exciting marketplace innovations, specifically their TAP (talent availability program)

4: What has NOT changed in the freelance economy

5: Balancing landing vs expanding, should you service existing customers or go net new

6: What is the HOOK for 10x and the freelance economy

Leaders,

Private Talent Clouds are all the rage right now, yet Pavel has been helping large companies build their Private Talent Clouds since 2014. Prior to 2014, Pavel was running his legal firm, when multiple clients asked if he could help structure the contracts and pay independent contractors. This became Solar Staff, a solution for US and European large companies to compliantly contract and pay their independent contractors. Quickly, Solar Staff scaled as the freelance economy grew through three inflection points. 

These 3 inflection points have positioned Solar Staff as the go to for Eastern European independent contractor contracting and payment. Now there are 3 things that stick out to me about Pavel. 

This is a great episode! Enjoy.

Leaders,

The freelance economy is more than just a staff augmentation or marketplace model. It’s a fundamental disruption in how we unlock the most important asset of our society – human potential. In NASA’s words, “It would be hard to write about the Future of Work and not consider the role and disruptive nature that the gig economy is having on NASA.” 

Which brings us to Steve Rader, Program Manager of NASA’s Tournament Lab and Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation. Steve will bring us into his world of leveraging freelance models to drive collaboration and innovation. We’ll dive deep into:

Enjoy!

Leaders, Sean Ring

To celebrate the 100th episode of the Human Cloud Podcast, we gathered the top 5 guests from the first 100 episodes for a roundtable to discuss all things future of work. Hear the high level insights (and some highjinks) of Jon Younger, Maari Casey, Tony Buffum, Mina Bastawros, and Steve King. You won't wanna miss this one.

Thank you for listening to the Human Cloud Podcast!