In the latest Platform Podcast episode, Elle Tucker talks to Stephen Champion, Co-Founder and CEO of YuTU, an early stage social networking platform that encourages users to build communities offline too. Stephen shares his experiences of the recent Sharing Economy Global Summit, then goes on to tell his fascinating founder story, set against the background of the lockdowns – and talks about what inspired him to start a project so far removed from his previous career in the world of veterinary science. Then – plot twist – a pivot: Stephen explains what his new ‘social marketplace’ consists of, and the risks that will be involved as he scales.

This week, Elle Tucker is joined by Josh Nickell, Vice President (Equipment Segment) of the ARA (American Rental Association). In this fascinating discussion, Josh and Elle discuss the intersection between the sharing economy and the rental industry. Which influences which – and how? Why are there negative connotations when it comes to rental? What innovations are happening in this space? Josh answers these timely questions and shares his goal to get consumers to see rental more as sharing. He goes on to talk about the problems that sharing economy startups might have and how the rental industry may have already solved them – especially when it comes to trust and safety.

In this week’s podcast Elle Tucker is joined by Sophie Smallwood, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Roleshare, a new platform that matches professionals to enable them to apply for – and share – one full-time job. Sophie tells the story of discovering, through her own experiences, the need for such a platform and explores how difficult job sharing is to organise without the technology – which is of course the gap that Roleshare fills. Sophie tells Elle about the benefits on both sides of the marketplace, for both employers and employees, as well as the risks and challenges, and talks about the potential for this concept as we redefine the future of work post-pandemic.

This week Elle Tucker talks to Bradley Hornby, CEO and Co-Founder of Homebound, a marketplace for renting furniture and other interior design. Bradley shares his startup journey, talking first about the reasons that furniture rental is increasing in popularity and the need for a mainstream marketplace like this to address the need. He then tells the story of the bend in the road during his startup journey, and how a sudden need for FCA approval forced operations to halt. What lessons has he learned that he can pass on to other startup founders, and what does the future hold for Homebound now? A fascinating conversation!

In the latest episode of the Platform Podcast, Elle Tucker is joined by Elias Chavando, Marketplace Risk Advisory Board member and President and CEO of Progresando. Elias tells Elle about how he grew up in the world of classified advertising, long before the internet, and shares the story of how Progresando was founded to help open up cross-border e-commerce. Based in both Mexico City and Los Angeles, Elias has some fascinating perspectives on risk management in ecommerce marketplaces. A not-to-be-missed episode!

In this week’s episode of the Platform Podcast, Elle Tucker talks to Janthana Kaenprakhamroy, CEO of Tapoly, which provides flexible and on-demand insurance for the gig economy. Janthana shares her founder story - her realisation that insurance was not necessarily designed for the needs of freelancers and small businesses, something she discovered when renting out a property on Airbnb. Janthana goes on to talk about the rapidly changing world of work and the importance of having insurance that adapts quickly to it, and how Tapoly works with gig marketplaces to support the needs of their workers.

In the latest Platform Podcast episode, Elle Tucker talks to Emma McConalogue, Founder of Kesero, a peer to peer skill sharing marketplace. Emma shares her founder story, from coming up with the idea in a conversation with a friend in 2018, to the growing platform she has today. In a cashless skills exchange, are bad actors a threat? How does Emma plan to mitigate risk as her early stage startup scales? Emma shares fascinating insights about building and growing a purpose-led platform during the pandemic and beyond.

This week our host Elle Tucker talks Jazz Hampton, Co-Founder of Turnsignl. Jazz tells Elle the story of Turnsignl, which is a ‘real time’ marketplace app that connects drivers who have been pulled over to an attorney who has been trained in de-escalation, via a live video chat. Jazz shares his journey towards co-founding the app which launched in May 2021 and is already in six US states. Jazz shares fascinating insights from his experience of creative a legal marketplace which requires its own trust and safety, as well as fostering trust and safety itself. A not-to-be missed episode.

Elle Tucker is joined by Hamed Yazdi, Founder and Chief Growth Officer at Rideshare Mechanic. Hamed shares his startup story and how the idea came about for Rideshare Mechanic, which provides a virtual vehicle inspection that is used by rideshare companies such as Uber and Lyft to determine if the driver’s car meets the minimum requirements. Hamed goes on to talk about how the model helps rideshare - as well as peer-to-peer car rental platforms - reduce friction and build trust, and shares with Elle his vision for how the model can be applied elsewhere in the sharing economy.

This week Elle Tucker talks to Rebecca Heaps, Founder of Tentshare, a peer to peer platform for sharing tents and other camping equipment. Rebecca tells Elle about the inspiration for her startup and her background – which was not remotely in the tech startup space! Rebecca goes on to talk about the risks associated with this kind of sharing marketplace and how she will manage this as her early stage platform scales. She also touches on the importance of having a purpose driven business, and the concept of a ‘triple bottom line’.