Why we started Portify
Technology is transforming our relationship to work at an unprecedented speed, and we are not prepared for the consequences. We started Portify to help build the infrastructure for the Future of Work.
Our mission is to make all work, good work.
Why do we care in the first place?
Work is an integral part of our lives, and a component that is difficult to get right. Humans have been around for a good 200,000 years and we are still refining the balance between overworking and underworking. At the very least we know that not working is detrimental to health and wellbeing. Getting the right type and intensity of work is key to our fulfillment as individuals.
And there are seismic shifts happening to work in modern society, throwing new challenges at this precarious equation. We care because we want to overcome these challenges, and secure a future of good work.
What are the challenges?
Firstly, the relationship between organisations and workers is becoming more transient. A McKinsey report suggests there are 162 million “independent workers” in Europe and the United States — these include the likes of Uber drivers, eBay sellers and freelance IT contractors. Evidently there are more independent workers on their way, a whopping 1/3rd of graduates plan to be their own boss.
Transient work isn’t exactly a new thing, but its current, rapid surgence is important as it stress tests incumbent employment and welfare systems. It uncovers an urgent need to address issues such as worker financial security and mental health. It raises legal-technical questions around employment status and rights in places like the gig economy. It implies there is a trade-off between transient, flexible work, and fulfilling, secure work.
Secondly, new technologies such as robotics and AI are going to reduce demand for specific kinds of skills, exacerbating our first challenge by enhancing the transience of work. When reports suggest up to 30% of jobs in the UK could be automated, we need to prepare carefully and deeply for the implications.
Technological and socio-political change have put the already precarious equation of work in flux. This equation needs to be balanced by applying technology in the interest of society.
How do we realise the opportunities?
Given the scope and ambition of our mission, there are a million different ways we could get started. We had to choose carefully what to do first and why.
Chris and I had both been freelance contractors, and felt the pains that come with this workstyle. We first bonded over an urge to support individuals engaged in transient work.
We then spoke to over 100 people in this space and decided the gig economy would be an ideal beachhead market. From a business perspective, actively targeting lower income workers is nonsensical. But our contrarian belief is that this segment is the most underserved, and highest potential vertical of the self-employed workforce.
The gig economy embodies the challenges we outlined above: on-demand platforms like Uber, and more traditional retailers like Sports Direct can enhance the transience of work, and have put into question the rights of workers in this space (see the Taylor review and employment tribunals).
One thing we don’t intend to do is gloss over the tensions that exist in this segment of the economy. Many strong opinions are held on the merits and demerits that transient work can provide. We won’t go into our perspective in much detail here, but there are two things we believe about this space: a) supply and demand for transient forms of labour is not going to disappear anytime soon, and b) with the right technology, such transient work can become good work.
So our first objective is to make this segment of the labour economy work for everybody. Our products will seek to champion things like financial security and worker wellbeing over the long-term.
Why vouch for us?
We’re excited to launch a mission oriented startup to enable a future of good work. We no longer think mottos like “don’t be evil” provide satisfactory guidance for companies. Given the disruptive power that modern technology exerts, “do good” is a more apt bar to set.
And we care about this space deeply: Sho helped clients design and deliver better welfare systems while working as a strategy consultant for McKinsey. He worked with organisations supporting informal workers before studying economic sociology at Cambridge. Chris was a founding team member at the HR and benefits startup CharlieHR, where he led the software engineering team scale to support over 7000 companies. We are backed by Europe’s multi-award winning deep-tech incubator, Entrepreneur First.
What next?
We would love to have you join us on this journey. Please do share this post, and follow our thinking here on Medium. Stay tuned.
