This is a summary of the second of my seven startup experiments in 2020, called Wellvest. Wellvest is a platform, which helps facilitate benefits for freelancers, giving them cover for their work. The experiment ended early and the article explains why.
Problem
If you have taken an Uber to travel somewhere, or Deliveroo to order food, the person that drove you to A to B or delivered your burger is a low-wage / low-benefit worker.
There are 4.8 million people in the UK are in positions similar positions – they are called termed gig economy workers, also known as freelancers, self-employed and casual workers.
These people tend to be living on the edge with significantly less benefits or cover than someone who is employed full-time. The problem with this is that if something goes wrong, like illness, or time off or damage to key resources, many gig economy workers who are not covered can suffer long-term consequences.
Solution
That’s where I came up with the concept of Wellvest, to provide a safety net for every gig economy worker. Wellvest helps workers to find insurance relevant to their profession, provide tax management services, create a plan to save money for time off, and find discounts tailored to their needs. In a nutshell – Wellvest will bring the benefits of employment to self-employment.
Validation
Instead of creating a canvas or innovation model, I set out to validate my biggest assumptions: that people want help to find insurance, with their tax returns, to save money for time off etc. I asked Uber drivers, did surveys and spoke to any freelancer I could find. In total, I had around 30 conversations.
The results were mixed – even though areas like insurance is important, it didn’t seem to be a burning desire amongst the people I interviewed. Starting a business based on what people should do is not good enough.
I also felt that there were more than enough sufficient solutions out there addressing the market of independent workers (Portify, Zego, numerous savings apps) in which I felt that I could not add any competitive advantage at this point.
Relationship with problem
Relationship with the problem? None.
You could say that being an entreprenuer and being self-employed (i.e. being a freelancer) are similar. Both can be lonely, live on the edge and have uncertain financial futures. However, they are different and over the course of the experiment I felt that I was enforcing a solution and not searching deep enough for a problem.
This version of Wellvest came from an accelerator where I pivoted from my initial idea to this one (a freelancer benefits platform). I was inspired by a startup called Catch, which had a similar concept (confirmation bias). So with 3 weeks to go until the accelerator showcase, I pressed ahead with the idea, pitched it at the showcase and even got follow-up emails from investors. However, I had a lack of passion and connection to the problem (and solution). As a result I was not willing to spend money to hold focus groups to investigate the problem further and pivot, based on lukewarm feedback from the initial conversations.
Outcome
Experiment status: Ended
Reason: Lukewarm customer feedback, lack of passion and understanding of problem
Duration of experiment: 3 months
Cost: £50
- Ubers (to speak to customers)
- Travel to and from meetings
- Companies House setup (though this can be changed for a future experiment)
- Domain name registration
JayNotes 