It's simple: workers want to be treated with respect, to know what a job will pay, and to be paid fairly for their work. Anything less is not right.
The current gig economy brought flexibility and work with one-press of a button, but the current system isn't good enough.
The pandemic also made many realize they couldn't just depend on one app. (Optimizing trips and competition for your time is how you increase earnings immediately.) However, gig apps today are designed to keep you exclusively on one app, with non-transparent pricing and incentives just beyond reach. This makes it too hard to multi-app. It's humanly impossible to scan more than a few apps at once, especially while driving.
But power is more in the hands of the gig workers than it has ever been - labor shortage, increase in options.
It's time to build a better, worker-focused gig economy. It's time for technology representing you and your goals.
Building a better gig economy - "personal dispatch"
A more perfect gig system needs to represent each person's preferences. After all, YOU are the most important part of the gig economy. We call this 'your personal dispatch'
The goal? To put more $'s in your pockets, and to use technology to bridge the gap between platforms and advocate for YOU.
First step is to help you access more opportunities. Competition for your time is how you increase earnings immediately.
At first, these opportunities will be good to supplement with your existing work. Or provide earning opportunities during slow times.
You should be able to to easily see all your opportunities in one place, whether it be on-demand, schedule ahead, or hourly blocks.
You shouldn't have to go through the process of applying to every single opportunity and giving them the same information. How many Checkr background checks should have to be run? Just one. Then, each job should be as simple as one-click, and you're approved.
With more opportunities comes the second step: you can start to combine different opportunities. Think DoorDash's stacked orders or Uber's forward dispatch. But working for you, and across many options.
It should accomplish what YOU want to.
Want to earn the most $ per hour? OK.
Need to pick up your daughter from school at 3PM? OK. Your system will bring you near the school before 3PM.
Let technology help you gig smarter
Zooming out, there's so much we can do to be more efficient. When you plot all available gig driving opportunities in a city, you see that there's a way to do things a lot more efficiently, to make a lot more $. But you can't be expected to know about all these opportunities. However, the system can, on your behalf.
Let's say you're doing a DoorDash trip from point A to point B. Your dispatch knows that there's an opportunity 2 minutes away from point B. This opportunity involves bringing packages 25 minutes south, but doesn't need to be completed for 2 days. It makes sense to pick up the packages now. But doesn't make sense to drop them off now. Your dispatch will find other opportunities on the way to the drop-off or on the way back, within the 2 day period.
Businesses should be bidding for your time
Part 3 - here's where it gets crazy: we believe that platforms should be bidding for your time.
Imagine it's a busy Friday night. There are a number of platforms who would like you to do gigs for them. They should bid for your time.
Let's say market rate is roughly $25 / hour. There's a newer platform, they should pay a premium: $27 / hour (UP ARROW).
In particular they want Jimmy. Jimmy has 2K trips on DD, 1K trips on UberEats with a 4.85 star rating. Jimmy is worth more to the platform, his work history proves it.
Jimmy has other options too though. He's making roughly $30 / hour.
The newer platform should pay him more: $32!
Boom. Competition for your time = you earn more.
And you don't have to apply. Because of your work history and previous documents, Jimmy is pre-approved on the platform.
At Para, we want to build this personal dispatch for you.
Every drivers' voice and goals needs to be represented for a more perfect system to exist.
It needs to be a two-way conversation between drivers and platforms. Each drivers personal dispatch 'node' talking to all their options.
Technology representing each driver to build a more perfect system.
Let's put $s in pockets and make sure every drivers gets the respect and fair pay that they deserve.
Thank you for being a part of this movement with us. Together, we can build a better, worker-focused gig economy, now.
