Maveron’s Post

The pandemic forever changed consumer behavior and preferences. Shopping shifted from in-person and brick-and-mortar to e-commerce and on-demand. Spending shifted from travel and socializing to home renovations and wellness. For many of us, work shifted from cubicles and conference rooms to our homes. And for 20% of Americans, their careers shifted from W2 to 1099 as they sought out more flexibility and higher pay. Today, 1099 workers aren’t only Instacart shoppers and Uber drivers, but landscapers, ultrasound techs, contractors, substitute teachers and more. Each represents an end consumer that is making their own decisions about schedule, pay and overall career, rather than relying on their employer. Hunter Lampson and I spent the last 2 months trying to better understand the 1099 worker experience. We found that, while independence from employers is largely a positive, it also leaves over 70 million 1099 workers and their dependents without any insurance coverage. These workers must navigate obtaining insurance and benefits on their own, through the open exchange or through direct-to-consumer insurance companies and brokers. More often than not, this resulted in high costs, suboptimal coverage and an overall negative experience. At Maveron, we’re actively looking to meet with teams increasing access to fair, transparent, cost-effective insurance and benefits for 1099 workers through a next-generation union. Unions empower workers in strength through numbers, leading to higher wages, better benefits and safer workplaces. We believe there’s an opportunity to build economies of scale within the 1099 workforce to do the same, starting with health insurance and other forms of protection like workers’ compensation and expanding into additional benefits like retirement savings and workforce development. We also believe there’s an opportunity for technology to amplify the collective voice through data-driven job placement, insurance underwriting and upskilling programs. Workers have been empowered to take charge of how they work, when they work and what they earn with a 1099 classification — that same empowerment should apply to their protections. You can read more about our POV on product feature set, pricing and GTM strategy, as well as our full thesis deck, below. If you are building in this space, we'd love to hear from you! https://lnkd.in/eV_PkSke