Giggle, a Miami-based fintech platform, recently joined Percent’s growing roster of financial technology platforms and providers. We sat down with Co-Founder Jared Kogan to talk about this exciting partnership and Giggle’s extensive work in improving the gig economy.
Giggle was founded in 2020, as the world closed up yet increased demand from gig workers. How did the surge in demand for services utilizing these workers influence the creation of Giggle?
Giggle was founded by two veterans of the business lending industry who recognized that SMB lenders don’t do a great job serving those customers with businesses seeking or qualifying for amounts below $10,000. This inspired them to start Giggle and serve the underserved.
As the world closed up in light of Covid, there was a massive influx of new independent workers (and gig workers) who needed auto repair, equipment, inventory, and other expensive items to help their businesses thrive. We made it our mission to ensure the independent workforce and small businesses have a reliable source of capital.
Which platforms does Giggle see as the biggest drivers of demand for income advances?
Giggle helps the independent workforce with their financing needs. This helps cover expenses such as vehicle repair, along with growth opportunities such as inventory, equipment, or vehicles. With shifts in the economy, such as rising fuel prices, Giggle stands to be a reliable source for independent workers to help their businesses cover these expenses and invest in their future growth.
What do you wish more 1099/gig workers knew about revenue-based financing?
Given the historically-limited access to capital for 1099s/gig workers, this segment of the workforce has faced challenges in building strong credit, as they’re often faced with leveraging themselves personally with credit cards to start or grow their businesses. Revenue-based financing relies on cash flow rather than credit to determine a business’ ability to repay rather than past prior credit history. Additionally, Giggle’s revenue-based financing product provides ongoing access to capital rather than a one-time injection.
How has the changing landscape of the gig economy in the U.S. influenced Giggle’s product and the technology driving your product?
The changing landscape of the gig economy in the U.S. influenced Giggle’s initial construct of its revenue-based financing product to suit [individual] needs. By providing consistent access to capital, gig workers can rely on a trusted source to finance their ongoing needs. Future product development comes from our customers’ behavior and demand.
Giggle relies on data science to foster innovation and smarter and smoother financing. As it relates to technology, Giggle’s mission is to provide a fast, transparent, and seamless process to give gig workers the ultimate freedom to focus on their business and grow.
What future events or trends do you see happening in the gig economy, and how is Giggle positioned to meet changing needs and/or demand?
The Gig economy is the fastest-growing segment of the US workforce. When Giggle first launched in 2020, there were an estimated 42 million independent contractors across the U.S. As the workforce continues to evolve, that population has grown to an estimated 65 million Americans walking dogs, delivering food, ridesharing, and so on. Giggle is positioned to meet changing needs with a real-time view into customer finances, given the broad coverage across the U.S. and industries.
How has Giggle embraced technology on their platform?
Giggle disintermediated the entire business lending market, which traditionally relies on human salespeople, document processors, underwriters, and closers. Building proprietary modern lending infrastructure enables Giggle to complete the entire origination process in under eight minutes with little-to-no human involvement.
But we didn’t stop there. Giggle also built a proprietary servicing platform that uses real-time customer data to determine how and when to draft customer payments to maximize success and minimize servicing overhead. Finally, Giggle utilizes AI technology for customer communications to streamline the customer care process and deliver an enhanced experience.
How has Giggle benefitted from partnering with Percent?
Percent makes it simple. Percent enables Giggle to further expand access to capital to the entire independent workforce and gig economy. Percent’s flexible program enables Giggle to further reach its goals of serving the 65 million independent workers across the U.S.