The Human Cloud Podcast

Today we’re joined by Christian Moldenhauer and David Küpper, Founders of  expertpowerhouse, and both former BCG Consultants. Founded in 2016, expertpowerhouse has been a leader in the freelance consulting space globally. During this conversation, you'll learn why David and Christian have been so successful in building a freelance model that both scales and is sustainable. You will learn why freelance is such an advantage for consulting, and how freelance isn’t just a disruptor, but complementary to existing consulting models. Key takeaways: 1: Freelance consulting fills a gap that traditional consulting can’t, without freelance consulting replacing, but rather complementing traditional consulting 2: Fractional is a powerful new model for freelance experts 3: The small but mighty difference between a freelance consultant and freelance expert 4: The right person for 40% of the time is much more impactful than 100% of the wrong person

Leaders, talent platforms are amid massive disruption. What started as large, everything store marketplaces, are expanding into numerous different models, for different segments, and each has its own disruptive nature that makes them unique.  No platform better shows this disruption than The Starters, a new fractional talent platform that combines e-commerce specialization and a business model disruption by being a subscription.  In this episode, we’ll learn from Jai, the founder and a former Chief Marketing Officer.   We’ll learn: 1: Why he chose a subscription-based model 2: Why he uses the term fractional   3: Why he specializes in E-commerce 4: How he’s scaled The Starters 5: Where he envisions The Starters and the trajectory of the freelance economy heading

Enterprise Leaders, why should you care about the freelance economy? Yes…over half the US workforce will be freelancing in the next 5 years. Yes…there are over 300 million freelancers worldwide. And yes…freelancers encapsulate every skill, especially cutting-edge skills like AI, Blockchain, and Supply Chain, and have the exact expertise that you need.  But beyond that…why do you need to embrace remote, freelance models in your business?  There is no one better to explain than Nuri, Principal PM at Microsoft and Author of 'Leading the Unknown: Strategies for Leading Remote or Gig Teams'.  Microsoft has been a leader in embracing freelance models. They built the Microsoft Freelance Toolkit in 2018.  In this episode, we’ll discuss the benefits, but also get tactical about leading remote and gig teams.  We’ll discuss:  how the evolution of technology opened the door for the freelance economy the benefits of democratizing work and accessing global talent, The challenges of scaling freelance workforces in an Enterprise setting  How to go beyond just using a freelance platform, and instead enable collaboration with freelancers across the world

Leaders,  We’ve all been hearing about nearshoring, and the rise of technical talent from Latin America. In this episode we’ll learn from Calvin who built his first couple of companies through LATAM talent. He believed in this talent pool so much that he started Awana, a freelance talent platform for technical talent in Latin America.   We will cover the in’s and out’s of why LATAM is making such a strong push.  We’ll hit on: Why now - why is right now the time that Latin America is having their moment What’s unique about LATAM compared to other regions? Hint..time zones are a crucial advantage How can leaders get started hiring LATAM talent? Where are the trip wires? From a cultural and economic perspective, how can leaders ensure a good experience with LATAM talent?  Enjoy!

Human Cloud just released their Freelance Trend Tracker Quarterly Results for Q1 of 2024. Each quarter, Freelance Trend Tracker reports on how leaders are feeling, how platforms are performing, and patterns for success.  This quarter was rough… Business Performance…51% of freelance leaders are neutral or frustrated Client Acquisition…56% of freelance leaders haven’t been successful at attracting clients But confidence is high, as 85% of leaders are confident about the industry long term, and leaders trust their teams as 57% of freelance leaders are confident about their team   CEO Matthew Mottola will discuss how freelance leaders can navigate this trying environment. Specifically, he’ll show how:  Brand wins Resilience is key Bundling and consolidation is likely Let’s discuss! Sign up for Trend Tracker: https://humancloud.work/trend-tracker/

Leaders, a freelance workforce can be your secret weapon to drive agile product outcomes at scale. What does that mean? It means that rather than looking at freelancers as filling a gap or a cheaper solution, freelance is a fundamentally better way to drive your product organization and product initiatives.  No one understands this better than Maulik Sailor, Founder of both Innovify and CodeMonk. Maulik is the exact person we want to help us understand how to drive product in today's global and digital first world. Innovify is a product studio that builds disruptive software applications from the ground up, while CodeMonk is a freelance tech and product talent network.  Maulik is part of a growing trend of freelance talent platforms that bundle both a network and a managed service. Increasingly as companies look to freelance to solve more complex problems and scopes of work, this bundled approach is needed. What this means is that instead of saying, “here's a bunch of individual freelancers”, they can take you through the entire software development lifecycle, from ideation, to MVP, to scaling a fully functional software application.  In this episode we’ll discuss: How flexibility and agility are crucial in the fast-paced world of product management His delivery framework ensures successful project execution by emphasizing communication, clarity, and documentation Why a Product leader should care about freelance How transparency and trust are essential in building strong relationships between clients and freelancers Building effective teams requires considering technical skills, soft skills, and compatibility among team members Team intelligence - including the ability to embed freelancers within existing teams to enhance project outcomes The future of freelancing lies in continuous matching and rematching of talent and projects

Leaders, Michael Morris has been a pioneer in the freelance economy, especially when it comes to software development. In 2002, he started TopCoder, the crowdsourcing software development platform that led to groundbreaking innovations from NASA and countless other companies. Michael now leads Torc, a global software development freelance platform. In his words, Torc is a talent marketplace that brings the most productive freelance developers to the enterprise through an AI, security, and culture-first platform approach. A couple of things to listen for in this episode: How a talent network needs community and culture to unlock productivity Why trust and aligning incentives are integral for a strong talent and client experience Why LATAM...hint, the time zone alignment, language proficiency, cultural alignment, and cost How freelance talent unlocks speed to code The role of automation in the freelance economy

Leaders, marketing can be tough. While we all know we need it, and while freelance marketing is nothing new, marketing is one of those areas that is tough to measure, tough to validate success, and the industry as a whole has undergone massive transformation. According to Ryan, a key problem is that the industry has undergone so much change thanks to technology, that it’s no longer enough to put the responsibility on a good CMO. Instead, good marketing is the result of having multiple experts, working on and testing multiple different channels and strategies until they’ve found what works. Which is why Ryan, and his team’s growth studio Legion, acquired the marketing freelance platform Growth Collective in 2021. Expert marketers themselves, Ryan and Legion know how to grow companies through digital marketing, and they had grown their own companies and agencies with freelance marketers in the past, thus Growth Collective was an extension of their expertise. As Growth Collective grew, they started to get more companies asking for full teams that could help find and scale the right channels so they created Growth Assembly for Bespoke Growth Teams. In this episode we’ll get deep into what they’ve learned and how every leader can embrace freelance models to grow their brand. Key takeaways: The value of marketing today is knowing why and where growth comes from Successful marketing leads to successful product launches, new markets, and new channels Today's online marketing technology created a chasm where hiring generalists, or a good CMO, isn’t enough Good marketing requires an elastic network of experts approach rather than a default full time approach Existing large, horizontal marketplaces can’t provide the level of vetting to ensure an elastic network of growth marketing experts Now is the perfect time to embrace freelance and fractional work due to the challenges in raising capital and the cost of debt

Leaders, Paul Falcone is a bestselling author, experienced HR Leader across several large companies including Time Warner, Nickelodeon, and NBCUniversal. Paul provides key insights on how independent contractors and the freelance economy can help address talent shortages. He also stresses the importance of collaborating with HR, highlighting their responsibilities around compliance, data privacy, and more. Crucially, Paul emphasizes that providing visibility through regular communication is key to enabling HR to be an effective partner. We explore how the role of HR has evolved into a strategic driver of business performance and some of the key challenges HR leaders face today, including talent scarcity, compliance, and managing uncertainty. Some Key Takeaways: HR has become a strategic business partner, evolving beyond its administrative roots. Trust and empathy are now critical pillars. Talent scarcity is the #1 priority for HR leaders today. Leveraging fractional talent and the freelance workforce can help fill urgent gaps. HR owns compliance, data privacy, and ensuring a positive worker experience. Involving them early when engaging external talent is essential. With continuous disruption and change, uncertainty is top of mind for HR. Providing clarity through open communication is vital. HR seeks to empower and develop talent. With a spirit of partnership, HR can become a true ally in mobilizing your workforce. Find Paul’s bestselling human resources books for effective hiring, performance management, and leadership development - https://www.harpercollinsleadership.com/catalog/paul-falcone/

Karina Rehavia, Founder & CEO of Ollo, is an accomplished entrepreneur and business leader with over 20 years of experience and a proven track record of launching innovative service offerings. She has led several business development and large-scale projects for prominent global organizations. Karina joins us today to discuss the freelance economy and the growth of human cloud platforms like Ollo. She shares the story of launching Ollo and the challenges she faced in building a platform that emphasizes flexibility, high-touch client service, and human intuition in matching clients with creative freelance talent. She highlights Ollo's success in acquiring top clients by providing a full concierge experience beyond just a talent marketplace. Karina also discusses the future of the freelance economy and Ollo's plans for continued expansion, including a new initiative around influencer marketing.