A Chicago startup that’s emerging from stealth mode has built a platform to give the average worker a place to sound off about and address workplace issues.
The company, named Frank, operates an online portal for users to discuss problems, create campaigns and make demands of their employer.
To get started, workers create private groups on Frank and invite trusted coworkers. Each person added to a group must be invited and endorsed by several existing group members. The vouching process helps prohibit managers from interfering with workers’ effort on Frank. The company also bans all human resources, management and leadership workers, and if they try to join, they are violating labor law and Frank’s terms of service, which can carry fines and legal consequences, said Frank co-founder Logan LaHive.
Using Frank, workers can organize and create plans for asking their employer for higher pay, better benefits or increased attention to diversity, equity and inclusion issues, among other things. If they’re not sure how to draft campaigns, Frank also provides expert-created templates.
Frank isn't a union-forming platform per se, LaHive said, but it can lay the building blocks of organized labor by helping employees better communicate around issues they care about.
“It’s a place for worker voice,” LaHive said. “It’s a place for workers to be able to organize with trusted coworkers without the eyes of management. It’s a place for groups of workers to decide collectively what actions they want to take in order to improve their workplace—that may be that they decide they want to focus on a single issue … maybe they decide they want to unionize."
He said that during the pandemic specifically, many workers were using Frank to ask their employers for personal protective equipment, paid sick leave and work from home privileges.
Frank is launching at a time when workers from Amazon to the New Yorker are making efforts to unionize. Amazon has used union-busting tactics, like hiring Pinkerton spies to track workers' labor efforts.
LaHive launched Frank in 2019 after leaving previous stints in Chicago’s tech and startup industry. LaHive, a familiar face in local tech circles, was formerly the managing director of Techstars Chicago, a role he held for about two years. Before Techstars, LaHive co-founded Belly, which makes a loyalty app for businesses. LaHive stepped down from his role as CEO in 2016.
When he started creating the framework for Frank, LaHive said he spent several months doing research on labor issues, taking online collective bargaining courses and talking with union members and organizers.
“I think about some of the largest problems in the world outside of climate, and income inequality being one of them, and I wanted to work on some of these problems,” LaHive said.
LaHive wouldn’t share how many workers are using Frank, but said workers are mainly concentrated in the tech and startup industry. The platform is entirely free right now, which means Frank is still pre-revenue. LaHive said there are plans for subscription models and premium features down the line, but so far, the startup has been solely running on $2 million it raised in 2019. Investors include Hyde Park Venture Partners, Hyde Park Angels and Starting Line.
Frank's focus now is growing its user base. The company is named after LaHive's wife’s work nickname, Frank, as it’s a nod to her direct and honest communication style, as well as the startup's mission to host frank discussions.
“To be frank is a communication style that we hope we can facilitate for workers—that they can be frank and talk about things they would talk about if they knew management wasn’t listening,” LaHive said.
