As the pandemic continues to drive the use of services based on the gig economy, a local fintech startup landed an extra funding boost to help it grow its gig payroll platform.
After landing $7.5 million in funding in October, last week, Dallas-based Gig Wage announced extending that Series A round to include new backer Foundry Group, bringing the round to about $10 million.
“The 1099 economy is exploding, and Gig Wage is thrilled to bring a truly comprehensive solution to market,” said Craig J. Lewis, founder, and CEO of Gig Wage, in a statement when the company first announced the funding.
According to Crunchbase, that brings Gig Wage’s total funding to $13.2 million since its launch in 2014 as Visage Payroll. It rebranded to Gig Wage in 2016 to focus its platform on payroll solutions for the gig economy and other 1099 workers. It launched that platform in 2017.
Since then, Gig Wage has picked up clients in every state. Part of that growth was aided by the recent Series A round led by the mobile banking company Green Dot Corp. Other investors on the round included Continental Investors, Revolution’s Rise of the Rest and Techstars. And deepening its connection to Techstars, Gig Wage recently hired Ethan Austin, an investor and former Managing Director of Techstars Western Union, as chief strategy officer.
In addition to the funding from that round, which Gig Wage is using for sales and marketing, along with business and partnership development, the Series A came with a strategic partnership between the company and Green Dot, which will serve as an infrastructure bank partner to Gig Wage. The move allowed Gig Wage to add banking options to its instant payment platform.
“Our partnership with Green Dot will… help us provide a financial, social safety net for gig workers everywhere,” Lewis said.
The Series A's extension comes as Gig Wage saw 30 percent month-over-month growth in “all facets of its business” last year, the company said. Lewis also recently told The Dallas Morning News that he expects to hire between 20 to 30 new employees this year in anticipation of facilitating close to $1 billion in payments each month by the beginning of 2022.
“Most businesses use an array of software platforms and technology to help run their business. The vast majority of technology systems they use are designed for a traditional workforce and antiquated processes. With the emergence of high growth tech companies like Uber… the way we live, work and play has all changed. This is a macroeconomic shift that is a result of modern technology… all leading to the explosion of the gig economy,” Gig Wage’s website states. “We believe this massive shift in work requires not only new ways of thinking and new processes but new technology.”
