Ryan Green is co-founder and CEO of Gridwise, which has been on a roll. The startup has created an earnings-maximizing platform for gig workers who use platforms like Uber, DoorDash and others. It closed on a $12.7 million Series A funding round in May, bringing its total funding to about $20 million since its 2017 launch. Green also orchestrated the startup’s partnership with crowd-sourced fuel-pricing platform GasBuddy, which saw the two tech companies partner to offer significant gas savings to gig-drivers using Gridwise during the dramatic rise in gasoline prices this summer. According to Green, Gridwise plans to add 40 workers to its payroll over the next year, more than tripling the startup’s current headcount of 20, most of whom work out of Gridwise’s Strip District headquarters.
What has been your biggest challenge getting your startup to where it is today?
Not being able to identify distractions to the business that seem like a good opportunity but caused us to go off course and almost go out of business. Learning how to be clear into what your goals, vision and mission are is key. Anything that falls outside the realm of these most likely is a distraction from the mission at hand.
How can Pittsburgh better serve its startup community?
Figure out a way to attract more funding. Bringing more funding options across preseed, seed, series A and growth will have the largest impact on the startup community.
What do you hope your startup will be doing five years from now?
Operating as a global platform that gig workers, enterprises and cities rely on to empower their operations and investment decisions within and around mobility.
