Kennesaw State electrical engineering major Caleb Gilbert has developed a company that ensures independent contractors — primarily those working in the gig economy — receive payment for their work.
“A gig pretty much comes down to freelancers, independent contractors and can range anywhere from writers, graphic designers, software designers or bands,” Gilbert said.
Gilbert formulated the idea for his company, named Esgro, in April 2018 and put his idea into action this past February. The goal is to provide independent workers with a better and safer way to do business.
Gilbert used to tutor students as an independent contractor to help pay for tuition. Occasionally, tutoring appointments would get cancelled with very little notice, leaving him without pay.
“Occasionally, students would cancel on me and not show up and I wouldn’t be able to pay my bills,” Gilbert said. “I got to thinking why there isn’t a better payment solution for this.”
Gilbert found the gig system to be broken and decided to do something to create an alternative way to go about payment for these jobs.
To ensure Esgro would be the best it could be for its users, Gilbert conducted a great deal of research.
“There was a lot of customer discovery, going out and speaking to customers and getting to know what their day to day operations are and their fears,” Gilbert said. “I found out a lot of people have this issue and that they don’t see any other solution.”
His solution to the broken system was Esgro. The company is, in a way, a safety net to help independent contractors feel more financially secure in the jobs they may get.
“I think the main goal of Esgro is to help the generation that is coming up in the freelance economy to have a peace of mind,” Gilbert said. “Hopefully our company’s core values can provide a better solution to an existing problem that has been around for generations.”
Gilbert hopes that Esgro will act as an inspiration for those using it, describing it as a holding account between two individuals.
“I want Esgro to inspire users to do what inspires them,” Gilbert said. “I want this to be a platform people can use as a plunge to do things that they’re passionate about.”
For the future of Esgro, Gilbert’s main hope is for expansion — for both the company and its clients.
“I hope to expand into enterprise solutions,” Gilbert said. “I want to create the ability for a freelancer to be able to create their own company and scale with them.”
To learn more about Esgro and its mission, visit the company’s official website.
