About this raise: Everyone loves the dream of being their own boss, but trying to be an independent contractor without using middleman to get jobs (and ultimately paying them a good chunk of your profit for doing so) feels almost impossible sometimes. Being an independent contractor starts to feel a whole lot more like being a dependent contractor. It’s like being an employee with none of the employee perks - #nothanks.

Now (drum roll please) Helpp is here to help. Helpp is a mobile app that connects you with all those individual service providers you need and love but allows them to keep 100% of their earnings. Helpp also allows contractors to set their own market price and offers various services, insurance, software tools, and technology to help them make their individual businesses more successful. Everyone benefits - woohoo! Additionally, Helpp developed an innovative stock incentive program for independent contractors which rewards them with stock ownership for providing application feedback.

Helpp plans to generate revenue through offering a Freemium model, as well as programs such as “Helpp for Business,” “HelppMart,” and education portals. By offering these, Helpp can negotiate lower price points on various services, offer discounted product and service offerings, and help service contractors make their offerings stronger. Their plan is to launch in 102 carefully picked cities, focusing on three communities each month. After all, the gig economy is expected to keep growing. More and more people want to work for themselves, and more and more people want services that make their life more convenient. In fact, three-quarters of millennials and Generation Z (who, together, make up over half the US population) plan on being independent contractors. They’re also known for enjoying convenience. That’s a lot of potential Helpp users.

By eliminating that middle man, Helpp just might be the new app this growing gig economy needs. By putting the individual contractors in control of their own profit, and giving them tools to grow their business successfully, Helpp benefits both service providers and customers. In other words -- with this investment, you might just be helping Helpp help you.