Jyve, a San Francisco startup, has created a Skills-as-a-Service platform that uses machine learning to find and identify gig workers for retailers and brands. The company calls the workers Jyvers and explains they can handle a variety of tasks in a store, such as stocking, ordering, display building, brand ambassadorship or shelf auditing. In an exclusive interview, CEO and co-founder Brad Oberwager shared how Jyve plans to transform the retail industry.
Oberwager is a serial entrepreneur with experience across the consumer packaged goods (CPG) and technology sectors. “I bought Bare Snacks, grew it into a national brand and sold it to PepsiCo. I am quite proud of my time there for a number of reasons, but one was doing a lot with a team of fourteen. We were super efficient on the business-side of things, but we had only two people in stores handling merchandising while companies like Frito Lay literally had thousands of people. What that experience taught me was that medium-sized CPG brands need help with their in-store experience. What has been surprising is the organic interest and demand from retailers to help them with their e-commerce initiatives,” Oberwager said.
Jyve wants to solve two problems for retailers. First, retailers struggle immensely with turnover and are often shorthanded. Second, millions of Americans are underemployed despite having skill sets that companies need. Jyve is a platform that connects skilled people with retailers and brands that have work. It uses smartphones and machine learning to identify their needs, match their skills, flexibly connect them and pay them per job.
“Jyve’s Skills-as-a-Service platform uses machine learning to source and to identify certified and skilled individuals, Jyvers, based on the in-store execution needs of retailers and brands. For CPG brands, this typically includes things like auditing, brand ambassadorship, display building, merchandising and inventory management. For retailers, we are helping them handle the pick-and-pack portion of e-commerce fulfillment,” Oberwager said.
“What is special about the model Jyve has created is that it is incredibly easy for someone to switch from working from CPG brands to retailers. We have people in the stores who can service both sets of companies. It is a highly efficient model that truly is a win for the businesses, the customers and the employees,” Oberwager added.
Not only does Jyve help brick-and-mortar stores, but it also works with e-commerce businesses. It allows retailers to own their e-commerce initiatives without farming them out to third parties. Most e-commerce fulfillment requirements for a grocer or retailer include the digital presence, physical picking or packing of goods and delivery or pick-up of the order. Jyve offers solutions for all three of these components.
Jyve has raised $35 million in funding and reached $400 million in bookings. Oberwager sees a lot of potential in using skilled gig workers who can work flexible schedules. Considering that more than a quarter of all U.S. workers are doing gig work at some level, companies like Jyve will only increase in number in the future.
