The gig economy is booming, but there's still a gap when it comes to odd jobs and local services.

Derreck Stratton, the founder of HUDU – who we first interviewed back in episode #2 – is looking to bridge that gap with an innovative platform.

During our conversation, we talked about:

· How Hudu is revolutionizing the way people find help for odd jobs and tasks

· The challenges of building and scaling a two-sided marketplace

· The importance of focusing on your core markets before rapid expansion

· How AI is being integrated to make the user experience seamless

· The potential for Hudu to enable a new kind of "physical nomad" lifestyle

· And the journey from launch to achieving product-market fit

You can learn more about Derreck and HUDU at:

HeyHUDU.com

The entrepreneurial journey is full of ups and downs, pivots and persistence. Our guest today has lived that roller coaster and is now helping other founders navigate it.

Jessica Lynch is a tech founder turned investor, and during our conversation, we talked about:

- How early entrepreneurial experiences, even failures, can plant the seeds for future success

- The importance of customer discovery and market research before building a product

- How to pivot a business model when faced with major external challenges

- Navigating the emotional and practical challenges of the M&A process

- How founders can set themselves up for success by learning from those who've gone before them

Jess shares some incredibly valuable insights from her own founder journey and her current work investing in and accelerating promising startups.

Links:

Jessica Lynch: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicallynch/
Raiz Capital: https://raiz.vc/

Like all of us, today’s guest had to face the hardships brought on by the global pandemic in 2020 – one of which was having her children learn at home instead of in school.

But for her and her kids, something peculiar happened – and they actually thrived in the online experience.

She later learned that other parents and their kids did not, unfortunately, thrive to the same degree – and this led her to try to figure out what worked for her – and how she could share that. This inspired the creation of Edify – a tutor matchmaking service which is on a mission to help neurodivergent kids everywhere thrive in an optimal learning experience.

We had a fascinating conversation where we talked about how she was able to bottle the inspiration – and figure out what actually made the experience work. How putting extra effort into matchmaking up front pays dividends later on, and how she is working to scale the business without losing the magic at its core.

I learned a lot from the interview – and hope you do as well.

Links:

Priya: https://www.linkedin.com/in/priya-tron/
Edify: https://www.edifylearningspaces.com/