Fintech boss targeting unicorn status and beyond for freelancer-focused app Wedo

A serial entrepreneur who has also had a career as a musician has outlined major ambitions, including a stock-market flotation, for her latest start-up – an app that helps workers such as freelancers to generate income and manage their finances.

US-born, and now based in Lenzie, Indiana (Indy) Gregg is the founder and chief executive of Wedo, a multi-device mobile-banking app that is billed as offering chat, video payments and invoicing all in one business development platform, letting freelancers, gig workers and small business owners connect, send and receive payments and find new business.

It marks the fifth start-up by the businesswoman, who CV also includes being a singer-songwriter, and explains that she has extensive experience in consulting, building tech and raising capital for other “impactful” start-ups.

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She also says that as a freelancer and gig worker herself, she understands the pain points and barriers facing all who start a business, take up a side hustle, or strike out on their own, and she believes technology can help level the playing field.

Additionally, she sees a vast potential customer base for Wedo, citing studies calculating that freelancers add $42.9 trillion (£35.7tn) to the global economy and forecasting that more than half the global workforce will work in this way by 2027 – but she believes they haven’t been served appropriately by products on the market.

The CEO explains that Wedo is a neobanking services application, with very similar aspects to say Revolut, Monzo, or Starling Bank, but incorporating social networking, team-building, and community-building. "The whole idea around the app is to create a future of work that can really change people's lives.”

Ms Gregg started the venture in 2020, forming a team in June of that year, bootstrapping it for about a year and then raising about $3 million in capital last year from angel investors and one venture capitalist.

Wedo marks the fifth start-up by the businesswoman, who CV also includes being a singer-songwriter. Picture: contributed.Wedo marks the fifth start-up by the businesswoman, who CV also includes being a singer-songwriter. Picture: contributed.
Wedo marks the fifth start-up by the businesswoman, who CV also includes being a singer-songwriter. Picture: contributed.

Aiming high

The fintech boss said the start-up is in its seed round, raising $8m in $2m tranches, and is eyeing an initial public offering, aiming to become a “unicorn” – a technology firm whose valuation has exceeded $1 billion – and even a “decacorn”, valued at more than $10bn.

Wedo now has 20-odd full-time staff and about half a dozen part-timers, and the app has been downloaded by 37,000 users globally, has met regulatory obligations in the UK, USA and Europe. It will be officially launching in the UK in September and will be open over the summer for early bird testers.

Ms Gregg would by the end of next year like to have 500,000 users. “We're raising funds just now to get us 18 to 24 months of runway. We're looking towards quarter one of next year to hopefully start scaling.”

'The whole idea around the app is to create a future of work that can really change people's lives,' says the fintech boss. Picture: contributed.'The whole idea around the app is to create a future of work that can really change people's lives,' says the fintech boss. Picture: contributed.
'The whole idea around the app is to create a future of work that can really change people's lives,' says the fintech boss. Picture: contributed.

She stresses that having a positive impact on society is her top priority. “For me, technology has the impact, the potential to really improve people's lives in enormous ways... it's always been a central part of my life.”

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Rather than the bottom line, Wedo “is really more about how many people can we serve, how well can we do that, and how can we benefit more of them, because I think really what's lacking right now is enough companies who care and I think that's the one thing that we are all united in in this company,” she added.

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