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In the first episode of the new series of the Platform Podcast, host Elle Tucker is joined by Colin Gardiner, marketplace advisor and one of the newest members of the Marketplace Risk Advisory Board. In this fascinating discussion, Elle welcomes Colin and asks him to share his experience and observations of the evolving marketplace model, through his early work in marketplaces and his experiences at Outdoorsy. Colin goes on to consider the vital role insurance plays in creating marketplace liquidity. A must-listen podcast to kick of the new series!

In this week’s podcast Elle Tucker is joined by Vikas Malhotra, CEO and Co-Founder of iwi.earth, an early stage platform with a bold new vision for the gig economy. Vikas talks to Elle about the recent Sharing Economy Global Summit, which he attended in his capacity as a member of the CBI Sharing Economy Council, and tells her about his ‘A-ha’ moment whilst working for the UK Government when he first realised there was a gap that could be filled by a tech platform like iwi.earth. Vikas goes on to share his thoughts on risk management and trust and safety for gig platforms, the approaches he is considering for iwi.earth as it grows, and where he sees the platform in a few years’ time. An inspiring and thought-provoking conversation.

In the latest Platform Podcast episode, Elle Tucker talks to Martin Jarvis, CEO and Co-Founder of Acquir, an early stage marketplace-meets-social network that aims to make luxury assets and experiences more accessible to more people. Martin shares his fascinating founder story and reveals his ‘double life’ as an airline pilot, and how aviation led him to having his ‘lightbulb moment’ and founding Acquir. Elle asks Martin how he will mitigate the risks of having high-value items on the marketplace as he scales, and Martin talks about the surprising sustainability benefits of sharing luxury goods. A not-to-be-missed episode!

In the latest Platform Podcast episode, Elle Tucker talks to Stephen Champion, Co-Founder and CEO of YuTU, an early stage social networking platform that encourages users to build communities offline too. Stephen shares his experiences of the recent Sharing Economy Global Summit, then goes on to tell his fascinating founder story, set against the background of the lockdowns – and talks about what inspired him to start a project so far removed from his previous career in the world of veterinary science. Then – plot twist – a pivot: Stephen explains what his new ‘social marketplace’ consists of, and the risks that will be involved as he scales.

This week, Elle Tucker is joined by Josh Nickell, Vice President (Equipment Segment) of the ARA (American Rental Association). In this fascinating discussion, Josh and Elle discuss the intersection between the sharing economy and the rental industry. Which influences which – and how? Why are there negative connotations when it comes to rental? What innovations are happening in this space? Josh answers these timely questions and shares his goal to get consumers to see rental more as sharing. He goes on to talk about the problems that sharing economy startups might have and how the rental industry may have already solved them – especially when it comes to trust and safety.

In this week’s podcast Elle Tucker is joined by Sophie Smallwood, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Roleshare, a new platform that matches professionals to enable them to apply for – and share – one full-time job. Sophie tells the story of discovering, through her own experiences, the need for such a platform and explores how difficult job sharing is to organise without the technology – which is of course the gap that Roleshare fills. Sophie tells Elle about the benefits on both sides of the marketplace, for both employers and employees, as well as the risks and challenges, and talks about the potential for this concept as we redefine the future of work post-pandemic.

This week Elle Tucker talks to Bradley Hornby, CEO and Co-Founder of Homebound, a marketplace for renting furniture and other interior design. Bradley shares his startup journey, talking first about the reasons that furniture rental is increasing in popularity and the need for a mainstream marketplace like this to address the need. He then tells the story of the bend in the road during his startup journey, and how a sudden need for FCA approval forced operations to halt. What lessons has he learned that he can pass on to other startup founders, and what does the future hold for Homebound now? A fascinating conversation!

In this week’s episode of the Platform Podcast, Elle Tucker talks to Janthana Kaenprakhamroy, CEO of Tapoly, which provides flexible and on-demand insurance for the gig economy. Janthana shares her founder story - her realisation that insurance was not necessarily designed for the needs of freelancers and small businesses, something she discovered when renting out a property on Airbnb. Janthana goes on to talk about the rapidly changing world of work and the importance of having insurance that adapts quickly to it, and how Tapoly works with gig marketplaces to support the needs of their workers.

In the latest Platform Podcast episode, Elle Tucker talks to Emma McConalogue, Founder of Kesero, a peer to peer skill sharing marketplace. Emma shares her founder story, from coming up with the idea in a conversation with a friend in 2018, to the growing platform she has today. In a cashless skills exchange, are bad actors a threat? How does Emma plan to mitigate risk as her early stage startup scales? Emma shares fascinating insights about building and growing a purpose-led platform during the pandemic and beyond.

This week our host Elle Tucker talks Jazz Hampton, Co-Founder of Turnsignl. Jazz tells Elle the story of Turnsignl, which is a ‘real time’ marketplace app that connects drivers who have been pulled over to an attorney who has been trained in de-escalation, via a live video chat. Jazz shares his journey towards co-founding the app which launched in May 2021 and is already in six US states. Jazz shares fascinating insights from his experience of creative a legal marketplace which requires its own trust and safety, as well as fostering trust and safety itself. A not-to-be missed episode.

Elle Tucker is joined by Hamed Yazdi, Founder and Chief Growth Officer at Rideshare Mechanic. Hamed shares his startup story and how the idea came about for Rideshare Mechanic, which provides a virtual vehicle inspection that is used by rideshare companies such as Uber and Lyft to determine if the driver’s car meets the minimum requirements. Hamed goes on to talk about how the model helps rideshare - as well as peer-to-peer car rental platforms - reduce friction and build trust, and shares with Elle his vision for how the model can be applied elsewhere in the sharing economy.

This week Elle Tucker talks to Rebecca Heaps, Founder of Tentshare, a peer to peer platform for sharing tents and other camping equipment. Rebecca tells Elle about the inspiration for her startup and her background – which was not remotely in the tech startup space! Rebecca goes on to talk about the risks associated with this kind of sharing marketplace and how she will manage this as her early stage platform scales. She also touches on the importance of having a purpose driven business, and the concept of a ‘triple bottom line’.

In the latest episode of the Platform Podcast, Elle Tucker is joined by Lieke Van Kerkhoven, Co-Founder of FLOOW2 and Marketplace Risk Advisory Board member. As Lieke tells Elle, sharing for consumers is an opportunity – but for businesses, it’s an even bigger opportunity, not only to be more sustainable but to save money. However, how do you build B2B sharing beyond (inefficient) informal networks? The answer is in the technology, and for Lieke this realization was the beginning of FLOOW2. An absorbing, must-listen conversation about the creation and growth of FLOOW2, and Lieke’s vision for B2B sharing.

This week our host Elle Tucker talks to Jane Lee, Trust & Safety Architect at Sift. Jane tells Elle about her role and her passion for fraud fighting, then goes on to share the story of a recent ‘undercover operation’. Jane suspected a crypto scam that was hitting various dating sites and community forums after she was targeted herself, and personally went undercover to reveal this scheme. Jane talks through the anatomy of it and recounts how her patience paid off in the end. A gripping tale which makes for a fascinating podcast!

Elle Tucker is joined by John Vincent Lee, Founder and CEO of Loopie, a laundry marketplace app which connects people who don’t have the time or desire to deal with their own laundry with people who can do it in their home and earn money in the process. John shares his founder journey since Loopie began in Seattle and tells Elle about the challenges and achievements he has experienced. A must-listen podcast, with a story about muddy boots that is a risk management lesson for all marketplace founders!

In the first episode of the new series of the Platform Podcast, Elle Tucker is joined by Vishal Kapoor, Director of Product at Shipt and Marketplace Risk Advisory Board member, to talk about the complexities of the Shipt model. Vishal shares his experiences of the recent Marketplace Risk Management Conference in San Francisco, and goes on to provide a fresh perspective on risk management by looking at the topic though the lens of pricing. A fascinating discussion to kick of the new series!

In the final episode of the series, Elle Tucker talks to Roger Kaiser, Head of Safety at Uber and Marketplace Risk Advisory Board member. Roger tells Elle about his background in federal law enforcement and how he was able to transfer skills from this part of his career forward into his role at Uber eight years ago. He shares with Elle what his job now consists of on a day-to-day basis and the challenges a global marketplace that connects people in real life can face, and how he helped the company transition into a more mature model. A fascinating conversation to finish the series.

This week, Elle Tucker is joined by Julia Andaluzia, founder of Shelff, to talk about her new furniture and homeware rental marketplace. Julia tells Elle about how she started Shelff using an MVP on Instagram, inspired in part by the short usage of Christmas decorations and keen to offer an alternative. The idea has grown, and there is at the same time a trend for ‘access over ownership’ when it comes to interiors, which has led Julia to recently launch Shelff on Sharetribe. She talks about the trust and safety strategies she is considering even at this early stage, and how she is focused on creating hyper-localized communities on the marketplace to engender user trust and scale.

In the latest episode of the Platform Podcast, Elle Tucker talks to Marketplace Risk Advisory Board member Jennifer Kelly, who is Director of Marketplace Integrity at Etsy. Jennifer tells Elle about her role at one of the largest marketplaces in the world and how she became interested in the world of trust & safety after she studied law. Jennifer goes on to talk about the US Inform Act which requires online marketplaces to collect, verify, and disclose certain information from high-volume, third-party sellers, and tells Elle how Etsy deals with legal and regulatory change.

Jan Eissfeldt, Global Head of Trust and Safety at Wikimedia Foundation - and Marketplace Risk Advisory Board member - talks to Elle Tucker in this, the latest episode of the Platform Podcast. Jan tells Elle about the scaled sustainable risk management approaches he builds for platforms operating in the intersection between technology and society. He goes on to share with her his journey into the world of the platform economy which began when he ran into the shared knowledge ecosystems of Wikipedia in early 2004. A not-to-be-missed conversation for those who have always wondered what goes on behind the scenes at Wikipedia!