Startups Bet That Lonely Freelancers Crave Company
Work clubs say productivity improves when you have a buddy.
A year and a half ago, Alex Schneider was struggling with two gigs. The 30-year-old has a startup that makes $29 cardboard standing desks called Ghostands, and also a remote job as a senior assurance accountant at HoganTaylor LLP. One day he came across a Reddit post that mentioned a productivity site called Focusmate. Intrigued, Schneider logged on and gave it a spin.
His daily routine was transformed, he says: Soon, his work-at-home days began promptly at 8 a.m. by turning on his laptop camera and saying hello to a “buddy” he’d been randomly assigned. The camera keeps rolling for 50-minute shifts while the buddies work. “Initially it sounds weird, but it’s great,” Schneider says. “It keeps me honest, in terms of waking up and being there.” He’s been struck by how friendly and helpful his buddies have been, he says; he’s encountered “no one crazy or outlandish.”