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Below is our recent interview with David Chin, CEO at Thor:
Q: What is Thor, and what problems was it created to solve?
A: Thor was spun up to fix the problems of the gig economy, also known as the freelance economy. Headlined by giants like Uber, the gig economy is comprised of workers who are classified as independent contractors as opposed to full or part-time employees. This classification grants them increased freedoms, but also comes at a cost. Our current systems of health insurance and retirement are based around the old model of employee classification and have yet to adapt to the new realities. Practically, this means that freelancers are left without access to affordable group-plan health insurance or retirement benefits.
Thor is here to change that.
We are aiming to provide workers in the gig economy access to the same benefits as their counterparts in the traditional economy—not just because it makes business sense, but because it makes human sense as well. Why should they not have access to these benefits we consider crucial to maintaining a decent quality of life?
In addition, we are creating software and technology to optimize the businesses that work with these contractors. We just released Odin, our contractor management portal, and we are close to releasing our Thor Debit Card that will enable our Lightning Pay instant payments.
Ultimately, we are creating a shared marketplace—powered by our token—that will improve the efficiency of the gig economy and the quality of life of the workers that create it.
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Q: Not many blockchain companies have a working product with customers, but Thor does. Can you tell us about Odin, what it does, and who uses it?
A: Sure! Odin is our “1099 Made Easy” contractor management platform. Initially, Odin was simply the business-facing end of Lightning Pay. But, we were blown away by how many on-demand businesses we spoke with that were still managing and executing their contractor payroll with spreadsheets and filing cabinets.
The market need was clear, so we broke Odin out into its own product offering.
Odin is a web-based platform that allows businesses to quickly onboard contractors, pay them with the click of a button, and easily manage their outbound contractor payroll. Odin also automates the tax reporting process for these outbound payments, a huge burden in itself. It integrates with essential software like scheduling platforms, creating an all-in-one product unlike anything else on the market.
Thor Lightning Pay is enabled when Odin is paired with our soon-to-be-released debit card. This will allow contractors to spend their hard earned cash immediately after completing the gig. Contractors will love it—who wouldn’t love getting paid faster?—but we’re confident companies will too. It is an added perk that will allow them to attract contractors to work with them, a challenge many of these companies face. It also allows companies to financially reward preferred contractor behavior (a common tactic for these companies to influence contractors while staying compliant with employment regulations) right at the point of activity instead of a week or two later when the association isn’t as visceral.
Taken in aggregate, the solutions offered between Odin and Lightning Pay give companies a holistic approach to running a business that relies on a contractor workforce. The companies that use it will see improved efficiency, a better bottom line, and a happier workforce. Once they give it a whirl, they’ll have a hard time imagining life without it.
Q: What are the benefits for contractors?
A: We are working to provide a range of benefits for contractors. First and foremost, there is access to group plan healthcare. Group plans are, on average, 18% cheaper for the same benefits. This adds up quickly, and is needed at a time when healthcare costs are rising and a growing segment of the population can only purchase individual plans. The more contractors that are added into the group, the cheaper rates we can offer. By doing well as a business, we can do good for people, and that makes me proud of what we’ve built.
We are currently navigating the legal process of putting together an Association Health Plan that can group workers together by trade or geography. We are really excited to bring it together in 2019 and will keep everyone updated on our progress.
We are also getting contractors paid faster with Thor Lightning Pay. We saw a study that showed that 61% of workers would give up pizza to get paid faster and 21% would even give up music! Well, with Lightning Pay, they can get paid instantly without giving up the things they love.
Other avenues we are pursuing include things like automated retirement savings. Nearly half of millennials have zero dollars in savings. We can help contractors save for retirement by connecting them to a major 401(k) provider right through the same app they get paid with. We can even automatically save a portion of every payment they receive if they so choose.
This is just the beginning as well. We plan to continue building benefits into the platform after we reach these milestones. We’ve got the contractors’ backs, and we are eager to prove it to them.
Q: You say you’re bringing affordable healthcare to the gig economy, any updates on your progress? How do you plan to bring that about?
A: As I mentioned earlier, we are currently working towards the formation of an AHP. But that’s not all. True to our crawl/walk/run model, we have partnered with M Group Health to bring access to affordable individual and family plans for this year’s open enrollment. You can sign up on our website!
We are aiming to form our association board and begin drafting by laws by the end of first quarter 2019. From there, we can begin negotiation with insurance companies to underwrite plans and provide coverage in time to unveil ThorCare for open enrollment 2019. It will be a lot of work, but it’s work we are passionate about!
More details for our healthcare timeline are on our website, gothor.com, if any of your readers are interested.
Q: David, I believe you are speaking at a conference at the end of this month, yes? What will you be speaking about? And where is the conference at if anyone wants to see you speak in person?
A: That is true! I am speaking at Blockchain Expo North America in Santa Clara, California the afternoon of November 28. It is estimated to have 12,000 attendees, so we are pretty excited! My talk is titled 3 Signs You’re Bad at Blockchain, and it will be a tongue-in-cheek way to discuss what’s needed to build a blockchain company that can last. On top of the talk, our team will be running a booth both days of the convention. They will be doing demos of Odin and giving out swag. If any of your readers are in the bay area, I hope they stop by!
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Q: Do you see blockchain technology as a global game changer and why?
A: Yes, without a doubt! There are many different angles from which blockchain is poised to disrupt current economic models. For one, the decentralized fundraising aspect shifts opportunities outside of the traditional nexus, encouraging entrepreneurship beyond the main centers of economic power.
Blockchain allows us to fluidly transact across borders, lubricating the flow of capital as markets become increasingly globalized. Blockchain will be a foundational technology for any company that needs to interact internationally, which will be practically every company before long. Blockchain also reduces server costs and accounting costs for businesses. This allows companies to be more nimble, especially startups that are trying to get the most out of every dollar they have.
Outside of these practical benefits, blockchain’s combination of finance and digital identity means that you can transact without carrying tangible and losable objects like credit cards, or travel internationally without needing a physical passport. Imagine a world in which you can log in to your bank account or fly overseas using only biometric identifiers like DNA. The secure identity-financial-services cloud capture possible on blockchain will seep into our daily lives before long whether we’re ready for it or not.
Q: What’s next for Thor? How do you anticipate 2019 playing out?
A: Next year will be a big year for Thor. We will have cleared many of the regulatory milestones required for full implementation of our platform, which, as you can imagine, we’re very excited about. We will be expanding Odin’s user base by bringing more companies onto the platform, growing the suite of benefits that contractors in our network can enjoy, and delivering our ThorCare plan by Q4.
There is so much potential for what we are building, and I think 2019 will see a lot of it come to fruition. The gig economy is growing rapidly whether someone addresses its issues or not, but we think we are the right team for the task!
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