William Ward Owner of PettyGigs

William Ward came to the US as a teenage refugee fleeing war and poverty in Liberia. He came with his family, but because of their circumstances, he knew he needed to fend for himself. Unfortunately, finding his first job was challenging, and it remained a challenge to find flexible employment as he continued his education.

PettyGigs was born out of that experience. William saw an opportunity in the community for both workers who need flexibility and individuals who need short-term help.

PettyGigs connects vetted teens and young adults with busy professionals and businesses that need help with short-term services, tasks, and errands.

Their platform makes the process simple.

• A business or individual in need of help posts a gig with an hourly rate offer. 
• The workers get notified of the posting and can accept the job. 
• The worker shows up, performs the job, and gets paid. 

Built-in protocols make the process safe. All transactions are handled inside the app without physical money exchange, and all workers are screened and background checked.

The ultimate goal is not only to connect workers and busy people but also to put teens and young adults on a path to financial health. More than 40% of the US population doesn’t have access to investing and savings. PettyGigs focuses on under-resourced communities where that problem is even more acute – where there aren’t a lot of opportunities to earn supplemental income to save.

PettyGigs has built-in financial solutions that allow workers to save and invest their money. William explained, “Our vision is really to power communities. To get folks on a healthy financial path, get folks on a path to financial freedom while easing the burdens of busy professionals, seniors, and local businesses that need help.”

After opening in 2019 and surviving COVID-19 lockdowns, PettyGigs is getting traction. They have experienced over 700 percent increase in signups since piloting in Charlotte, and individual transactions have been 5x higher than anticipated. Interest in B2B services is growing as companies look for affordable, flexible solutions in a tight labor market.

Interest is also growing outside of the Charlotte metro area, and that is right in line with William’s vision to grow the business nationally and even globally.

Grant funding from NC IDEA will be used for additional customer discovery and marketing. The best channels to connect with users have been identified, so the money will help PettyGigs dip into those channels further and see which ones are the best performing. Marketing will focus on customer awareness.

William sees a bright future for PettyGigs. “A bridge to make this thing happen is exciting. It excites me to know that millions of people like myself will be benefiting from PettyGigs in time to come.”

To learn more about PettyGigs or to get signed up to post a gig, visit www.pettygigs.com.