LaborVoices, Inc.

[astonas]

Hello Friends!

About three years ago I put the following post up on the iTulip forums. Shortly thereafter I became extremely busy, and without much of an explanation, dramatically decreased the frequency of my iTulip posts. It may now be time for that explanation.

It's true. Garment workers in Bangladesh are just one other example.

For those who are appropriately disturbed by the fact that slavery is still widespread in the modern world, I thought I'd point out that there are organizations combating it.

One of my friends from grad school started a social entrepreneurship company called LaborVoices. It allows people who are being exploited, or recently freed from slavery, to report the chain of people who exploited or enslaved them, so that others can avoid the same fate.

The idea is that with abundant transparency, LaborVoices will over time become a trusted name both in places where migrant labor originates, and among customers who seek to ensure that their products are not made through exploitation. A lot of big US retailers are starting to look for a way to reassure their customers that the horror stories (like those above) that are in the paper don't apply to their own products.

Essentially, LaborVoices eliminates the information asymmetry (denied both worker and customer) that permits exploitation in the first place. It makes a profit by improving the overall supply chains of those companies who use the service, not only with respect to abuses, but also eliminating other bad management practices through the same real-time feedback mechanism.

If I had a pile of cash sitting around, this is the one place I'd be trying to invest today.

Well, since I wrote that post, I decided to back my words with my time, and joined the LaborVoices team. We've succeeded in our goal of becoming the trusted source of information relating to labor abuses in the global apparel industry, and we have a nice collection of marquee customers who are now paying for our services to ensure that their supply chains are free of labor abuses.

It turns out that enabling market forces to pressure abusive factory owners into improving working conditions is not only profitable, but a rapidly growing business! We have already begun expanding monitoring services into more countries and additional sectors, and begun selling higher-margin services that apply sophisticated analytical tools to the crowd-sourced data we're collecting. Annual revenues are still small (~$500k) but growing fast.

Over the past few months, we've also been going through 500 Startups' accelerator program in San Francisco (Batch 22), and are about to graduate. Our formal public reveal will be in San Francisco at 500 Startups' Batch 22 Demo Day, on October 25th. (There's also a private "preview" day a bit earlier, on October 19th, but I believe you may need a pre-existing relationship with 500 Startups to get entry to that one.)

If any iTulipers will be in the San Francisco bay area on October 25th, and are interested in meeting or learning more about LaborVoices, tickets to Demo Day are available here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/500-sta...44?aff=website. After Demo Day, we'll begin setting up meetings with both Angel and VC investors for a Series A round. (Unfortunately, we can only accept accredited investors at this point.) Attendance at Demo Day is not required to invest, but it does provide you with a chance to meet the whole management team in person.

If anyone wants to meet offline, individually or collectively, from the 20th to the 24th in the San Francisco area, we may be able to make that happen as well. (I'll be working in SF, but staying in Fremont.) Just send me a private message, and we'll see what we can set up.

Thanks!

astonas

p.s. For FRED, or any other systems administrator: I did try to contact EJ directly to get permission before making this post, but received no reply. I assumed he must be busy with his own venture (VirZoom), and was no longer checking messages here regularly. Should this announcement be considered inappropriate, or should it need to be moved behind the paywall, please feel free to move it as you see fit. Thanks!

[shiny!]

Re: LaborVoices, Inc.

It's nice to hear from you, Astonas. What a great idea. I'm happy for you.

We need something like this in Hollywood to enable powerless people to report abusers like Weinstein without fear.

[GRG55]

Re: LaborVoices, Inc.

Well done!! A wonderful and timely idea. Really pleased to hear you have been devoting your energy with passion to such an enterprise.
I wish you and your colleagues (and all the people that need and receive your help, now and in the future) every success.

[lakedaemonian]

Re: LaborVoices, Inc.

Congrats Astonas!

I’ve also been far less active in the last year(as have most).

I was supposed to be in the Bay Area for a Stanford GSB reunion but I’m stuck here in NZ.

I would have loved to have met and learned more about your profitable effort for social good.

Some of my time has been dedicated to a charity I co-founded to disrupt the veteran support space as well as direct investment in and advisory support for a company that created an artificial intelligence Math Tutor call Amy, www.amy.ac

We just closed a heavily oversubscribed seed round.

[dcarrigg]

Re: LaborVoices, Inc.

Hello Friends!

About three years ago I put the following post up on the iTulip forums. Shortly thereafter I became extremely busy, and without much of an explanation, dramatically decreased the frequency of my iTulip posts. It may now be time for that explanation.



Well, since I wrote that post, I decided to back my words with my time, and joined the LaborVoices team. We've succeeded in our goal of becoming the trusted source of information relating to labor abuses in the global apparel industry, and we have a nice collection of marquee customers who are now paying for our services to ensure that their supply chains are free of labor abuses.

It turns out that enabling market forces to pressure abusive factory owners into improving working conditions is not only profitable, but a rapidly growing business! We have already begun expanding monitoring services into more countries and additional sectors, and begun selling higher-margin services that apply sophisticated analytical tools to the crowd-sourced data we're collecting. Annual revenues are still small (~$500k) but growing fast.

Over the past few months, we've also been going through 500 Startups' accelerator program in San Francisco (Batch 22), and are about to graduate. Our formal public reveal will be in San Francisco at 500 Startups' Batch 22 Demo Day, on October 25th. (There's also a private "preview" day a bit earlier, on October 19th, but I believe you may need a pre-existing relationship with 500 Startups to get entry to that one.)

If any iTulipers will be in the San Francisco bay area on October 25th, and are interested in meeting or learning more about LaborVoices, tickets to Demo Day are available here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/500-sta...44?aff=website. After Demo Day, we'll begin setting up meetings with both Angel and VC investors for a Series A round. (Unfortunately, we can only accept accredited investors at this point.) Attendance at Demo Day is not required to invest, but it does provide you with a chance to meet the whole management team in person.

If anyone wants to meet offline, individually or collectively, from the 20th to the 24th in the San Francisco area, we may be able to make that happen as well. (I'll be working in SF, but staying in Fremont.) Just send me a private message, and we'll see what we can set up.

Thanks!

astonas

p.s. For FRED, or any other systems administrator: I did try to contact EJ directly to get permission before making this post, but received no reply. I assumed he must be busy with his own venture (VirZoom), and was no longer checking messages here regularly. Should this announcement be considered inappropriate, or should it need to be moved behind the paywall, please feel free to move it as you see fit. Thanks!

Hey Astonas, good on you, buddy, and good to hear from you!

[astonas]

Re: LaborVoices, Inc.

Thanks, Shiny,

The powerless certainly do need voices in many places. We'll keep doing what we can. Thanks for your own consistent reminders on kindness, they do have the power to inspire real change.

[astonas]

Re: LaborVoices, Inc.

I was supposed to be in the Bay Area for a Stanford GSB reunion but I’m stuck here in NZ.

I would have loved to have met and learned more about your profitable effort for social good.

Thanks, lake. I definitely feel like I'm missing an opportunity by not being able to meet with you. I'm in the Bay Area for a couple weeks a quarter, these days. If you're willing to try to meet next time around, PM me your contact information, and we can set something up.

Some of my time has been dedicated to a charity I co-founded to disrupt the veteran support space as well as direct investment in and advisory support for a company that created an artificial intelligence Math Tutor call Amy, www.amy.ac

We just closed a heavily oversubscribed seed round.

Congratulations on that progress! Our own seed round has taught me just how impressive an achievement it is.

I knew you've had a longstanding interest in veteran support, but hadn't realized you were undertaking a new venture in the space. I'd like to learn more, if you're out of stealth mode. (Do charities have stealth phases? I clearly need to learn a lot more.)

[astonas]

Re: LaborVoices, Inc.

Thanks, GRG55!

While I do often miss the frequent thoughtful and challenging discussions I've had here on economics, many of the best with yourself, I have to confess that I'm finding incomparable satisfaction in having an impact offline for the moment. Thank you for your well-wishes, and I hope you and yours also continue to thrive.

Perhaps one day I'll be able to return more frequently, and once again learn from you as I have my musings honed by your rigorous cross-examination. I don't know about you, but whether we've agreed or occasionally disagreed I've always had a blast doing it.

[astonas]

Re: LaborVoices, Inc.

Hey Astonas, good on you, buddy, and good to hear from you!

Thanks, dcarrigg,

One of the reasons I created this thread in the public forums rather than in the select was so that I could be sure that you and other non-select members could see it.

You see, it was in part the consistently passionate and well-reasoned arguments on matters relating to social equity on iTulip, many authored by yourself, that added strength to my worldview in that subject. And there is no doubt that that very worldview was being tested when I took the plunge; giving up a fair measure of stability to pursue this venture instead.

Never doubt that the words we write here matter, and often in ways we ourselves can't easily see. In turbulent times like these, it can sometimes feel that we are blowing against an overwhelming wind. But you never know who might be reading quietly, without necessarily responding, but learning from you nonetheless.

I've learned an incredible amount here, and I don't intend to stop, even while the time I can devote to iTulip is reduced. I should perhaps have had the presence of mind to do this in my original post, but I want to sincerely thank all iTulip members for the incredible wealth of learning that I've found here, and for keeping this community together for so long. I'm honestly not sure what I'd be doing today, had it not existed.

Thank you all!