Human Cloud Study Groups
Go from interest to insight through one day, or 3 month sprints.
Led by industry experts Jon Younger and Matthew Mottola, Human Cloud Study Groups curate the right mix of experts, peers, and curriculum needed to make informed decisions in the freelance economy.
Launching Jan 1, 2023
WHAT IS A STUDY GROUP?
Human Cloud study groups help Platform, Enterprise, and Industry leaders make informed decisions.
We use our data to dictate the most pressing topics and challenges, our network to leverage the most relevant subject matter experts, then curate a mix of leaders that you can learn from and collaborate with post study group.
3 Month Study Group
Meet, present, and learn with a vetted group of peers
LED BY
Jon and Matthew
3 months
Remote, 15 Members
The OG of our study groups. We curate a complementary group of leaders across industries, skills, and regions. Each leaders presents their plans, poses their top challenges, and collaborates with fellow members. We also facilitate 3 Human Cloud Expert sessions.
Ideal for: Founders, CEO’s of Marketplaces and Industry Solutions
Want the full agenda?
Funding
How to fund your startup or get acquired in the freelance economy
LED BY
Jon Younger
1 day
Remote, 25 Members
In this lab, we explore different financing strategies for your platform, and bring you together with experts in banking, credit, and VC/PE.
Ideal for: Marketplace and Industry Founders
Want the full agenda?
Creating An Enterprise Freelance Program
How to scale Enterprise adoption of freelancers up to $50m/yr
LED BY
Matthew Mottola
1 day
Remote, 25 Members
Learn how Fortune 500s like Microsoft, and Airbus are scaling the amount of freelancers they can compliantly hire through a freelance program.
Ideal for: VP of Innovation, Strategic Initiatives, Strategic Sourcing, Procurement
Want the full agenda?
POWERED BY HUMAN CLOUD
The global authority on the freelance economy
The Story Of Freelance First Study Groups
In The Freelance Economy, Never Underestimate The Power of Peers
FFSG Study Groups are simple: We bring a great group of innovative platform leaders together to share their initiatives, challenges, and experiences, combined with subject matter experts in the Human Cloud network, so that leaders can identify more, better, practical ways to support freelancer success, generate greater attraction, retention and engagement of talented freelancers and clients, and like our logo, the Banyan tree, help leaders build stronger, deeper, roots in support of freelancers’ success.
At Human Cloud, we’ve learned that freelance entrepreneurs learn best working together with colleagues: what we call Collaborative Insight. While new founders and leaders can think they’re competitive with peers, the reality is that the only competition in the freelance economy is themselves, and their ability to retain and grow top freelancers and clients through talent intelligence, marketplace intelligence, and client intelligence. That’s why we created Freelance First Study Groups (FFSG), curated and collaborative workshops.
We’ve been blown away by early success. In the inagural FFSG we saw:
> 3 Joint Ventures spanning 4 continents to win deals and increase the scope of work within each marketplace
> Founders shared tactical metrics around cost, ROI, margins, and results related to community, sales, marketing, and product
Partnerships and lead sharing templates were built
We are just getting started. Check out our open study groups below.
Jon Younger | Forbes
Freelancer First: How Innovative Platforms Are Prioritizing Freelancer Success
Earn your place today!
Now Enrolling Winter '23
Funding
How do freelance founders fund their ventures?
LED BY
Jon Younger
1 day, $800 USD
Remote, 25 Members
In this lab, we explore different financing strategies for your platform, and bring you together with experts in banking, credit, and VC/PE.
Ideal For: Marketplace Founders, Freelance Industry Entrepreneurs.
Want the full agenda?
(14/25 filled)
groups start once filled
Private Talent Clouds
The rise of pre-vetted, curated, on-demand freelancer pools
LED BY
Matthew Mottola
1 day, $800 USD
Remote, 25 Members
Explore the growth of private talent clouds, their current commercial applications, the technology powering them, and their implications for freelance marketplaces.
Ideal For: Enterprise Procurement, FMS Leaders, Marketplace Leaders
Want the full agenda?
(5/25 filled)
groups start once filled
Freelance Management Systems
The next big innovation in the freelance economy
LED BY
Jon Younger
1 day, $800
Remote, 25 Members
In this lab, we explore the growth of FMS, their growing impact to the freelance revolution and what it means for freelance marketplaces.
Ideal For: VC’s with Future of Work thesis, FMS Leaders, Marketplace Leaders
Want the full agenda?
(9/25 filled)
groups start once filled
Growth
How freelance solutions are growing sustainable sales strategies and pipelines
LED BY
Matthew Mottola
1 day, $800
Remote, 25 Members
Explore how freelance marketplaces and industry solutions attract, retain, and grow their pipeline and revenue.
Ideal For: VP of Innovation, VP of Strategic Initiatives, CMO’s, Procurement
Want the full agenda?
(11/25 filled)
groups start once filled
Platform Tech
How marketplaces are using AI, automation, and leading technology
1 day, $800
Remote, 25 Members
Explore the current and future applications of AI in the freelance economy and how platforms can be designed to deliver more value to freelancers and clients.
Ideal For: Marketplace Founders, CTO, Product Directors
Want the full agenda?
(20/25 filled)
groups start once filled
Community
The ROI behind a robust freelancer network
1 day, $800
Remote, 25 Members
Explore the intended investment, ROI, and how marketplaces leverage community to drive client and freelancer engagement and retention.
Ideal For: Marketplace Founders, Marketplace Marketing Leaders
Want the full agenda?
(9/25 filled)
groups start once filled
Enterprise Adoption
How to scale an Enterprise freelance workforce
LED BY
Matthew Mottola
1 day, $1,800
Remote, 25 Members
Currently 30-50% of Fortune 100 Enterprises are hiring freelancers. However, the process is messy, lacks visibility, and typically in the wrong hands. We’ll walk you through how Enterprises like Microsoft, Stanley Black & Decker, and NASA have successfully embraced a freelance workforce.
Ideal For: Marketplace Founders, Freelance Industry Entrepreneurs.
Want the full agenda?
(8/25 filled)
groups start once filled
Peer 3 Month Learn & Present
Learn and collaborate with your peers
LED BY
Jon and Matthew
3 months, $4,000
Remote, 15 Members
In this cohort, each member presents their strategy, learnings, and top challenges so peers can learn from and collaborate with each other. Up to 3 Human Cloud Experts are also brought on, decided by the group.
Ideal For: Marketplace, FMS, and Industry Founders
Want the full agenda?
(20/25 filled)
groups start once filled
Hiring Manager User Experience
How to create a best in class Enterprise Hiring Manager Experience
LED BY
Matthew Mottola
EIR
Liane Scult, Microsoft
1 day, $1,800
Remote, 25 Members
Freelancers have over a 95% success rate, yet less than 20% of interested Enterprise hiring managers convert to submitting their job. That leaves over 80% of potential clients on the table. What gives? Current product experiences across marketplaces and freelance programs don’t cut it.
Ideal For: Marketplace Product, Sales, and Enterprise Executives, Freelance Program Managers
Want the full agenda?
(8/25 filled)
groups start once filled
Working With HR
How to make HR your best friend
LED BY
Jon Younger
1 day, $800
Remote, 25 Members
HR can be a gatekeeper or a key stakeholder depending on how you approach them, shape your offering, and build your relationship.
Ideal For: Marketplace & Industry Executive Teams
Want the full agenda?
(4/25 filled)
groups start once filled
US Compliance
Current and future compliance policy and implications
LED BY
Jon and Matthew
3 months, $4,000
Remote, 15 Members
What led to Microsoft’s $99m permatemp lawsuit? Or Nike’s $254 mil classification liability? Misclassification. Specifically, wrongful classification of an individual as a 1099 independent contractor when government policy would deem them W-2 full time employment. The results are dire, policy is subjective, yet there are frameworks to keep your organization or solution safe.
Ideal For: Enterprise Procurement, HR, Legal, Freelance Project Managers, Marketplace or Industry Executive Teams
Want the full agenda?
(20/25 filled)
groups start once filled
Breaking Into The US
How international platforms can expand into the US
LED BY
Matthew Mottola
EIR
Liane Scult, Microsoft
1 day, $1,800
Remote, 25 Members
Freelancers have over a 95% success rate, yet less than 20% of interested Enterprise hiring managers convert to submitting their job. That leaves over 80% of potential clients on the table. What gives? Current product experiences across marketplaces and freelance programs don’t cut it.
Ideal For: Marketplace Product, Sales, and Enterprise Executives, Freelance Program Managers
Want the full agenda?
(8/25 filled)
groups start once filled
Questions?
Led by The Superconnectors
Together we’ve built three startups (two became public companies), Microsoft’s freelance product, two leading freelance communities, an industry leading podcast (Human Cloud), hundreds of webinars, 6 books, and almost 500 articles.
Matthew Mottola
Lead, Enterprise Intelligence
Jon Younger PhD
Lead, Marketplace Intelligence