Steve Fepeussi and Mounir Felloula co-founders of Puulse, tell us why they started their innovative new financial services platform for gig workers, what’s unique about it and their future plans
Tell us about Puulse – how did you start the company and what markets do you serve?
My co-founder Mounir Felloula and I launched Puulse with the intention of building a bank for a new generation of gig workers. Gig workers are the driving force for many economies across the world, and yet they don’t always receive the support that they need at the time when they most need it. The biggest problem for them is getting access to traditional banking and finance.
We wanted to solve that by democratising access to financial products through our new platform.
How did you come up with the idea for Puulse? How has the company evolved since you started?
Having both worked in the gig economy and faced the daily struggle of getting paid instantly, we understood the frustration that gig workers face. So we decided to build a solution that we would have loved to use ourselves. After talking with more than 100 gig workers about the issue, we realised that because no one had yet built a financial product to help them, we needed to do so as a matter of urgency. Since then, we have received significant interest in our product from the freelancing community and we have ambitions to keep growing and helping even more gig workers.
What makes Puulse unique?
Our USP is that we provide a bank account for independent workers which enables them to access their earnings as soon as they have completed their work. They can also get instant access to cash advances when they most need them, which are taken out of their future earnings.
We also wanted to provide a suitable solution for all gig workers, regardless of what line of business they work in, not just the mainstream ones, to cater to their earnings and spending needs. It’s also easy to use: all you have to do is download the app, sign up and set your gig deposit with Puulse.
What can we hope to see from Puulse in the future?
Moving forward, we want to continue to help all independent workers by providing them with access to the financial products they need in order to be able to both support their families and plan for the future.
By doing this, we will bring more fairness and transparency to the gig economy, while also building a stable financial ecosystem for freelancers. Puulse also helps gig workers to complete and submit their tax return, removing the need for complicated spreadsheet calculations.
