The sharing economy (or “shareconomy”) is an economic model defined as Peer-to-Peer (P2P) based activity of acquiring, providing, or sharing access to goods and services that is often facilitated by a community-based online platform. It was the inspiration for the creation of Virtualnonexecs.com.
For thousands of years, communities have shared assets, but the dawn of the internet and nowadays, our ability to use “Big Data” has made it easier for those “asset owners” and those seeking to use those assets, to find each other.
Call it collaborative consumption, collaborative economy or the peer economy, it allows individuals and groups to extract value from underused assets.
If we can share “idle assets” such as spare bedrooms and empty driveways, why not an individual’s financial or corporate expertise? And furthermore, the data shows that companies who operate in the “shareconomy” often provide reduced pricing for their clients.
Data from the Brookings Institute, revealed that Airbnb’s cost advantage over hotel space (as homeowners make use of spare bedrooms) were reported to be between 30 and 60% cheaper than hotel rates.
And the sharing economy is evolving.
Other platforms that have joined the sharing economy include:
- Peer-to-Peer Lending Platforms: Companies allowing people to lend money to others, at rates that are often much cheaper than traditional credit lending companies.
- Co-working Platforms: Companies offering shared open work spaces for freelancers, entrepreneurs, and work-from-home employees. Virtualnonexecs.com is one such platform.
- Freelancing Platforms: Sites that match freelancers across a wide range of industries – from tech’ freelance work to services traditionally reserved to labourers and tradesmen.
But we have gone one step further than simply allowing the sharing of these highly sought after non-executive and independent director roles. 2021, amidst the global pandemic, we introduced a service known as Board Ai. Simply put, Board Ai is an algorithmic board matching service.
It allows you, the professional, entrepreneur or business owner, to answer a few simple questions before being matched, by an algorithm, to your target audience.
Perhaps you wish to meet Finance Directors in local government or the manufacturing industry, or perhaps you’re looking for a co-founder for a business idea that has been eating away at you…. Oh and you need an investor to help make it happen. Board Ai can do it all.
To find out more, speak to one of the team or book an appointment HERE