Latest news with #KodyBoye
USA Today
24-02-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Shared Economy Services Disrupts the American Economy with Its Contributive Mutual Subscription Structure
Kody Boye Contributor Hear this story Five years ago, Robert Wallach (Bobby) had an idea that seemed radical: to revolutionize the gig economy by eliminating the distinction between employees and independent contractors. He even identified a groundbreaking method that could save ride-hailing companies annually by restructuring their car insurance. Yet, his innovative ideas were dismissed. 'They laughed and sent me packing,' he recalls. Today, the vision has grown into Shared Economy Services (SES), a benefits company poised to upend the traditional labor market. SES stands as a disruptive force in the gig economy offering a framework that provides portable, comprehensive benefits to freelancers, gig workers, and companies with 25 employees or less, while potentially reducing costs for employers. Robert's creation is no longer just an idea; it is a movement with the potential to fundamentally alter the U.S. workplace, and the economy at large. The journey began with a simple observation: companies in the gig economy were insuring the same workers multiple times. 'Every driver has multiple apps running, and yet, each company is paying insurance for the same person. It's inefficient, costly, and unnecessary,' he explains. When the pandemic struck, Robert retreated into what he calls his 'little cave,' mourning the rejection of his ideas. But this period of isolation turned into a moment of clarity. 'I realized I didn't need these companies to implement my vision. I could build a system for everyone, by everyone.' He set out to create a platform that would address the inefficiencies of the gig economy while providing workers with benefits traditionally reserved for full-time employees. SHARED ECONOMY SERVICES was born, and with it, a new way of thinking about labor in the 21st century: The People Cloud (™) and SES Drive. At its core, SES offers a subscription-based innovation that eliminates the distinction between employees and independent contractors. Through its proprietary system, SES provides portable benefits—including healthcare, retirement plans, workers' compensation, and life insurance—directly to its members. 'Workers shouldn't have to choose between flexibility and security,' Robert emphasizes. 'SES makes job classifications irrelevant by giving workers control over their benefits, no matter where they work or what they do.' The SES model can also offer significant cost savings for employers. By removing the regulatory and administrative burdens of conventional benefit systems, this company may reduce labor costs by up to 30%. Meanwhile, their employees/workers could increase their net income—all this while allowing businesses to focus on their core operations and financial goals. The potential ripple effects of SES are staggering. Currently, gig workers often face economic insecurity, working 60 to 70 hours a week to make ends meet. SES changes the equation. 'When workers keep their entire income and have access to affordable benefits, it's transformative,' says the founder. Despite its early successes, Robert knows the road to widespread adoption won't be easy. The goal? To equalize the American workplace so that gig/independent contractors and legacy employment are equal. How? By creating the first meritocracy in hiring The People Cloud (™) and providing all the work required, the full contract value is given to the worker, including the spectrum of life-desired benefits. The People Cloud (™) is an alphanumeric universe with proprietary AI for both workers and employers. SES uses proprietary AI decision-making technology to change the alphanumeric scores associated with both members and employers. SES' proprietary AI manages those scores based on actual life, career, and life-event variables' value. Bobby is also working to broaden SES' reach through strategic partnerships with those companies and organizations in the business and consumer markets whose participation will contribute to the positive disruptive technology being deployed. From tech startups and mobility/logistics companies to new firms across the entire small business spectrum, SES is building a network designed to support workers and employers across all sectors. This visionary founder's drive to transform the labor market goes beyond business metrics. 'I want to give everyone something as simple as a free cup of coffee any size, every day, in their own community restaurants and cafes,' he says, referencing SES' mission to also provide small but meaningful benefits to its members and be an integral part of every community. As Shared Economy Services continues to attract extraordinary talent & experience and increases its momentum, Bobby retains his passion and remains steadfast in his vision. He states: 'We're solving a socioeconomic problem that has resisted a solution for over 75 years. This isn't just about gig workers—it's about creating a new workplace and system that works for everyone. SES is a paradigm change of how Americans work and enjoy life.' **Investing involves risk, and your investment may lose value. Past performance gives no indication of future results. These statements do not constitute and cannot replace professional investment or financial advice.
USA Today
14-02-2025
- USA Today
David E.A. Johnson: Evangelizing Hybrid Intelligence to Combat Global Security Threats
Kody Boye Contributor Hear this story For over 15 years, David E.A. Johnson dedicated his career to solving some of the world's most complex security challenges driven by criminal networks. In his time as the Executive Director of C4ADS (Center for Advanced Defense Studies), a nonprofit organization that combats global security threats, Johnson grew the center from two employees into a globally recognized think tank that has confronted countless international threats. He has stepped down from his role at C4ADS to forge a new path in the global security ecosystem. A visionary change leader, David Johnson is also on the boards of the Afghanistan International Business Council and the Indo-Pacific Counterproliferation Initiative. He is also on the advisory boards of the Special Operations Association of America and Rescue Global. Having published several papers on the matters of open-sourced, hybrid, and high-context intelligence, he presented the value of impact networks at the recent GSOF Indo-Pacific Irregular Warfare Symposium in Hawaii. Johnson's approach to difficult problems revolves around harnessing the collaborative power of human intelligence and technology (like artificial intelligence) to 'constructively disrupt' current ineffective, bureaucratic efforts. 'Some see AI as a security threat,' he explains. 'However, it's a tool. When properly combined with human ingenuity to enable the human to teach the AI and the AI to teach the human in a 'hybrid intelligence,' it can empower individuals to tackle highly complex challenges.' His journey to this conclusion starts at West Point in his military career. Commissioned in 1984, he spent 24 years cultivating a sense of duty that would come to define the rest of his life. His time in the US Army Special Forces cemented his duty of care, a life mission that comes from the Green Berets' motto: De Oppresso Liber ('to free the oppressed'). Johnson's service, spanning six conflicts and two wars, shaped his understanding of global systems and their vulnerabilities. This foundation drove his work with C4ADS, where he embraced the idea that geography and sovereignty are becoming increasingly less relevant in the fight for peace. 'There are billions of bytes and people flowing across borders, states are just the terrain across which social networks compete either legitimately or illegitimately. And criminal networks understand that being successful means moving their value from the illegal world to the legal one. This means that they leave a trail in transportation, communications, and finance systems, visible to anyone who knows where to look,' he explains. To combat the threat that these globalized illicit actors pose to peace and security, C4ADS built a team of talented young analysts, representing some of the brightest minds funneled from around the world. The nonprofit, which has received the Platinum Seal of Transparency from GuideStar, has developed state-of-the-art tools for large-scale data lakes and optimizing intelligence techniques in publicly available information. This allows them to collaborate across industries, governments, and NGOs— and manage the delicate relationships they must maintain to engineer real impact in the lives of those affected by insecurity. All this work empowers those seeking to fight criminal networks and it originates in the organization's leveraging of publicly available information. 'Awareness is not an impact,' as Johnson says. 'We're seeking to shape this globalized world we're in, to ensure that it's secure and prosperous for an open, pluralistic society.' After 15 years in his role at C4ADS, even as the nonprofit bloomed in its impact, late last year, Johnson made the difficult decision to step down. 'It was time,' he says. 'Varun Vira is continuing to push the mission forward as C4ADS' Executive Director. This enables me to build impact networks that will scale that mission.' He looks forward to uniting the many stakeholders of global peace and the systemic threats to maintaining it. His work is grounded in a three-layer model developed during his time at C4ADS: data management, analysis, and requirements. 'It's not just about finding the bad guys,' Johnson explains. 'It's about closing systemic holes and shaping the ecosystem for long-term impact.' Through building impact networks with private corporations, governments, and other NGOs, Johnson aims to shape an environment that sustains the process of surveillance, due diligence, and accountability. 'We need both a carrot and a stick. It is not enough to simply punish bad guys; we need to create opportunities for them to make their money legitimately.' A central theme of his concept is to empower the private and civil sectors to drive innovation from the bottom up. By working by, with, and through others and developing tools tailored to helping people solve global security challenges, Johnson aims to open access to the power of hybrid intelligence. David E.A. Johnson continues to disrupt the status quo of acquiescent information systems that lets global threats fall through the cracks and empower a new generation of impact-driven intelligence. 'The oath I took to defend the Constitution of the United States didn't end with me taking off the uniform. We're all here to create motion, synchronize around our strengths, and take what the world gives us and make something of it.'
