Yong Kim

“The democratization of work” is a phrase that’s used internally at San Francisco-based Wonolo to describe its mission. “We believe that any worker who is willing to work hard — and if they are professional, punctual, prepared, positive and polite [what Wonolo calls the 5Ps] — they should have equal opportunities to these jobs out there,” says CEO Yong Kim. His firm operates in the “just in time” online staffing space which uses an online platform to place workers at physical job sites. And it’s being able to help people get jobs that motivates Kim.

While Wonolo uses technology to solve inefficiencies in the staffing industry, at the end of the day it’s a human-centric business. “Thinking about how we are really impacting and changing these people’s lives is really motivating,” Kim says. He is also proud of the hard-working team at Wonolo.

Kim believes the industry is at an inflection point with new technologies that are causing players in the space to think differently about what clients and workers want. His plans include to continue innovating in the staffing industry. “Strong feedback from our customers and Wonoloers gives us confidence that we are just scratching the surface,” he says.