The Human Cloud Community
Welcome to the only community built exclusively for the entrepreneurs building the flexible workforce. Our members are founders, CEOs, and platform executives building the companies that power the flexible workforce.
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About the community
Making flexible work the new talent standard.
Why we exist
For too long we've been building in silos. Our own industries, our own regions, our own corners of the world — building good businesses, but hitting the same ceilings in growth.
Who runs it
Human Cloud, the industry's connective tissue. Since 2018 we've educated, evangelized, and grown flexible talent into an industry of its own — so a rising tide lifts all solutions in our space.
What we do
For the community, we curate the right people, conversations, and data — so we can all champion this industry together.
Upcoming Events
HC Community Call - July 2026
This month: Tony Buffum continues the M&A discussion, Glen Hodgson (Founder & CEO, Free Trade Europa) breaks down the Geneva platform directive and EU policy, Jeff Nugent on how classification and policy lead to revenue or block it, and Matthew Mottola on the certification program between Human Cloud and the industry.
Topics
Experts
Past Events
June 2026
HC Community Call - PE Customers, State of Freelance
This call turned into one of our most candid M&A discussions yet: why platforms are being valued like staffing firms, why the acquisition sweet spot has settled at $5M-$10M, and why acquirers pay for client demand rather than talent communities. Tony recapped how private equity is actually approaching AI (pilots everywhere, discipline nowhere), and Jon Younger shared new Startup Generation data pointing to a structural shift toward entrepreneurial careers, with 92M new digital jobs projected by 2030.
Highlights
- Of 30,000 applications reviewed for the platform, only 500 were talent-related and only six were interesting - the noise in this space is massive
- Venture cliff confirmed: $1.35B invested in the industry in 2021 (stripping out non-freelance HR), with average M&A deal sizes declining since - yet innovating marketplaces are growing 10-50% quarter over quarter
- The acquisition sweet spot is now $5M-$10M and platforms are being valued like staffing firms - the software moat has weakened, and acquirers pay for client demand and revenue-generating projects, not supply-side communities
- Tony's PEI recap: PE firms are running AI pilots but lack the process discipline and data cleanliness to deploy at scale, and now prioritize high-EQ leaders who work side by side with CEOs to manage the change
- Jon Younger's Startup Generation data: sustained post-COVID surge in new business applications, with 92M new digital jobs projected by 2030
Tony BuffumMatthew Mottola
Jon YoungerIndustry News
The stories moving the flexible-workforce market — curated Monday, Wednesday & Friday.
Monday.com Cuts 630 Jobs — 20% of Staff — to Pivot From Seat-Based Software to AI Agent Platform
Monday.com disclosed via SEC filing that it will cut roughly 630 jobs and take $45–55M in charges as it abandons seat-based pricing for an AI agent platform.
TechCrunch · Jul 22Amazon Cuts Jobs in Its Artificial General Intelligence Unit Amid $200B AI Spending Push
Amazon confirmed layoffs within its AGI organization as it redirects focus to customer-facing AI products, part of roughly 30,000 corporate cuts since October 2025.
CNBC · Jul 22
Industry Insights
Everything happening in the flexible-workforce industry — acquisitions, funding, stats, and terminology. Curated by Human Cloud.
Community-curated events across HR, Tech, Workforce & more.
| Event | Dates |
|---|---|
| RecFest USA | Sep 10, 2026 |
| Future of Work USA | Sep 15, 2026 – Sep 16, 2026 |
| HubSpot INBOUND | Sep 16, 2026 – Sep 18, 2026 |
21 upcoming industry events tracked by the community
Sign in to see allIndustry Pulse
How the community is trending — revenue, growth drivers, hiring & confidence.
Industry Pulse
An anonymous benchmark — see how your peers are really doing, updated continuously.
Sign in to see how your peers are doing
Resources
Educational content shared by community members.
Videos
Presentations
Early Access
Community members get first access to new Human Cloud features.
Kudos Agent
Available to community members only.
Business Case Agent
Available to community members only.
SDR Agent
Available to community members only.
This is a closed-door community.
Membership is reserved for the top-performing solutions on the platform — the ones setting the standard. No public links. No open invites. If you're here, you earned it.
Get Accepted
Top 20% of solutions on the platform are invited to join. You can't buy your way in.
Calendar Invite Appears
Monthly calls land in your calendar automatically. No forums, no public meeting links.
Show Up
That's it. No busy work. Just show up and connect with your peers.
Who's leading this.
Practitioners, not moderators.
Tony Buffum
Co-Founder, Human Cloud
Former public company CHRO. Led workforce transformations across Stanley Black & Decker, Koch Industries, and 50+ Fortune 500 companies. Designed and scaled enterprise flexible talent programs before the category existed.
Matthew Mottola
Co-Founder & CEO, Human Cloud
Led Microsoft's signature flexible workforce product and helped Microsoft scale their flexible workforce to $50m+ in annual flexible talent spend. Built Human Cloud to make that playbook accessible to every company.
Plus an expert network of
Leaders from every leading talent solution in the industry.
Member perks.
Beyond the monthly call.
Access to be highlighted on the HC Pod
Share your story with the industry. Book a recording session whenever you like.
Exclusive Advisory
Direct access to Tony and Matthew for go-to-market strategy, partnerships, and industry challenges. Book 1:1 sessions at any time.
