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 - August 2026
Summer blowout. Final prep and share before a busy fall: which events are worth your budget, what buyers are budgeting for, and a live AI demo floor from the community.
Topics
Experts
Past Events
July 2026
HC Community Call - July 2026
This month was about why going through the front door beats going around it. Glen Hodgson broke down where EU policy is actually heading, including the December 2, 2026 Platform Work Directive deadline and which regions are ready. Jeff Nugent made the case that compliance is a go-to-market advantage rather than a cost center, and that partnership beats trying to build or acquire the coverage yourself.
Highlights
- The HC index now counts 3,044 solutions considered flexible, all with different contracts and intake. Microsoft research calls the resulting transaction costs a potential barrier to wider adoption, which is a researchy way of saying it is just too hard.
- Roughly 60% of enterprise talent spend is rogue, meaning procurement and HR cannot see it or where it is going. Most platform revenue today sits in that bucket, which is exactly why it eventually gets found and shut down.
- What buyers say makes a good RFP: relevancy, proof of process, and direct answers. What loses: paragraphs instead of numbers, links buyers will not open, and an expectation to meet before you answer anything.
- The EU Platform Work Directive must be implemented across all member states by December 2, 2026, and the European Commission 43 million freelancer figure is conservative. The ILO convention on platform work passed in June 2026, with the US and UK notably abstaining.
- Glen Hodgson regional readiness read on a 0 to 10 scale: Nordics and Baltics at 7.5, Central and Eastern Europe rising, Western Europe around 5, Southern Europe at 3.5 to 4.
- Terminology is moving. Gig has become toxic in EU policy circles because it reads as ride hailing and food delivery. Open talent, fractional, and freelance land well. Marketplace has also stopped landing with buyers over the last six months, and managed marketplace performs better.
- Compliance is a competitive advantage and a sales tool, not a cost center. Buyers now run vendor due diligence before engaging, and our terms and conditions cover that fails the test. Naming your classification partner and showing the due diligence passes it.
- Partnership beats a hire or an acquisition. One $300K general manager will not build compliance coverage, and most platforms cannot go acquire an FMS, a payroll provider, and an EOR the way Upwork did. Meanwhile, single-champion risk is real: when your champion leaves the enterprise, the revenue leaves with them unless a structured program is behind it.
Tony Buffum
Glen Hodgson
Jeff NugentMatthew MottolaIndustry News
The stories moving the flexible-workforce market — curated Monday, Wednesday & Friday.
ADP: US Private Payrolls Add Just 44,000 Jobs in July, Weakest Gain in Six Months
Private-sector employment rose just 44,000 in July, the smallest gain in six months and below forecasts, while annual pay growth held at 4.4%, ADP reports.
ADP · Aug 5Zillow Cuts Over 500 Jobs in Largest Layoff Round of 2026
Zillow eliminated more than 500 roles, about 7% of staff, in its second and largest 2026 restructuring, citing cost discipline rather than AI.
GeekWire · Aug 4
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.
