Jeff Nugent, Founder at Independently, The 900-Pound Gorilla Blocking the Future of Work

Independent contractor compliance is the 900-pound gorilla blocking enterprises from scaling flexible talent. The platforms exist. The talent exists. But most companies get 10 freelancers in the door and never get to 1,000 because compliance shuts it down. Jeff Nugent has watched this play out across three decades and three companies. He started in IT staffing in the mid-90s, built one of the first MSP/VMS solutions, then founded one of the first employer of record companies, which merged into People 2.0 and became the world's largest EOR. Now his third venture, Independently, tackles what he calls the linchpin of the entire flexible talent ecosystem. We are building Human Cloud to solve the same problem from the company side, helping businesses discover and deploy the right workforce solutions so they can move fast without the usual procurement friction. In this episode, Jeff shares: Why IC compliance is the single biggest obstacle to enterprise flexible talent adoption How taxation drives everything and why IC laws are never going away What went wrong with the first wave of freelance platforms and why they failed the enterprise Why AI is creating more demand for flexible talent, not less How legal liability flows to the deepest pockets first and what that means for platforms and buyers Jeff Nugent is a three-time entrepreneur in the workforce compliance space. He founded one of the first employer of record companies, built it into the world's largest (People 2.0), and now leads Independently, the compliance verification standard for independent contractors working through freelance platforms, staffing firms, and direct enterprise engagements. Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. About Human Cloud: We help companies find and deploy the right flexible talent solutions in minutes instead of months. We automate discovery, compliance, and orchestration across 1,000+ workforce platforms so business teams move fast, procurement teams stay in control, and rogue contractor spend turns into a strategic advantage.