Last Updated on August 9, 2024
Alison Stapleton is a trailblazing financial executive and a founding member of Salt Labs, Inc. Her mission is to enable hourly workers to own the long-term value of their work through innovative fintech solutions. With a pre-seed financing of almost $10 million, Alison has been instrumental in building and bringing to market the company’s first product. Under her leadership as the Head of Corporate Development, Salt Labs aims to create a future where hourly workers can capture the value of their work beyond their paycheck, leading to greater financial freedom and long-term wealth creation.
In this interview, we will gain insights from Alison’s leadership experience and expertise in the field of finance and technology. As an expert in the industry, Alison will share her vision for the future of fintech and the role it can play in shaping a more equitable economy. Her dedication to social impact and financial outcomes for the underserved has earned her a reputation as a pioneer in the industry.
Join us as we delve into Alison’s journey and the innovative solutions she is creating at Salt Labs. With her unique perspective and expertise, we will explore the latest trends and innovations in finance and technology and gain valuable insights into her vision for the future.
Hi, Alison! Can you tell us about your experience as a founding team member of Salt Labs and what motivated you to join this venture?
As a founding team member of Salt Labs, I am incredibly excited to be part of a company that is committed to empowering hourly workers and creating positive social impact through financial technology. Our mission is to enable hourly workers to own the value they create from their work, which aligns with my personal passion for using financial technology to support underserved communities.
I was motivated to join Salt Labs because I saw an opportunity to create real change in the employer-employee relationship and address the growing wealth gap disparity. Hourly workers often do not have the same opportunities to build long-term wealth as white collar workers, which can perpetuate financial inequality. At Salt Labs, we believe that by emphasizing long-term ownership, we can create a future where hourly workers can capture the value of their work beyond their paycheck, leading to greater financial freedom and long-term wealth creation.
I am proud to be leading the Corporate Development function at Salt Labs, where I oversee all operational activities and am responsible for setting and developing strategy, investor relations, and capital raising. Since our founding in November of 2022, we have already made significant progress, raising almost $10 million in pre-seed financing and building a team of software engineers and commercial operators to bring our first product to market. I am excited to continue working toward our vision of creating a more equitable economy where everyone has the opportunity to build long-term wealth.
What was your role in leading Salt Labs to its successful fundraising of $10 million dollars?
We are so grateful to have raised one of the larger pre-seed rounds done in recent history – of $10 million pre-seed financing. We are grateful that our investors are leaders and operators who understand the problem that we are solving very closely, after backing our team at DailyPay previously.
Overall, my contribution was focused on creating a compelling story and strategy for the company that resonated with investors and ultimately led to the successful fundraising outcome. This involved crafting the external narrative, strategy, and fundraising documents to effectively convey the vision of Salt Labs and its potential for growth and impact.
Can you discuss the impact Salt Labs has had on hourly workers and their ability to own the long-term value of their work?
Our product will be launched 2H 2023 but I am delighted to give a sneak peek to the technology we are creating.
The mission of Salt Labs is to enable hourly workers to own the long-term value of their work. Unlike white collar workers who are afforded several opportunities to build long-term wealth through company stock plans, partnership interests, or even a 401k plan, it is often the case that hourly workers aren’t afforded those same opportunities for a variety of technology or cost reasons. This has resulted in the growing wealth gap disparity.
Salt Labs’ technology changes how a worker earns and enables them to capture the value of their work, on top of their regular paycheck. According to a recent report from the Economic Policy Institute, the gap between worker productivity and hourly compensation has grown dramatically over the past 40 years.
Productivity is up roughly 62%, while wages are up roughly 16%. The growth implied from heightened productivity went to higher corporate profits which ultimately made up shareholder returns and higher salaries for the top tier of earners. Through its financial technology platform, Salt Labs is reinventing the way in which hourly workers earn in order to help them build toward a secure financial future.
How have you and the Salt Labs team worked to build and maintain a positive company culture that supports your mission?
At Salt Labs, we understand that a positive company culture is crucial to achieving our mission. To build and maintain this culture, we have focused on several key strategies. First, we have worked hard to define our core values and communicate them clearly to our team. These values, such as innovation, collaboration, and a growth mindset, guide our decisions and actions every day.
Second, we prioritize transparency and open communication. This means encouraging feedback and honest conversations, actively seeking out diverse perspectives, and ensuring that all team members feel heard and valued. We also place a strong emphasis on celebrating wins and learning from failures together as a team.
Third, we strive to foster a sense of community and belonging at Salt Labs. This includes regular team-building activities, social events, and opportunities for personal and professional development. By investing in our team’s growth and wellbeing, we believe that we can build a stronger, more connected culture that supports our mission.
Finally, we recognize that maintaining a positive culture requires ongoing effort and attention. As we grow and evolve as a company, we remain committed to listening to our team, continuously improving our processes and policies, and adapting our culture to meet the changing needs of our team and the world around us.
Overall, we believe that a strong company culture is a key factor in the success of any organization. By prioritizing our core values, communication, community, and ongoing improvement, we are confident that we can continue to build and maintain a positive culture that supports our mission at Salt Labs.
Can you share examples of initiatives or programs you have implemented at Salt Labs to support and empower hourly workers?
While we are still in the early days of product development, we are hyper-aware that the go-to market is an important factor in establishing product-market-fit. That is why, in addition to these programs, we’re also exploring new initiatives to support financial education and literacy, as we believe that these skills are critical for workers to build a strong financial foundation and to plan for a healthy financial future. This may include partnering with local organizations to provide workshops or seminars on budgeting, saving, and investing, or incorporating financial education modules into our training and development program.
Can you discuss the challenges you have faced as a leader at Salt Labs and how you have overcome them?
As a leader at Salt Labs, I have faced various challenges that come with running a startup. One of the biggest challenges has been managing the growth of the company while also ensuring that we maintain our core values and mission. It is critical that we continue to provide our team with the best resources and tools to drive our company forward, and I have had to be proactive in seeking out and providing those resources.
Another challenge has been adapting to change in a fast-paced and agile startup environment. As the company evolves and grows, it is essential to be able to pivot and adjust to new opportunities and challenges. To support this, I ensure that our team is aligned with our higher mission and vision, even as we navigate the day-to-day responsibilities. This allows us to be flexible and adaptable, willing to change course when necessary while still working towards our overarching strategy.
To overcome these challenges, I prioritize open and effective communication with my team. This involves having regular check-ins with team members and seeking feedback on how we can continue to improve our processes and approach. Additionally, I make sure to invest in my own professional development, regularly seeking out mentorship and advice from other leaders in the industry. Through these efforts, I have been able to navigate the challenges of running a startup and build a strong foundation for Salt Labs to continue to grow and succeed.
Can you speak to the future potential of Salt Labs in terms of growth, innovation, and impact on the hourly worker community?
The market that we are servicing is enormous. The hourly workforce is composed of 76.1 million Americans. Consider, for example, the record wealth growth that occurred in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. From January 2020 to October 2021, shareholders of some of the world’s largest companies like Amazon, Disney, and Starbucks saw an appreciation of 1.5 trillion dollars in wealth, while their frontline hourly employees received less than 2% of that sum in wage increases. This disparity is largely the result of asset ownership – a 57x differential between the haves and have-nots.
The inability of the hourly workforce to capitalize upon the value they create leads to increased job dissatisfaction and poor financial wellness. This is evidenced by the fact that the leading goal for 34% of hourly workers is to attain higher wages, and 48% of the hourly workforce has no emergency savings of any kind. It also contributes to the nationwide 47.2% employee turnover rate, ongoing labor shortages, and low employee engagement, which can cost companies a profit margin of as much as 57%. To put it simply, the labor economy is at risk, and employers don’t have the tools or infrastructure in place to bestow wealth-generating asset ownership upon their employees in an impactful way.
This is a problem of epic proportions and requires an entirely new paradigm, framework, and technology set to solve, which is where we come in. Our team is hyper-focused on building innovative technology solutions that help both employees and employers to overcome the challenges posed by the current disparity of ownership across America.
