Frontline Gig

Frontline Gig is a green jobs workforce development platform that matches entry-level and semi-skilled freelance workers with hourly environmental and green-infrastructure work. Founder Kala Fleming has described the model as "Uber for green jobs": an app maintains an hourly workforce that municipalities, parks departments, neighborhood associations and other asset owners can deploy for cleanups, inspections and audits of green spaces, buildings and other assets.

Typical assignments include litter and blight cleanups, storm drain inspections that identify blockages before rainfall, and neighborhood infrastructure data collection that is reported back to the city. The company has said an upcoming line of work involves partnering on building decarbonization, prioritizing energy efficiency inspections and weatherization for fixed-income seniors. Workers can sign up for short engagements such as a one-time two-hour park cleanup, with the intent that some convert to longer commitments; Frontline Gig vets workers for the entry-level and semi-skilled roles it fills.

Founding story

Founder Kala Fleming, originally from Antigua, holds an undergraduate degree in chemistry from the University of the Virgin Islands and a master's and doctorate in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A civil and environmental engineer focused on how infrastructure delivers services to people, she cited climate change — heavier rains and increased inundation from floodwaters — as the inspiration for the business.

Business model

Frontline Gig runs a two-sided app-based labor marketplace: it recruits and vets freelance workers for entry-level and semi-skilled environmental tasks and supplies them as deployable teams to employers such as city departments, parks, and neighborhood associations, addressing surge staffing needs and vacancies. It also positions itself as connecting talent to training opportunities and supporting employer talent-pipeline development.

Traction

By mid-2023 more than 100 freelancers had been deployed on teams through the platform across a Norfolk-to-Baltimore footprint, with an operations and development team of fewer than 10 employees. The city of Norfolk's parks and forestry bureau relied on the company seasonally for cleanups at Barraud Park, which is on a 10- to 12-day mowing cycle, helping fill gaps amid vacancies and understaffing.

Latest developments

As of June 2023, the company said it continued to expand and scale up, and was preparing work with partners on decarbonizing buildings, prioritizing energy efficiency inspections and weatherization for fixed-income seniors.