Startup Spotlight #2: WorkClout

The LA-based startup helps industrial companies organize, track, and manage worker tasks & training.

May 11, 2020

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I got the chance to speak with Arjun Patel, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of WorkClout, about what he’s working on at his startup, and any advice he has for emerging entrepreneurs.

Startup Spotlight #2: WorkClout

WorkClout cofounders (from left to right): Richard Girges, Arjun Patel, and Bryan Trang.

Problem: For industrial organizations, it's becoming increasingly challenging to iterate rapidly to market changes. There are three reasons this is happening: Automation is creating a wider skills gap for labor workers, frontline operators are underutilized as a crucial resource, and statistical data science is not present for worker activities to measure improvements.

Market: We're initially targeting manufacturers; there are 12.7 million manufacturing deskless workers in the US alone. Around 80% of the global workforce is deskless, in industries such as Agriculture, Education, Healthcare, Retail, Hospitality, Manufacturing, Transportation, and Construction, accounting for 2.7 billion workers worldwide.

Solution: WorkClout is a mobile and web application designed to help industrial companies organize, track, and manage worker tasks & training. We use correlation analyses on data collected to determine the impact of tasks & training on continuous improvement, safety, and quality initiatives.

Team: WorkClout was founded by Richard Girges (CTO), Arjun Patel (CEO), and Bryan Trang (CPO).

Recent Success:

Patel: I think the one thing I've been most successful at is becoming a learning machine. I've been incredibly diligent in establishing quick feedback loops for what we learn. Every day I'm in the pursuit of understanding why things are working or failing, putting every idea we execute under scrutiny, collecting as much data as I can, and doing interviews to get context around that data. Hence, what led us to change direction from our previous product.

Recent Struggle:

Patel: To be honest, the way I communicate has been a constant struggle. I've noticed as my anxiety increases, the way I speak becomes less eloquent and stuttered, so I'm actively trying to become a better orator right now.

Founder Advice:

Patel: The underlying mechanism that I have seen help the most prolific startups succeed in becoming iconic startups is to create a culture of learning. The main reason why startups fail is they are continually operating on outdated assumptions, take every chance you can get to disprove your assumptions about the problem you're solving. Also, there is no such thing as a perfect performance; you'll make mistakes, which is fine, just make sure to make time to invest in bettering yourself to deliver better results.

Three Cool Founders You Should Know About:

Patel: Here are three founders you should check out next!

Rohan Pavuluri, Founder of Upsolve: Upsolve helps low-income families file for bankruptcy for free.
Kristen Anderson, Founder of Catch: Catch is creating a new safety net that is accessible, affordable, and effective.
Evan Zhou, Founder of STEEZY: STEEZY provides online dance classes with the world's best instructors.

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