MakeSpace Founder and CEO Sam Rosen has a blog post on Re/Code today addressing the myth that technology will displace the American workforce. Pointing to the rise of companies like Uber, FreshDirect, and HomeJoy, Sam argues that more and more startups are shifting from producing apps to reimagining real world problems and that as a result, we’ve seen considerable growth in blue-collar jobs.
Taking MakeSpace as an example, Sam writes:
The same goes for the self-storage industry. Let’s look at the old model: Companies like Public Storage require users to haul their belongings to and from their storage unit. Those units are often far from where users live. At MakeSpace, we tried a new model, with low-cost pick-ups and drop-offs of storage bins — users never set foot in a storage unit. Although we are a tech startup, we employ four times as many drivers as engineers, because we need a sizable operations staff to handle the logistics of picking up and delivering bins to customers. We predict that this number will continue to grow steadily as we scale our business.
Sam estimates that by the end of 2015, blue-collar startups will have created over 500,000 blue-collar jobs and describes this as a conservative prediction. What do you think? Check out the article and decide for yourself!
