Helmet

The specific problem I am working to solve is the issue of inadequate pension coverage for non-regular workers, freelancers, and platform workers in South Korea. As the concept of lifelong employment collapses and non-regular workers increase, the shape of employment and labor is constantly changing, but the pension system in South Korea has not kept up with these changes. As of the end of 2020, out of 30 million eligible national pension subscribers, 8.5 million are not enrolled. Even those who are enrolled, 4 million people are unable to receive pension benefits because they have not fulfilled the mandatory contribution period of 10 years. About 40% of the population is in the blind spot of the national pension system. If this continues, future public pensions will not be given to those who need them most.

The factors contributing to this problem are the changing labor market and the inflexible pension system, which does not meet the needs of non-regular workers. These workers face unique challenges, such as irregular and unstable work hours, a lack of job security, and limited access to social insurance. The current pension system is based on a traditional employment model that does not adequately cover non-regular workers, who are becoming an increasingly significant part of the labor force. To address this issue, there is a need for a more flexible and inclusive pension system that takes into account the changing nature of work and provides social protection to all workers, regardless of their employment status.

Automatically split income for taxes, retirement, and savings.

Helmet distributes income and sets up benefits easily with just a few taps within the app. 

1. tax automation: Handle tax estimation, withholding, and quarterly payments. 
2. Get and keep insurance: Save hundreds of dollars on health and social insurance or connect your current plan. 
3. Invest for the future: Open a managed retirement account and make contributions automatically. 
4. Save for vacations: Set aside money for PTO, sick leave, and family vacations and set it to recur. 

Focus on making money without worrying about the future. No one became a freelancer to worry about their financial security. Helmet is here to help you work safely and for free, so you can focus on doing what you do. 

There are about 8 million non-regular workers, including freelancers and platform workers, in South Korea, and 30% of them are under the age of 30. Most of them are not paying into the national pension system, and the biggest reason for this is the problem that they have to bear the full burden of the national pension contribution themselves. Regular workers under the labor standard law share the contribution cost equally with their employers, but this is not the case for non-regular workers. Although it may seem okay for now, eventually their work will wear out and their jobs will disappear. To complete their lives, they need the help of social insurance, including the national pension system. However, young workers are struggling to survive in the changing labor environment and are being expelled from the labor laws and systems. The number of workers who have been expelled from the labor laws outside the labor standard law is increasing, and it is almost close to 10 million. These people will eventually have to bear the cost of old-age expenses as a social cost, and the younger generation will have to walk the unprecedented path of an ultra-aging society in the blind spot of public pensions.

I have experienced firsthand the challenges faced by non-regular workers in South Korea. I have worked as a delivery app part-timer and freelance designer, which has helped us understand the difficulties that these workers face in accessing key benefits and achieving financial stability and social safety. My personal experiences allow us to design a platform that will truly serve our target population. I actively engage with part-timers on the street and designers to gather feedback on their needs and preferences.

At first, I decided to look at the street. Before launching my processes, I worked as a platform worker and freelancer to understand the landscape. After doing some due diligence, I found that realized that a lot of people didn't have social insurance, and they didn't have the time to prepare for those things. I decided to make an image for Helmet in Korea and used Facebook & Instagram marketing to appeal to my customer base. In the end, I garnered a conversion rate of about 16% (18 of 112), which led me to conclude that people were willing to use my service, and I thought it would be worth trying more prototypes (Such as Landing Page).

We're not offering the service to customers yet - we're seeing how they react first. As soon as we have more prototyping data, we'll plan to launch the service.

I am applying to Solve for a few critical reasons.

First, as a purpose-driven individual, I would greatly benefit from joining Solve’s powerful network of impact-minded leaders who could advise me from the lens of not only building a successful business, but building an impactful one.

Second, I want to connect with peers in Solve’s network to chat with other purpose-driven individuals in the space to learn from them while sharing my own experiences. Third, I want to utilize the funds from the competition and any subsequent investment that may occur to catalyze my growth so that I can grow my reach and have a real impact on the target population faster.

Additionally, I hope to receive non-monetary support such as mentorship and access to networks and resources that can help me overcome specific financial, technical, legal, and market barriers that I currently face in implementing my solution.