Growing A Support Platform For Independent Contractors – with Mike Minett, Founder of PORTABL

In this episode of the HR business marketing podcast, A Better HR Business, Ben and his guest, Mike Minett, Founder of PORTABL, an innovative platform reimagining financial, health, and wellbeing services for today’s independent workforce, to discuss how freelancers and gig workers can finally access the support once reserved for full-time employees.

Mike Minett is the Founder and Chief Growth Officer at PORTABL, a platform helping businesses manage and support the global independent workforce. He is focused on enabling organisations that rely on freelancers, contractors, and contingent workers to better retain, engage, and protect their flexible talent through modern benefits and workforce infrastructure.

Alongside PORTABL, Mike is a growth advisor to a range of businesses and passion projects. He also works on building access to global AI, software, and tech talent, including developing pathways for distributed freelance talent in emerging markets such as Ghana, aligned to global time zones for remote delivery.

PORTABL is a SaaS platform and orchestration layer for the flexible workforce, designed to close the gap between traditional employees and independent workers. While permanent employees typically receive structured benefits such as health cover, pensions, and wellbeing support, freelancers and contractors often do not. PORTABL addresses this by providing access to health, insurance, financial wellbeing, and savings products, alongside tools that help businesses improve retention, engagement, and compliance across their contingent workforce.

Recognised by organisations including Zurich Innovation, the MetLife Techstars Digital Accelerator, and Plug and Play, PORTABL is building a new category in the future of work. It is founded by a team with deep experience across freelancing, insurance, employee benefits, fintech, and B2B platforms, and is built by independent workers for independent workers to help them connect, stay protected, and thrive.

You’ll hear practical strategies for starting an HR consulting business, finding consulting clients, and business growth strategies for consultants. Whether you identify as HR, workplace, L&D, OD, recruitment, or people & culture, you’ll discover real stories and actionable advice to attract clients, win contracts, and grow sustainably.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Lessons from moving out of corporate and launching an HR-related business.
• The unique challenges and opportunities of supporting freelancers, gig workers, and consultants.
• How to validate new consulting and HR tech ideas with real market feedback.

Interview – How To Start An HR Consulting Business In The Age Of Flexibility – with Mike Minett, Founder of PORTABL

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About The ‘A Better HR Business’ Podcast

In my HR marketing podcast, I talk with different HR consultants and HR tech companies from around the world to learn about what they do and how they keep their businesses healthy and moving in the right direction.

If you have questions you want to ask me about growing an HR consultancy or marketing for HR tech companies, just let me know or visit the HR marketing services page.

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Enjoy the show!

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Episode Transcript

Episode 312: How To Start An HR Consulting Business In The Age Of Flexibility – with Mike Minett, Founder of PORTABL

Ben [00:00:28]:
Hello. Thanks for joining me again. Great to have you along, and I’m really looking forward to today’s conversation with Mike Minett. Mike has done many things, achieved so much, and is building so much more. But even more wonderfully, he’s a fellow Aussie, so I’m very pleased to be chatting to someone with a similar accent to me. So this is a great start already. Mike is the founder and Chief Growth Officer at PORTABL, a very cool company doing amazing things. PORTABL delivers portable and flexible insurance, health and wellbeing, savings and discounts, and financial services to the freelance workforce, which is all about the future of work. That’s definitely where we’re going with the changing workforce, the rise of AI, the gig economy, etc.

And so they do all kinds of things. I don’t want to steal Mike’s thunder, so we’ll get into it in a moment. But firstly, Mike, thanks very much for joining me today.

Mike Minett [00:01:16]:
Brilliant, Ben. Great to be here. Appreciate the nod to Australia. I first came to London in ’95, and people still call out my Australian accent almost 30 years later. So it must have been very strong when I first got here if you can still pick it up in the tones. But no, thanks for having me. Looking forward to getting into it.

Ben [00:01:34]:
I need to ask — where are you from in Australia?

Mike Minett [00:01:37]:
Mostly Melbourne down south, and a little bit of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, up north. I first came to London in ’95 on a two-year working holiday visa, and I’ve been here mostly ever since. I think I’ve officially done more years in the UK than in Australia.

Ben [00:01:51]:
We’re talking about PORTABL, but you’ve got a really interesting history and track record. You came from investment banking — or the banking sector anyway — and you’ve since moved into businesses and building ventures and so on. But in between, there was an interesting little moment where you wrote a book, right? Can you tell us about that?

Mike Minett [00:02:08]:
Yes, the famous book. Mostly a doorstop these days and available in all good charity shops — two for one. Yeah, look, the journey — it’s all about the journey. I kind of fell into investment banking and technology again here in London, but mostly as a contractor or self-employed consultant, and rarely as an employee. And as part of that, I always wanted to do my own thing. So I had this moment of, “If I don’t do it now, I’m never going to do it.”

I started investing pretty heavily in coaching with people who I thought could either unblock me or help me on the journey. As part of that, I was sitting in this room — there would have been about 600 people there — and the fellow leading the session threw down this challenge to the room.

“I guarantee 80% of you are thinking about doing something, have likely started a few things but never seen them through, or have got three or four things on the go and will leave this room with another three or four things to get after. But unless you start something and see it through to execution — to 100% — you’ll never get there.”

Then he threw down the challenge: “I want you to leave this room today and start something — and see it through.”

One of the ideas was to write a book — from start to publication. I was like, “Okay, all right, well, that’s something I could do. I’d like to take on that challenge.” And I did.

Then I was struggling to think about what I was going to write about. But as I was finding myself transitioning away from corporate and trying to get on this startup journey, I thought, “Why not just capture the steps I’m taking and the work I’m doing, then turn it into some sort of coaching book?”

The book was boldly called “Follow Me Out the Door”, and the cover of the book is me walking out the office door for the final time. Since then, I’ve had people suggest there needs to be a second book.

You could call that one “Make Sure It’s Not a Revolving Door”, because a number of times on the entrepreneurial startup journey it gets pretty tough, and you actually wish for the more potentially comfortable life that corporate offered. So yes, there’s a book.

Ben [00:04:13]:
I kind of agree with that concept of getting something done — finishing it so you prove to yourself, “You know, I can do that. Let’s aim for something a bit bigger.”
Now, skipping forward then to PORTABL, because I know you’ve done a lot of stuff in between, but I really want to learn about PORTABL because it will help people who are listening to this show.

I alluded to the fact that it’s all about helping the gig economy, freelancers, or independent consultants. What are the problems it solves? And then secondly, what is it, in fact? What does it do?

Mike Minett [00:04:40]:
Just to take it back a step — as I said, I’d spent 20 years as a contractor and self-employed person, so I’ve lived the pain, and it’s not easy. There’s so much you have to do and organise just to be able to do your coding, your graphic design work, deliver your project, or whatever it might be as a solo self-employed person. So, I lived the pain.

It’s funny — the book did lead on to other things, one of which was founding a startup here in London called the Positive Ageing Company. We were interested in the ageing workforce and how that’s impacting companies, families, and so forth. Long story short, we ran that business for a couple of years, ended up getting acquired, and I found myself sitting inside Mercer — the big HR, pensions, and benefits group.

And as always, the itch happened again. On day one, I sat through a seven-hour induction thinking, “Oh my gosh, I’m back in corporate. How did this happen?”

Then I saw some research from McKinsey back in 2018 predicting that by around now, 40% of the workforce would be working independently, outside of full-time employment. You mentioned the gig economy and sharing economy — and since COVID and, of course, AI, that 40% figure is not far off.

I was sitting inside Mercer thinking, “Okay, the 50% in full-time employment are very well looked after, whether they appreciate it or not — insurance, pensions, gym memberships, beers after work, laptops, support, recognition, training. But who’s going to look after the 40% outside of those systems and structures?” Because I’d been one of them, and I knew how tough it was. I also knew that all of that support disappears when you’re no longer in full-time employment.
So the idea was to take as much of that employee benefits model as possible into this new world. Instead of being an employee of PORTABL, you’re a member of PORTABL. The question became: what can we reconstruct around you and your family that a good employer traditionally made available? We’ve developed some clever ways to enable a lot of that support.

And it is holistic. It is personalised, because everyone is on an individual journey — thinking about making the jump, having made the jump, or suddenly realising, “Oh crap, this is much harder than I thought it would be. Have I done the right thing?”

There are all these stages people move through, and at each stage they need different kinds of help and support. Then, of course, there’s stage of life — young, free, and carefree versus older, grey like me, with dependants and more responsibilities to think about.

So long story short, there’s quite a holistic offering within that. The idea is that it doesn’t matter where you are in your journey — we’ve got some simple things to help you get started, and as we understand more about you and your situation, we can add more help and support over time.

Ben [00:07:19]:
How does someone work out what services or aspects of the platform to use — whether that be insurance or health-related support? Is there a guide? Is there a community? How does it work?

Mike Minett [00:07:30]:
The business model is actually B2B2C. So we work with teams, organisations, companies, associations, and co-working spaces where these populations already exist. We make the PORTABL platform either directly available or white-labelled through those organisations to get it in front of their communities, and then in they come.

It’s a platform, it’s a marketplace, and it’s also a community within that marketplace. As an example, there’s everything from different types of insurance you might need, to mental health support, electric vehicle leasing, gym memberships, supermarket savings, and a whole range of other services.
The idea is that you then cherry-pick what you think you might need based on what’s going on in your life at that particular time.

The model, if you like — and the reason a company was traditionally able to provide everyone with life insurance — is because they were buying a thousand policies at a time.

So PORTABL, in a sense, is like a big buying group. Underneath it, anything we present is significantly cheaper than what you or I could go and organise directly. And secondly, we’ve done the work to find trusted partners who really understand the life of the independent worker and are genuinely there to help make it better. Because so much of industry doesn’t understand self-employment, and that’s where the models are kind of broken.

Ben [00:08:55]:
That makes sense. I was going to ask why people wouldn’t just go out and get a point solution — an insurance product, a health product, whatever. But you’re saying it’s that group-buying power and economies of scale that help reduce those rates because you’re buying in bulk. And you’ve also done the work in researching and evaluating the partners to narrow it down and identify who best fits the audience and consumers.

Mike Minett [00:09:18]:
It’s a crazy world. Yesterday, Ben, you were in full-time employment with a company, and they provided you with a pension, life insurance, health insurance, and a range of other benefits. Then tomorrow, you decide to go out on your own, set up as a consultant or business builder, and suddenly your underwriting suffers, your credit history suffers, and you can no longer get a mortgage without three years of company accounts. It’s almost bonkers. What’s changed? You’re still on the same trajectory, with the same expertise and potential.

But because the system views self-employment as more dangerous or risky than full-time employment — which, in this day and age, is definitely arguable — it just doesn’t make sense.

From the individual’s perspective, we’re looking to save you time, so you don’t have to waste days every month sorting this stuff out. Save you money, of course. And also reduce the stress and anxiety of questions like: “I don’t have insurance — should I have insurance?” or “It’s lonely working this way — how do I connect with a community of like-minded people just to bounce ideas around?”

So we’re taking care of some simple — almost Maslow’s hierarchy of needs — foundational safety concerns first. Then, depending on your ambition and what you’re trying to achieve, we’re pretty confident we can continue to be helpful and supportive.

I come back to the fact that I’ve been that person for 20 years. As a team, we’ve collectively got over 100 years of freelancer experience and pain across that journey. It’s not easy, but it’s game on because almost 40% of the world’s workforce is already working this way. Our kids will probably only work this way. So there are lots of challenges, but also huge opportunities moving forward.

Ben [00:10:51]:
It’s one thing to say that there’s a gap in the market or a need, but what did you do to validate it or test whether people would actually be interested?

Mike Minett [00:10:59]:
I’ve personally had over a thousand conversations now with individuals, and I usually start with the question: “What keeps you awake at night?”

It’s been fascinating — just the randomness and variety of responses — trying to prioritise: “All right, what’s the one thing? What’s the one compelling product or offer?” And our conclusion has been that there isn’t just one thing. That’s been our experience, which is why we have to start broadly and then learn more about you over time.

In terms of validation, it’s actually been a little overwhelming. In a sense, we’re creating a new category, so people don’t even realise this type of service or support now exists for them. But the consistent feedback has been that freelancers and self-employed people feel poorly served, poorly understood, and poorly supported.

And I think “understood” is probably the biggest issue. So much of industry has never lived the life of a freelancer or self-employed person, so they don’t really understand the stresses and strains involved. Those who have lived it, on the other hand, are looking for all the help and support they can get.

One of the challenges is that, historically, companies paid for all of these benefits and made them available automatically. Now we’re asking individuals to invest in this kind of support themselves. But fundamentally, the logic is still the same. Lose your health, and it impacts your ability to earn. Lose your ability to earn, and it impacts your health — especially your mental health.

We’re fortunate here in the UK that, generally speaking, you can fall back on the NHS in some form. But I know as a founder and self-employed person, trying to get an NHS appointment — and then trying to take half a day off in three weeks’ time to attend it, long after the issue has probably passed — means you’re constantly managing some form of health risk.

The good news is there are some really interesting products and services emerging that help address these challenges, and they’re often much more affordable than people expect.

Ben [00:12:47]:
If you ask them a question at the start — “What keeps you up at night?” — they might say global warming or war and things like that. How did you take it to the next level and turn that into an HR tech product?

Mike Minett [00:12:56]:
We kind of knew the answers already, having been those people ourselves. We understood the top five concerns: finding work, securing the next contract, trying to get a mortgage, losing access to health insurance after leaving employment, and so on. So the conversations were really about validating what we already suspected. Then secondly, having worked inside the employee benefits, health, and pensions industries, we also knew where the existing models were broken. So we had a pretty good sense of what a better model needed to look like going forward. And that’s the journey we’re on now.

We’re launching in the UK and Ireland, and with a fair wind, Germany a little later. Bringing it all to life is really the challenge now. Coming back into your world — marketing — that’s exactly where we are at the moment.

One of the challenges is that people identify themselves very differently. Freelancer, contractor, self-employed, portfolio worker, lifestyle entrepreneur, digital nomad, flexible worker, contingent worker, remote worker, side hustler, influencer, content creator — there are about 21 different labels independent workers use to describe themselves. And they all think and behave a little differently.

But underneath it all, they’re basically facing the same reality: you’re out there by yourself, trying to make a go of it, handling a huge amount of admin before you even get to what we call the value-creation work, and looking for all the help and support you can get to keep moving forward.

Ben [00:14:19]:
I remember from the HR consulting world, funnily enough, you’d go into businesses dealing with different HR issues and they’d always say, “Oh, we’re different here.” Whether it was employee engagement, employment law, or whatever else. But at the end of the day, a business is a business and people are people. Yes, companies sell different things, but I gather that while there are different identities — gig workers, freelancers, consultants, etc. — they all have similar financial, health, business, and life needs in the end.

What are you doing to get the word out there? What sort of marketing are you focusing on, either now or in the future? Because you’re launching across the UK and Ireland, Germany next, and I suspect probably the US or North America beyond that. What are your plans for building awareness?

Mike Minett [00:15:06]:
Yeah, look, you’re right — big ambitions and big plans to get the word out there. It’s a piece of work we absolutely need to focus on now. We’re very much in go-to-market mode: sharing the story and getting in front of the right audiences.
The business model is B2B2C, so one of the challenges is that we need to market to businesses about the opportunity to make PORTABL available to their populations of contractors, freelancers, fractional workers, or co-working space members. But at the same time, we also need to appeal directly to the individuals who are the actual members and end users of the service.

Personally, I find marketing or storytelling in a B2B2C proposition pretty tricky. Then within the B2B side, because this represents around 40% of the workforce, these populations are everywhere. So when it comes to ideal customer profiles, we’ve probably got seven or eight of them — which is not necessarily a smart place to start.

Really, you have to stay focused: one audience, one story, one opportunity before trying to take over the world. So yes, classic early-stage challenges. But definitely, marketing drives sales.

Ben [00:16:22]:
No, that’s right. There are so many different angles you could take.
I’m curious — you teamed up with Alligator, which is one of Europe’s leading HR tech venture builders and investors, as a lead investor. That’s very exciting. What was that experience like? And secondly, I think you’ve got an interesting story about how you connected with them.

Mike Minett [00:16:35]:
Yeah, look, it definitely points to the future. There’s a brilliant little technology platform out there called Boardy — B-O-A-R-D-Y. Boardy basically interviews you and talks through what you’re looking for.

I thought, “This is curious, I’ll give it a go.” We were very specific: early-stage startup, currently fundraising, looking for angel investors, high-net-worth individuals, or family offices who are passionate about HR tech and the future of work, and actively investing in pre-revenue businesses. Then I hit send.
About 30 seconds later, it came back and said: “Okay, I’ve got this person called Michael in my network. Here’s his profile. Would you be interested?” We looked at it and thought, “Wow, that’s interesting — active investor, very relevant.”

So we had a chat with Michael, and he was brilliant. He’s since joined PORTABL’s advisory board. But at the end of the discussion, he said: “I believe in what you’re building. I see the opportunity and I want to be involved. You’re probably a little too early for our fund, but I’ve got a friend who runs Alligator, and they’re very active in this space. Let me make an introduction.” That introduction led to Alligator becoming investors in PORTABL — all through AI.
Given that fundraising can often feel like a full-time job and can take months of effort, to have something like that happen within minutes really points to where the future is heading.

Ben [00:18:01]:
What did Benjamin Vista from Alligator think about PORTABL?

Mike Minett [00:18:05]:
They’re a very clever group network. They’ve got about 150 senior HR professionals from across Europe — so C-suite folks, predominantly German, but across Europe — who are part of their network and ecosystem. They invest as a syndicate into opportunities.

They’re pretty plugged in to what’s happening on the ground, and this shift away from full-time employment to other ways of working is a global transformation — and certainly happening fast in Germany.

The second thing with the German workforce, which comes back to some of our earlier understanding, is that it’s an aging workforce. So there are these transitions and shifts — people coming off long careers in one company into what is almost a transition phase into gig work and freelance work going forward.

So they’re plugged in on a personal level through their HR network, and secondly through the demographic trends that are driving market shifts. They get to see both sides of the equation, I believe, and I know they’ve seen the opportunity: let’s get PORTABL into and across EMEA at some point in the future, because people are moving into this space now at pace and are always looking for help and support.

Ben [00:19:26]:
That’s so cool. And I love the CHRO angle — that they’re in there as advisors and maybe as investors into that fund, who knows.

Mike Minett [00:19:34]:
No, they are investors as well. And this is…

Ben [00:19:36]:
That’s even better, because they’ve got skin in the game, right?

Mike Minett [00:19:38]:
Exactly — skin in the game, but also quite cleverly access to distribution. They are, more often than not, sitting inside companies and are aware of this transition and shift — part of the present and part of the future, and an enabler.
HR tech wasn’t particularly “sexy” maybe 10 years ago, but all of a sudden — especially with AI now transforming the way we all work — it’s become a very compelling space and opportunity to be part of.

Ben [00:20:06]:
Can you share some final thoughts or advice for other founders in the HR tech world or the consulting space — lessons learned along the way in starting and building a business in the world of work?

Mike Minett [00:20:21]:
It’s very much a “do as I say, not as I do” situation. I’ve learned a lot and made all the mistakes. Founding anything is tough, and it’s got nothing to do with the idea or the opportunity — it comes down to personal resilience, tenacity, persistence, and creativity to get yourself out of difficult situations.
The main thing is: keep going. That’s almost the mantra. If you genuinely believe in what you are building, and you are double-checking and triple-checking the data points to make sure it’s not just Mike and some folly, but something meaningful, then keep going.

There are also some brilliant communities out there. The lack of community — and the loss of it — is something that comes through strongly. We used to go into offices, have beers after work, and those water-cooler moments. But now, working from home as so many of us do in this transition, loneliness has become a real and important factor to consider.

There are some great in-person events, but also Slack groups, WhatsApp communities, and networks of people in similar situations who are freely sharing and providing that cheerleading you need to keep moving forward.
And with that in mind, I always say I’m available — feel free to reach out. My network is your network. We’re often just one introduction away from something magical happening, and if I can help make that introduction, I’d be happy to do so.

Ben [00:21:54]:
So yeah, if you’re listening to this, definitely check out the PORTABL platform and community, because it can bring you that peace of mind, the benefits, and services you need as an independent consultant. It’s an amazing opportunity to help make your life a little easier. So Mike, where do people find PORTABL?

Mike Minett [00:22:13]:
That’s going to be my last little story. It’s actually spelled P-O-R-T-A-B-L dot co — PORTABL.co.

Portable, spelled correctly, was available, but it was a US$200,000 domain. So PORTABL without the “E” on the end, I got for £97. While trying to be cool and clever, it does cause a little confusion — but P-O-R-T-A-B-L dot co will find us. And I’m also on LinkedIn.

Ben [00:22:39]:
I do think you are cool and clever. And that’s what independent consultants do all the time — you’ve got to be nimble, flexible, and think outside the box. And there’s a tiny example of that right there. So I love it.

So yeah — PORTABL dot co, and the link to that and Mike’s LinkedIn profile will be in the show notes if you’re listening on the go. But Mike, I love the story, love what you’ve built so far. Thanks for what you’re doing and for helping people around the world. Really appreciate it.

Ben [00:23:04]:
Really appreciate it.

Mike Minett [00:23:05]:
Appreciate it. Cheers.

Topics covered: starting an HR consulting business, find consulting clients, business growth strategies for consultants, HR consultants, workplace consultants.

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