{"id":1356,"date":"2026-05-03T07:54:04","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T07:54:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gw.adampg777.com\/?p=1356"},"modified":"2026-05-03T07:54:04","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T07:54:04","slug":"zoom-is-handing-150k-to-solopreneurs-as-ai-pushes-33-million-workers-to-become-their-own-boss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gw.adampg777.com\/?p=1356","title":{"rendered":"Zoom is handing $150K to solopreneurs as AI pushes 33 million workers to become their own boss"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

As AI threatens to wipe out jobs, the American dream\u2014stable employment, a clear ladder to climb, and a company to grow old with\u2014is quietly dying. More people are ditching the 9-to-5 to build something of their own. And Zoom is putting $150,000 behind the movement.<\/p>\n

\n

The $26 billion video conferencing giant is giving away $30,000 each to five solo business owners as part of its first-ever Zoom Solopreneur 50 rankings, shared exclusively with Fortune. <\/em>No strings attached.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The first-of-its-kind list, which showcases the top 50 solo entrepreneurs in the U.S., was selected by an independent jury of business leaders and academics from nearly 3,000 applications across 48 states and over 400 cities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis program reflects where work is going\u2014and the people already building there,\u201d Zoom CMO Kim Storin told Fortune<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t about building billion-dollar companies. It\u2019s about building sustainable, profitable businesses that support a life. That\u2019s a modern version of the American Dream\u2014where ownership, independence, and control are all enabled by technology.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

33 million people have ditched traditional career paths<\/h2>\n

The timing is deliberate. As AI continues to reshape the workforce and hollow out traditional career paths, a new class of solo operators is quietly thriving. There are more than 33 million self-employed Americans, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, with 82% of small businesses operating without a single employee. That\u2019s precisely what sets solopreneurs apart from entrepreneurs. No team. No office. No cofounder. And Zoom wants to be the company that backs them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Solopreneur 50 is our way of recognizing that shift early,\u201d\u00a0 Storin says. \u201cIt highlights a new class of builders who are redefining what a company looks like and proving that ambition today is shaped more by focus and capability than by size.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFor decades, scale meant headcount,\u201d she adds. \u201cThat equation is breaking.\u201d Now, she says, one person with the right tools can outperform entire teams built the old way\u2014because the barriers that once kept solo operators small have largely disappeared. Zoom, naturally, counts itself among the tools making that possible.<\/p>\n

And the breakdown of who applied for the grant further highlights that you no longer need to know how to code to build a thriving business. Just 5% of the founders were in the technology and SaaS sector.<\/p>\n

In fact, services and consulting made up the biggest slice of solopreneurs at 20%\u2014suggesting the most common path to going solo is simply monetizing expertise you already have. Close behind are founders in health, wellness, and social impact, pointing to strong purpose-driven motivations among those striking out alone.<\/p>\n

As Zoom noted in its report, \u201cthe democratization of AI tools means technical skills are no longer prerequisites for building scalable businesses\u2014a fundamental shift in who can participate in the innovation economy.\u201d The proof is in the winners themselves, whose industries span everything from philanthropy to cake designing.<\/p>\n

Meet the five solopreneurs splitting $150,000<\/h2>\n

To make it onto the list, candidates were evaluated on five criteria: the originality of their idea; evidence of real growth and sustainability; their impact on customers or communities; how authentically the business reflected the founder\u2019s values; and their reach and influence in their field.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat stood out was ambition combined with precision,\u201d Storin says. \u201cThe best solopreneurs aren\u2019t trying to do more; they\u2019re ruthlessly focused on what only they can do, and they offload everything else to technology.\u201d<\/p>\n

As well as receiving cash to reinvest directly into their businesses, the 5 winners will gain access to Zoom mentorship, technology resources, and partnerships.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cierra Gross, founder of Worklution Inc, is using her $30,000 to grow Wrk Receipts\u2014a workplace documentation tool already used by over 22,000 employees.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a solo entrepreneur who is completely bootstrapped, I\u2019m building without a large team or safety net, so this recognition affirms that the work I\u2019m doing is not only needed, but impactful,\u201d she tells Fortune<\/em>. \u201cIt also creates more visibility for the mission behind my work, which is to provide people with information and tools they need to advance their careers and improve their lives.<\/p>\n

Michael Odokara-Okigbo is putting his grant toward scaling NKENNEAi, his AI-driven platform for African language translation\u2014working to make the continent\u2019s languages more accessible and celebrated on a global stage.<\/p>\n

Derek McCracken spent nearly a decade teaching agriculture in Ohio before launching The Owl\u2019s Nest to give fellow educators ready-to-use classroom resources that actually inspire students. He\u2019s using the $30,000 to bring in more teachers as contractors and expand his curriculum offering nationwide.<\/p>\n

Dana Snyder of Positive Equation\u2014which helps nonprofits attract supporters to their cause and build sustainable recurring revenue\u2014is investing her grant into the visibility of the Monthly Giving Builder. \u201cWhen more nonprofits have the tools to grow recurring giving programs, they can build the sustainable infrastructure they need to support their communities,\u201d she says. \u201cMore monthly supporters means more generosity in the world, and that\u2019s how I know I\u2019ve done my job.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Angela Morrison of Cakes by Angela Morrison rounds out the five\u2014a reminder that solopreneurship has no industry requirements, no tech prerequisites, and no ceiling.<\/p>\n

And for anyone thinking of getting started, Snyder says there\u2019s never been a better time.<\/p>\n

\u201cNine years ago, solopreneurship felt lonely and isolating,\u201d Snyder adds. \u201cToday, the support and communities for female entrepreneurs are incredible. Add in AI and technology advancements, and building something global entirely on your own is limited only by your imagination and curiosity.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

#Zoom #handing #150K #solopreneurs #pushes #million #workers #boss<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As AI threatens to wipe out jobs, the American dream\u2014stable employment, a clear ladder to climb, and a company to grow old with\u2014is quietly dying. More people are ditching the… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1357,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2384,1924,2375,2387,2376,424,426,2377,2378,1101,1903,2379,2380,2383,430,573,27,2386,2385,2381,670,335,1890,2382],"class_list":["post-1356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finance-news","tag-150k","tag-american-workers","tag-american-workforce","tag-boss","tag-career","tag-career-advice","tag-careers","tag-entrepreneurs","tag-entrepreneurship","tag-finance","tag-founder","tag-founders","tag-gig-economy","tag-handing","tag-jobs","tag-million","tag-money","tag-pushes","tag-solopreneurs","tag-the-future-of-work","tag-u-s-economy","tag-workers","tag-workforce","tag-zoom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gw.adampg777.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gw.adampg777.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gw.adampg777.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gw.adampg777.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gw.adampg777.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1356"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gw.adampg777.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1356\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gw.adampg777.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gw.adampg777.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gw.adampg777.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gw.adampg777.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}