SF startup Zen99, offering tools for freelancers, will close

“Unfortunately, we’ve made the hard decision to close the doors on Zen99 and return remaining capital to investors,” CEO and co-founder Tristan Zier wrote in a post on Medium.

The company aimed for the surging market of independent contractors, who now account for a third of the U.S. workforce, and are projected to hit 40 percent by 2020.

While its services were free, Zen99 made money as an insurance broker, collecting a commission when users bought a product through its website.

The company reached out to the growing workforce of on-demand workers such as Uber drivers and TaskRabbit taskers, but also served “traditional” freelancers, such as Pilates instructors, he said.

San Francisco’s Peers.org, which runs an online portal for gig economy workers, prominently featured Zen99.