Wage

What Wage does

Wage is an app-based marketplace platform founded in 2017 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The company operates as a private, for-profit entity with a small team of 1-10 employees. Its core product is described as a marketplace mobile application, though specific functional details, target verticals, and user value propositions are not publicly disclosed; the company's website (wagedev.com) currently displays only a loading/verification page with no substantive product information.

Wage has raised approximately $1.5 million in disclosed seed funding (January 2021) from a four-investor syndicate consisting of 8VC, Bossa Invest, Correlation Ventures, and OVO Fund. This is consistent with an early-stage marketplace startup that has secured institutional capital to fund initial product development and early go-to-market activity. The company is led by founder and CEO Marcin Zgola, supported by a small product function including product manager Madiken Helsel.

The business model, monetization mechanics, customer segments, pricing structure, and go-to-market channels are not disclosed in the available data. The combination of marketplace-platform positioning, lean headcount, modest seed-stage capital, and minimal public footprint indicates Wage is at an early lifecycle stage where product-market fit, unit economics, and customer acquisition dynamics have not been substantively validated or communicated externally.

Name

Wage

Website

https://wagedev.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Wage is an early-stage, app-based marketplace platform founded in 2017 in Chicago. Backed by a $1.5M seed round from 8VC and others, the company operates with a small 1-10 person team led by founder-CEO Marcin Zgola.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Marketplace

NAICS

Payroll Services (541214)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Earned Wage Access (EWA) & Wage-Advance Products (FSAKAOAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Instant Payouts & Earned Wage Access (EWA) (FSAMAKAM)

Keywords

• Online marketplace platform
• App-based gig platform
• Digital labor marketplace
• Consumer marketplace app
• On-demand services platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Core offering

Wage operates an app-based marketplace platform that connects users through a mobile application. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Chicago, the platform facilitates transactions between users via its consumer-facing app. The company operates as a lean startup (1-10 employees) and has raised early-stage venture funding to scale its marketplace offering.

Product overview

No Information

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wage App App-based marketplace platform that connects users through a mobile application for marketplace transactions.

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Direct peers

• ZayZoon: ZayZoon delivers EWA through employer integrations and a worker-facing app, with a particular focus on small and mid-sized businesses. It is a directly comparable peer in the SMB EWA segment.
• Earnin: Earnin is a leading direct-to-consumer Earned Wage Access app that lets workers access earned wages before payday. It is the most direct functional peer to Wage given the app-based EWA marketplace positioning.
• Even: Even is an app-based EWA and budgeting platform partnering with employers. It competes head-to-head with Wage in offering workers early wage access via a mobile application.
• Instant Financial: Instant Financial offers instant payouts and earned-wage-access tools to gig economy and hourly workers, often via platform integrations. It is a directly comparable peer, particularly on the marketplace/platform side of Wage's positioning.
• FlexWage: FlexWage is an EWA provider that integrates with employer payroll systems to deliver wage advances. It is a direct peer in the EWA category serving similar employer and worker use cases.
• Payactiv: Payactiv provides EWA and earned-wage access through employer partnerships and a mobile app. It is a directly comparable peer operating in the same product category with similar employer-distribution channels.
• DailyPay: DailyPay is an enterprise-focused EWA platform integrated with employer payroll and HR systems. It is a direct peer in the EWA category with a comparable value proposition aimed at giving workers on-demand wage access.

Broad incumbents

• Dave: Dave is a broader financial wellness and banking app that includes early-pay/advance features alongside budgeting. It is a broader incumbent in the same end-worker category but with a much wider product portfolio.
• Brigit: Brigit is a consumer fintech app offering cash advances, budgeting, and credit-building tools. It overlaps with Wage's end-customer proposition (early wage access) but operates as a broader financial wellness incumbent.
• Wisely (ADP): Wisely by ADP offers prepaid and payroll-card products with early wage access features embedded into employer payroll. It is a broader incumbent that bundles EWA into a payroll-distribution stack, posing a competitive threat at the employer channel.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights3 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/wageapp1

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors4 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Wage