At Arise, we stand steadfast in our mission of helping entrepreneurs find advancement in an environment that lets them build their businesses around flexible work, serving as independent contractors providing services to world-class companies. We also stand by our values of always aiming to do right by our stakeholders, and to be transparent in how we work with our Service Partners and their Agents.
To live out our mission and values, it means we sometimes have to make hard choices, as we have in the past; it also means we need to remain resolute in defending our business. One such example is now.
We have entered into a settlement agreement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to resolve an investigation involving Arise’s marketing and advertising practices. The settlement, which was made public today, came after our cooperation with the FTC in this matter.
It is important to note that we fully disagree with the agency’s allegations and characterization of the facts. This settlement does not mean that we admit to wrongdoing, or that there was any finding of liability against Arise. Nonetheless, while we fully stand by the way we conduct our business, the risks and costs associated with litigation made clear that resolving this matter was the best path forward for our business and our mission to serve the Service Partners and Enterprise Clients that have chosen our platform.
As a business, we always seek ways to enhance how we market the available programs on the platform so that prospective Service Partners have the information they need to assess and evaluate if they want to pursue this type of work. One example of this enhancement is the Service Partner Advisory Representative Council (SPARC) that launched at the beginning of 2024. SPARC provides us with insight and feedback from Service Partners, allowing us to offer Service Partners the services that they need and further improve the transparency in our communications with prospective and current Service Partners.
While we are already effectively in compliance with the key aspects of the order that was made public today, we are supportive of doing more to improve our business practices in the future. Looking ahead, we believe these actions best position us to serve all our stakeholders – adding clarity and certainty to how Arise can help entrepreneurs find professional success and companies find world-class customer service solutions.
