Arriving in Australia in 2015 as an international student, Elengovan took to gig work, but quickly noticed a gap in the industry. He saw gig workers struggling to keep track of their work and finances across multiple platforms and businesses and decided he could help.

The 34-year-old brought his dream of business entrepreneurship into reality with the creation of MyGigsters, an AI-powered financial services app that tracks earnings and expenditures for small business owners and gig workers.

“MyGigsters has deployed a proprietary AI technology that automatically detects potential tax deductions based on the tax profile of the self-employed,” Elengovan said.

“Users get matched with registered tax agents in the application who will lodge GST, BAS and Tax automatically.”

He said they also integrated 30 gig platforms and service providers, such as income protection insurance provider Hustle Cover, and used bank feed scanning to provide insights and products to gig workers.

“Over the last 16 months, our user base has grown to 4000+ users and boasts a community of over 6000 members,” Elengovan said.

“Since our launch (in early 2021), we have built partnerships across the ecosystem with major brands such as UberEats, DoorDash, HustleCover, RedBookInspect, Zoomo and many more.

“Our mission is to build the world’s largest, safest, most financially secure gig workers community.”

This vision landed him the Emerging Industries Award from Piper Alderman for an individual contributing to or a company operating in one of the “Emerging Industries” that will contribute to the prosperous future of our state.

Elengovan related how MyGigsters was founded in 2020 in the middle of the pandemic and with only a few weeks remaining on his temporary post-study visa.

“I was building MyGigsters, but my expiring temporary post-study visa threatened my ability to continue. Frustrated and guilty, I faced switching to a tourist visa, which would eliminate our only income,” he said.

With just days left, he used his savings to apply for a tourist visa but decided to make one last effort.

“I contacted the Department of Innovation and Skills in South Australia, requesting sponsorship for their pilot visa program, ‘Supporting Innovation in South Australia’. Though I had applied six months prior without hearing back, they responded quickly this time, sponsoring my application and enabling me to stay in Australia and continue working on MyGigsters,” he said.

Elengovan has launched two other businesses and now also runs bespoke software development company Megamind Creations and a growth hacking agency called Gufy.

“I intend to use this 40 Under 40 recognition to amplify my contribution back to the community and support other start-ups and entrepreneurships to solve big problems that impact millions,” he said.