Ethos raises $22.75M from a16z for its expert network with voice onboarding

You know how sometimes you need advice from someone who actually does the thing, not just someone who read about it? Like asking a real nurse about a medication instead of Googling symptoms at midnight? That’s basically the problem Ethos is trying to solve, but at scale. They’ve built a network that connects businesses and researchers with real-world experts — doctors, engineers, farmers, whatever niche you need — and they’re using AI voice technology to make signing up as an expert as easy as having a phone conversation. No forms, no typing, just talk. That’s how they’re pulling in 35,000 new experts every week, which is a genuinely impressive number.

The “voice onboarding” part is the interesting bit here. Instead of making experts fill out long profiles (which most people abandon halfway through), you just have a conversation with an AI. It asks you questions, you answer naturally, and it builds your profile from what you say. Think of it like the difference between filling out a tax form yourself versus just talking to an accountant who figures it all out from your answers. It lowers the friction dramatically, which means more experts actually complete the process and join the network. Big investors like a16z clearly think there’s real money in making expert knowledge more accessible and easier to tap into.

So what does this mean for you?

If you have specialized knowledge — even stuff you take for granted — you could sign up for platforms like Ethos, GLG, or Clarity.fm and get paid for consulting calls. Former retail managers, nurses, tradespeople, teachers, niche hobbyists — companies genuinely pay $50 to $300+ per hour to talk with people who have real-world experience in specific areas.

If you run a small business and need expert input without hiring a consultant full-time, these expert networks are worth bookmarking. Need to understand how a specific industry works before entering it? A one-hour call with someone who’s been in it for 20 years is often cheaper and more useful than a $5,000 consulting report.

If you do any kind of research, market analysis, or content creation for clients, positioning yourself on these networks as a subject matter expert in your industry is a low-effort way to add an income stream. Your everyday work experience is more valuable to outsiders than you realize.

Your decade of experience in something “ordinary” might be exactly what someone will pay good money to understand for an hour.