GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Apr 13, 2026 - Cameron Lockrey didn't set out to disrupt the gig economy. He was just trying to find more odd jobs to do.
In the summer of 2022, Lockrey and a friend started a pressure washing business out of Montrose, Michigan. They were good at it. Clients started calling them back — not just for pressure washing, but for landscaping, moving furniture, anything that needed doing. The work kept coming. The referrals kept spreading. And Lockrey kept wondering: what if there was an app that could do what word-of-mouth was already doing for them?
He searched for one. It didn't exist. So he built it.
That first platform, Kickback, launched while Lockrey was still a senior studying marketing management and entrepreneurship at Calvin University. Within its first month it had 134 registered users — workers and homeowners showing up on both sides without being paid to. That early signal mattered more to Lockrey than any pitch competition win: real people, with real needs, finding each other on something he had built from scratch.
The Calvin Startup Garage became a critical early ally. Through the program and its director Jon VerLee, Lockrey sharpened the idea, pressure-tested the model, and prepared to take it public. The results followed. Kickback won the Calvin University PitchUp Competition, the MWest Challenge, StartGarden's 5x5 Night — a $5,000 prize — and the Createur Conference at Olivet Nazarene University, among others. Eight competitions in total. Judges kept saying yes. But more importantly, users kept coming back.
Regional media took notice too. FOX 17, WOOD TV 8, and WZZM 13 all covered the platform as it gained traction across West Michigan — not as a novelty, but as something filling a genuine gap in how blue-collar workers found work and how homeowners found people they could trust.
That trust problem is what ultimately pushed Kickback to evolve into GigNGo.
"The real issue was never finding workers — it was knowing who they were before you hired them," said Cameron Lockrey, Founder of GigNGo. "I was that worker. I knew what it felt like to show up and have someone look at you like they weren't sure. We built GigNGo to fix that — for both sides."
GigNGo reframed the entire experience around the GigFeed — a TikTok-style short-form video discovery feed where workers build a visible personal brand, showcase their work, and let their personality speak before a homeowner ever sends a message. Workers keep 100% of their earnings through a flat monthly subscription. Employers post for free. The platform's growth has since expanded beyond Michigan, with thousands of users and active posts now spanning all 50 U.S. states and multiple Canadian provinces.
What started as two guys with a pressure washer is now a nationally reaching platform — built not on venture capital, but on validation from users who wanted it to exist.
GigNGo is currently expanding focused operations in Michigan, Pittsburgh, PA and Dallas, TX, while actively pursuing accelerator partnerships to fuel its next phase of growth. Workers and homeowners can join today at gigngo.org or by downloading the app on iOS and Android.
About GigNGo
GigNGo (gigngo.org) is a workers-first local services marketplace founded by Cameron Lockrey. The platform allows workers to keep 100% of their earnings through a flat monthly subscription, while employers post jobs for free. GigNGo's GigFeed — a TikTok-style short-form video discovery feed — lets workers build personal brands so their character gets them the job. GigNGo has surpassed thousands of users with active posts spanning all 50 U.S. states and multiple Canadian provinces.
Media Contact
Company Name: GigNGo
Contact Person: Cameron Lockrey
Email: Send Email
Phone: 5304339682
Address:2951 Englewood Ave
City: Grand Rapids
State: MI
Country: United States
Website: https://gigngo.org
