Vera Sprothen is a German-Australian writer, editor and economist with a passion for surfing and untangling the complexities of labour markets. A former reporter with The Wall Street Journal and other opinion-leading global publications (including ELLE magazine, Wirtschaftswoche and Die Zeit), Vera has written numerous features about the working lives of people around the globe, from Ukrainian day labourers in Germany to vanilla farmers in Tonga. For the book 'Flow Generation. A Survival Guide for our Unpredictable Lives' (with Nicoló Andreula), she recalled her own gig economy experience – as a pizza delivery driver, tobacco vendor and promotion girl – from the days when mobile phones were still dumb and the internet only a few pages long. Vera holds a Master in Economics and Politics from University of Cologne and is a graduate of Holtzbrinck School for Business Journalists. She is working in Sydney as a freelance writer, editor and surf instructor helping people find their flow in life.