{"id":43880,"date":"2023-10-20T15:31:50","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:31:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/pre-launch-brisbane-startup-irecruit-closes-550000-seed-round-as-it-prepares-to-hit-the-market-startupsmart-2\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:31:50","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:31:50","slug":"pre-launch-brisbane-startup-irecruit-closes-550000-seed-round-as-it-prepares-to-hit-the-market-startupsmart-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/pre-launch-brisbane-startup-irecruit-closes-550000-seed-round-as-it-prepares-to-hit-the-market-startupsmart-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Pre-launch Brisbane startup iRecruit closes $550,000 seed round as it prepares to hit the market – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/div>\n

When Todd Pierce opened a new branch for his marketing company in Adelaide and posted a job ad, he was shocked by the response.<\/p>\n

The ad quickly received nearly 500 applications, and the entrepreneur was left with the difficult task and sifting through resumes to find the right person.<\/p>\n

Overwhelmed by the volume of applications, he says he made a rushed decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still remember that so clearly today,\u201d Pierce tells StartupSmart<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got to 30 people and then I made a hire, and to be honest it wasn\u2019t the best hire. What if there was a superstar I didn\u2019t even see that was lost in this black hole of resumes?\u201d<\/p>\n

It was this moment that led Pierce to formulate the initial idea for what would become iRecruit, a cloud-based platform for job seekers and employers that uses behavioural science to match these groups together.<\/p>\n

Behavioural technology<\/h3>\n

The Brisbane-based startup has just closed a $550,000 seed round as it prepares to launch its product around Australia.<\/p>\n

After the initial idea sparked, Pierce met co-founder Aleksander Svetski and the pair began to brainstorm how a tech platform could improve the recruitment process for both sides of the equation.<\/p>\n

Initially the co-founders developed a \u201cgimmicky\u201d app based on a Tinder-like swipe function, but quickly developed it into a much more substantial tech offering, Pierce says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe evolved the idea so it grew from swiping left and right into something that has substance and is essentially a platform that learns how users think and matches them to roles that fit who you are and what you can do,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd if you\u2019re a business it matches you to job seekers who are right for the position quickly and cheaply.\u201d<\/p>\n

The startup combines Pierce\u2019s background in digital marketing and therapy. The platform allows job seekers to make a profile and answer a series question, with the technology then matching them with suitable employers.<\/p>\n

The service will be free for all job seekers, while employers will have to pay a fee when looking to contact a potential new hiring.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt its core is behavioural-based matching technology,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt takes elite profiling and makes it available and accessible to every single business so they can make accurate hires.<\/p>\n

Planting the seed<\/h3>\n

The two co-founders bootstrapped the initial platform with $100,000, and the new round of external funding comes from a group of local angel investors.<\/p>\n

Pierce says he decided to stick to these investors after some bad experiences with venture capitalists.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe came across VCs in the beginning but they didn\u2019t prove to be the best bet for us,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe felt like their expectations of what we should have in place were too high, and some of them came across as dodgy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s our baby so we\u2019re more motivated than they were. We got in front of sophisticated investors who saw our vision and loved what we were doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

iRecruit is currently in a beta phase, and the capital injection will be used on marketing, tech development and hires as the startup approaches an official launch in the coming months.<\/p>\n

This launch will initially be solely focused on Queensland before the startup looks to expand further across Australia.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not a big raging company with $50 million that can do a machine gun spray of the market,\u201d Pierce says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re taking a concentrated and focused approach with specific verticals in specific geographies.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce we hit a level of saturation in those verticals and we have a certain level of momentum then we have the ability to copy and paste it elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

The why<\/h3>\n

After building the company on the back of his personal experience with recruitment, Pierce says he is still motivated by a core goal to make this process better for both parties.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy \u2018why\u2019 is that I believe anybody can do anything if they have the right tools, strategy and support,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a manifestation of that. My goal is to give job seekers a tool in their pocket that goes out there to find work that\u2019s good for you.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been a journey but what we\u2019ve learnt along the way has put us in a really good position.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re ready to hit the market and deliver what we\u2019ve built, which is something that is designed to make people\u2019s lives easier and give you back your time and freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Follow StartupSmart on<\/em> Facebook,<\/em> Twitter, LinkedIn and SoundCloud.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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