Another new niche job site, SpotJobs, is preparing for its national media launch next month, having already received seed funding and office space from residential builder Simonds Homes.<\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n SpotJobs, founded by business graduates Lewis Romano, 25 and Jake Williams, 23, helps people find casual, part-time and entry-level jobs right across the country.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cJake, when he finished high school, was going to go to schoolies and realised he didn\u2019t have any money,\u201d says Romano, who previously founded men\u2019s online retailer Romano Napoli.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHe thought there would be a website that catered to people like him.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHe discovered there is no SpotJobs, so he got talking to me and we saw there was a huge opportunity to develop a platform that connects all of these people.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe realised the most important thing for us\u2026 was someone to share our vision to help us put it in front of a broader marketplace.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Armed with nothing but their idea, Romano and Williams went in search of seed funding.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe spent 12 months trying to find the right partner. Through our social circles, Simonds Homes presented as an opportunity,\u201d Romano says.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe developed a story. We sort of said, \u2018This is the problem people face. This is the opportunity we\u2019ve identified\u2019.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt makes the process for everyone involved\u2026 simply just better. We believe that there is a lot of great parts of technology, which weren\u2019t a part of the job-seeking and recruitment process.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSkype interviews and all those bits and pieces are scattered around the internet but not necessarily put into one, easy to use platform.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In addition to scrapping traditional resumes in favour of visual CVs, SpotJobs asks job-seekers questions such as how far they\u2019re willing to travel from their home and what time of day they prefer to work.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Romano and Williams received an undisclosed amount of funding from Simonds Homes and a number of private investors, and set themselves up in Simonds Homes\u2019 Melbourne headquarters.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve really backed us from day one, which is probably the most important part of the journey so far \u2013 their support,\u201d Romano says.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n However, Romano admits it was tough to raise funds when the platform hadn\u2019t been built.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s something I don\u2019t know if we\u2019d try to do again. People\u2019s initial concern about an idea is it\u2019s pretty replicable,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cFor us, we thought once we had a bit of a war chest that anything would be possible.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Since its launch, more than 25,000 job applications have been filed through the site. There are 5,000 advertisements online and 1,000 new jobseekers signing up every day.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n SpotJobs has also signed up more than 200 employers including Coles, Woolworths, Red Rooster, Pizza Hut, Apple, Cotton On, Telstra, Optus and Premier Retail.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Meanwhile, BHP Billiton and Toll Holdings have expressed interest in the site.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAfter Simonds gave the support we were looking for, it gave us an opportunity to build the website and bring an in-house team of developers in,\u201d Romano says.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cJack and I just pounded the pavement and got on a plane every second day all over the country for almost 12 months.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe spoke to the HR recruitment teams of all the biggest consumer brands in Australia. We were just blown away by\u2026 their willingness to get behind [us] and support SpotJobs.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe got the sense these companies were willing us to be successful. There did seem to be a little bit of disenchantment [with other job sites].\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The business, which now employs 10 staff, is expecting to be cashflow stable by June. And it isn\u2019t ruling out raising additional funds, with Romano saying a capital raising could take place by the end of the year.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n But for now, Romano says SpotJobs is busily preparing for a national television and digital advertising campaign.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re really looking forward to our national media launch early next month. We\u2019ve proven the concept on a smaller scale but we can\u2019t wait to put SpotJobs to the broader market,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n