Local firm JobShakers scores Mid-America Angel dollars
May 5, 2016 | Bobby Burch
JobShakers, a tech startup offering employee referral software, recently raised local capital to fuel its development and sales channels.
The Shawnee Mission-based company announced Thursday that it closed on a $265,000 seed investment from the Mid-America Angels Investment Network. The new injection of funds brings JobShakers’ total amount raised to $465,000.
“Having completed several months of beta testing with major Kansas City employers, our system is positioned for market rollout,” JobShakers CEO Kevin Fryer said in a release. “With this funding, we will expand our customer support capacity and our sales team.”
The company created an iOS and Android app that allows friends, families and colleagues to make referrals directly from their smartphones using their contact lists. The platform presents job postings alongside a user’s contact list, enabling quick referrals via a “drag-and-drop” method.
Founded in 2014, JobShakers is now pushing its product throughout the Midwest. The company targets referrals for skilled hourly workers, which represents nearly 60 percent of the U.S. workforce, Fryer said. Employers pay for the software is based on a per-referred-candidate-hired basis.
Fryer is also managing partner of SparkLabKC, a Kansas City business accelerator whose future is now uncertain as it looks for new management.
George Hansen, executive director of the Mid-America Angels Investment Network, said that his organization is thrilled to be among the first Kansas City investors to back JobShakers. Hansen added that the startup’s management team was another selling point when eyeing an investment.
“When making the decision to invest in an early-stage company, a balanced and experienced management team is often among our most important criteria,” Hansen said in a release. “The diversity and depth of experience on the JobShakers team was impressive and a key factor in our decision to invest in the success and growth of this business.”
MAA is an angel investor network focused startups in the Kansas and Missouri region. Since 2006, the firm has made 70 investments totaling over $18 million.
Featured Business
2016 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Her red sauce is dynamite but Ragazza’s owner gives the chef title to her Italian heritage
Family is baked into the core of Laura Norris’ restaurants, she shared, from the Italian recipes served at Ragazza in Westport to the brother-sister duo running the new Enzo Wine Bar and Bistro together in the River Market. She opened Ragazza, which now sits at the corner of 43rd and Main streets, in 2013 and…
How a ‘City Hall Swiftie committee’ is bringing joy (and business) to NKC as concert tour hits Arrowhead
The street lights are pointing in an arrowhead, leading Taylor Swift fans to North Kansas City where they can walk the iconic “Cornelia Street.” In June, North Kansas City Mayor Bryant DeLong announced that Swift Street in NKC was to be temporarily renamed Swift Street (Taylor’s Version) in honor of the artist coming July 7-8…
Former Independence mayor named interim executive director for LGBT Chamber
An interim leader was announced Thursday as the Mid-America LGBT Chamber of Commerce forms a search committee tasked with identifying the next full-time executive director for the Kansas City-based business advocacy group. Eileen Weir, who served as mayor of Independence, Missouri, from 2014 to 2022, takes on the interim role July 11 after the announcement…
Fund Me, KC: Grocery store on Troost needs to bag community support to open, bringing fresh food east
Startland News is continuing its “Fund Me, KC” series to highlight area entrepreneurs’ efforts to accelerate their businesses or lend a helping hand to others. This is an opportunity for business owners and innovators — like Kortney Lee who is attempting to expand the footprint of Community Groceries — to share their crowdfunding stories and potentially…