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
Troost coffee shop ‘broken into pieces’ by collision; caffeinated supporters jump to action
A community of customers and neighbors is rallying behind Anchor Island Coffee this week after a pickup truck barreled into the front entrance of the tropical-themed breakfast spot at 41st and Troost. Fortunately no one was injured in the after-hours incident, said co-owner Armando Vasquez, who noted he was the last person to leave the…
KC innovator’s anti-itch spray so natural it was discovered on a front porch lab
Homindy founder Ronan Molloy discovered the benefits of his company’s itch relief spray somewhat by accident. During the summer of 2020, Molloy volunteered to participate in a clinical study for a tea with all-natural ingredients that was supposed to reduce inflammation in his right knee. At that time, he was president of the Innovation Stockyard,…
KC capital implants cattle tech startup with fuel to scale, expanding IVF labs, headcount
Livestock production has seen a remarkable transformation since Kerryann Kocher was growing up on her family’s sixth-generation farm in northeast Iowa, the Vytelle CEO said. Instead of just selecting the cow that looks best and bringing in the neighbor’s bull for breeding, as she remembers it, Kocher and Vytelle — a Kansas City-based precision livestock…
Venture experts: Getting your first check in KC is too difficult, but a record influx of coastal investors isn’t a bad substitute
A new report on Kansas City’s venture-backed companies showed year-over-year growth in multiple areas — impressing industry experts who identified key investment trends in the data. More companies with venture capital backing; higher employee counts; a 58 percent boost in fundraising. Yet growth was not universal. Despite gains in top-line figures, the number of Kansas City-based…