Rapid growth propelling grand ambitions for PopBookings

Only weeks after releasing its latest product, event staffing tech firm PopBookings is hiring staff and looking for capital to accommodate for rapid growth.

In the last six weeks the Kansas City-based startup has added thousands of users to its platform on which staffing agencies can hire and manage temporary labor for specific events. Now with more than 17,000 users, PopBookings is feeling the strain of a burgeoning user base, compelling the firm to raise a round of growth capital.

PopBookings co-founder Erika Klotz said that the firm is looking to raise $1 million in the next three months for staff additions and marketing efforts. Founded in 2014, PopBookings is looking to add five staff members in the next six months who will help with onboarding new customers and tech development.

[pullquote]“We’ve positioned ourselves as being a very strong Kansas City company. We’d like to be taken very seriously as one of the next major companies to headquarter in Kansas City.” – Scott Hanson[/pullquote]

“It’s been inspiring but hectic,” Klotz said of PopBookings’ evolution. “Growing too fast is a good problem to have.”

Pop Bookings created an online platform and mobile app on which staffing agencies can hire and manage temporary labor for specific events. The platform also allows temporary workers to create a profile and find opportunities with various agencies. For example, if Red Bull wanted to find talent to hand out its beverages at a NASCAR event, Pop Bookings connects agencies with the talent to fill the need.

In June, PopBookings raised $250,000 from local angel investors which fueled the development of its web-based service and mobile app. A few months later in September, the startup snagged $50,000 via the LaunchKC grant competition.

In addition to adding thousands of new users, PopBookings recently kicked off operations at a new, spacious office in downtown Kansas City. The space — located at the former SparkLabKC  accelerator — not only affords space for as many as 15 staff members, but also meshes well with the company’s mission, Klotz said.

“It’s open, it’s bright and it’s fun,” Klotz said of the office, located on the first floor of the Board of Trade Lofts building. “It’s great space to grow our company culture and that was a big selling point for us.”

The firm’s successes in the last year is fueling its ambitions to become a top Kansas City tech company, PopBookings co-founder Scott Hanson said.

“We’ve positioned ourselves as being a very strong Kansas City company,” Hanson said. “We’d like to be taken very seriously as one of the next major companies to headquarter in Kansas City.”