A team of Birmingham entrepreneurs who quit their jobs earlier this year to go all-in on a startup have a new space to call home.
After months of working in dining rooms and co-working spaces, the founders of Werkx — a startup aimed at shaking up the hiring process — have moved into Innovation Depot. The trio is gearing up for a mid-October launch of the Werkx platform, a jobs marketplace that is aiming to change the dynamics of hiring by connecting verified candidates with immediate job opportunities.
Werkx allows candidates to verify qualifications up front. When qualifications are met, roles unlock, eliminating the need for resumes. Job seekers can self-schedule interviews for the jobs they want. The platform is meant to eliminate bias in hiring.
The team is made up of experienced software development, operations and recruiting professionals who are no strangers to the world of entrepreneurship.
Virginia Trinkle, CEO and founder, graduated from Auburn University with a bachelor’s degree in finance. After a couple years in investment banking, spending time as a personal assistant and executive assistant to multiple A-list celebrities and working in production, she returned to Birmingham. She worked for multiple startups, including Shipt and Fetch Rewards, and recently obtained her Master of Business Administration from Mississippi State University.
Matthew Durr, co-founder and chief revenue officer, was raised in Austin and graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a bachelor’s degree in history in 2006. Following college, Durr spent six years in banking before shifting to the tech industry as one of Google’s first technical recruiters in Austin, eventually becoming a manager. Over the next eight years, he worked at Google and Facebook. In early 2021, Durr made the shift to the startup space and joined Fetch Rewards.
Brandon Morgado, technology founder and chief technology officer, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Auburn University in 2004. He spent the next six years writing software for local enterprise corporations, Infinity Insurance and Alabama Power. He earned his master’s degree at UAB in information and engineering management. Upon graduation, he joined a 20-person startup, Emergency Callworkx, creating VoIP products for 911 call centers and has worked at Amazon Web Services and Shipt.
Trinkle and Durr co-founded Werkx in early 2022 as an LLC and self-funded the early days of research while working full time at Fetch Rewards. Morgado joined the team as tech founder in mid-2022 as the team prepared to pitch for funding. Werkx converted to a C corp and raised an angel round of $550,000 in January 2023, which allowed the team to work for Werkx full time.
And funds are typically harder to obtain for female-founded and co-founded startups. According to Pitchbook data, in 2022, female-only founded startups got only 2.1% of venture capital invested. Female and male-founded startups nabbed more, at 17.8%. Alabama is one of the unfriendliest states for female entrepreneurs, according to a recent report by Merchant Maverick — ranking 49th.
The team is currently raising a seed round in preparation of the October launch, to grow the team and add more features to the platform.
“We are doing a slow rollout, starting here in Birmingham,” Trinkle said. “Werkx has an initial focus on home health care with several signed contracts. We are also excited to be working with a large coffee company and have a few other industries in the conversation. We’re counting on Birmingham to come out strong, testing out our platform and helping us create something really innovative and forward-thinking. Employers only pay when they hire, so it’s as risk-free as possible.
Once Werkx closes its next funding round, it plans to grow the team and work to expand its offerings. Trinkle said they are looking at Birmingham as “the perfect testing ground.”
“If we can be successful here, we will replicate our efforts in other cities,” she said. “We have a lot more to come.”
