Knoq, the Techstars alum behind door-to-door marketing campaigns, formerly known as Polis, is making a temporary COVID-19-related pivot.
As the spread of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by novel coronavirus, continues to disrupt the economy and the workforce, 'Knoqers,' as the company calls its employees, will deliver food and groceries instead of talking about new products and services.
"Before the COVID-19 crisis, Knoqers were going door-to-door and talking about new products," said CEO Kendall Hope Tucker. "Things were going amazing for us four weeks ago, but because of safety concerns, we had to pull away Knoqers off the door but I didn't want to lay off any of our employees."
So Tucker decided to partner with local food banks to deliver food and groceries to those in need through a new initiative called 'Knoq Cares.' In Boston, the company is hiring 30 Knoqers to be W2 employees with health benefits, and paying them $20 an hour for delivery and pick-ups. All they need is access to a car and to pass background checks. Tucker said majority of the applicants were furloughed restaurant and hospitality workers.
"The employment can be as temporary or permanent as Knoqers choose, we would love to keep them on, if they want to stay with us after this is done," Tucker said.
This is Knoq's second pivot in a matter of weeks. One of BostInno’s Startups to Watch in 2020, the company originally launched by providing a door-to-door canvassing app to help campaigners and politicians keep better track of their door-knocking campaigns.
In March, the company rebranded itself as Knoq and pivoted away from its political component to focus on sales and marketing. The company calls this new initiative “neighborhood outreach”— where it educates people about a suite of different products and services available to them.
This pivot, Tucker said, will continue to promote marketing campaigns where corporate sponsors including Barkbox, Fluent and Vivint will brand Knoq's door hangers.
