When Matthew Osofisan — founder of metropolitan casual wear brand Annie Mulz and a former DigitasLBi analyst — met Corey Bober (Northeastern grad) and Zack Smith (Suffolk grad) a few years ago, the latter duo had already been working on a company called Collegiate Contacts, which helped students find internships and paying gigs. The big takeaway from that venture? There was a huge opportunity in event work. Marketers struggled to find quality, reliable professionals on Craigslist or via temp agencies to staff their events, especially when they have so many other aspects to handle. Meanwhile, there’s a wealth of students, recent grads and others in the Boston area hungry for part-time jobs. While Collegiate Contacts helped clients find students willing to work events via email, they knew there had to be a way to automate and streamline the process.
A win-win for companies and job-seekers
So they built a marketplace that does just that for Boston events. Jobble, which is based out of Northeastern University's IDEA Venture Accelerator, launched an open beta in Boston at the beginning of April, and has seen a solid response from users. In just a month, more than 500 people have signed up and are actively using the app to find event work. Osofisan says Jobble is particularly useful for startups and early stage companies, because it eliminates a lot of the hassles with staffing their events, thus enabling them to focus on running promotional marketing campaigns.
It’s a relatively simple process on both sides. Marketers post the event they need help for, with some basic information about the time, location, compensation and type of occasion. Applicants—aka "Jobblers"—undergo a background check and fill out a quick questionnaire proving they’re eligible to work. Then, they can see all event work in their area that is most relevant to them and apply. Since there are different categories — such as fundraisers and promotional events, as well as positions — including brand ambassador, host/hostess and audio/video tech support, it’s easy for users to weed out the work that isn’t appropriate for their skills. Marketers can then review Jobblers' profiles and hire them in a click. And applicants are able to stay updated on their pending applications on the activity tab, as well as their compensation on the payments tab.
Jobble’s key advantage over traditional job posting boards or event agencies is that it shows the rating, recommendations, and previous work experience of every applicant so the event marketer can choose the person best fit for the job. And the mobile app enables users to apply, hire and manage event help from anywhere on the go.
But arguably the most appealing perk involves payment: Event workers get funds directly deposited into their bank account within 48 hours.
Gearing up for the next phase
Thus far, Jobble has been bootstrapping but this past winter, the startup received a $10,000 grant through the IDEA program. The seven-person team is currently focused on getting more users — and with that, they say, may come a seed round from Angels or investors. Advisors for the company, include Dyn CMO Kyle York and Invision VP of Sales Ryan Burke.
Jobble is planning an official public launch for this summer. For now, the service is free for both parties, but they indicated that will likely change down the road. And eventually, they aim to expand to other cities. As Osofisan pointed out, it’s even harder to hire for an event in a city you don’t live in — which is why Jobble could be such a crucial tool for companies that participate in conferences elsewhere, such as SXSW.
All images courtesy of Jobble.
