HourlyNerd has rebranded and it’s now going by the name of Catalant (a blend of the words catalyst, brilliant and talent). The switch to Catalant also marks a shift in focus, as the startup plans to up its attention on enterprises looking for talent to help them work on crucial business challenges. We broke the news on the name change in Monday's BostInno Beat, and now the company is talking about the thinking behind its new name.
According to Rob Biederman, co-founder and co-CEO of Catalant, the change seems like an organic progression for the company. He told us:
We always started the business to work primarily with small businesses and do projects, and, over time, enterprises began showing up and requesting larger and more complicated pieces of work. Eventually, we started asking them, ‘Hey, why is it that you’re using us instead some other solution?’ What we heard back from them was they think of us as a place for flexible talent and what they see us doing as the future of work in many respects. We felt, as time went on, we needed a fresh start on the branding side with really exciting value proposition.
There are a couple of features that will prove particularly helpful to larger sized businesses. For one thing, Catalant uses machine learning and algorithms driven to match business leaders who post requests for proposals to talent capable of handling their projects in a matter of minutes. Additionally, the technology will save information about projects and allow for sharing within a company, so an enterprise won’t waste resources duplicating a project that’s already complete.
As Pat Petitti - Catalant’s other co-founder and co-CEO - explained, "The truth is, the best people aren’t choosing to go work at most large enterprises anymore. Most of the most talented people in the world today are choosing to work in a different way."
The truth is, the best people aren’t choosing to go work at most large enterprises anymore.
Petitti pointed to startups like Uber and Postmates, who have been causing a notable stir in the freelance economy. He emphasized, "The same thing is happening on the other side in the labor market."
That's a major driving force for Catalant. Looking ahead, the company wants to not only focus on improving user experience and increasing market education, but it also plans to bring on more top talent to propel the venture towards its mission. Petitti said:
We believe that what we’re doing is fundamentally changing the way companies do work and the way that people choose to work. The fact is, it shouldn’t be the case that work dictates how your life is lived… You’re told what city to live in, when and where to go each day, whether you’re even in the right point in your career to make critical decisions… That’s pretty backwards, and in world of technology, that doesn’t have to be the case. To do that well, we need to be transformative and we need to have the very best people working with us.
It’s important to mention that HourlyNerd isn’t going anywhere. With the rebranding, the platform catered towards small businesses will live on as HourlyNerd Powered by Catalant. This changes follows the $22 million Series C funding the venture just secured.
