These Charlotte Startups Are Still Hiring During COVID-19 Pandemic

In a virtual Packard Place Public House event on April 24, local startups were asked to participate in a “pulse check” survey about their hiring situation. Of nearly 30 respondents, 36 percent said they’re hiring, with front-and back-end developers in the highest demand.

These trends generally line up with statewide hiring stats from the past few months, especially within the tech industry. According to NC Tech Association data from March, IT job openings in North Carolina are down by 5.7 percent since March 2019. Job openings fell by 8.9 percent in the Charlotte/Concord/Gastonia region alone. Nationwide, job listings are down 5.2 percent from 2019.

Across all industries in the Queen City, the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance estimates that more than 71,000 jobs (4.8 percent of total jobs) were lost in the first quarter of this year, mostly in the last three weeks of March. However, some of the area’s largest sectors saw slight growth, including headquarters operations, wholesale, finance, insurance and professional services. Meanwhile, demand for storage, warehousing, retail supercenters and grocers skyrocketed, causing significant hiring sprees at Amazon, Walmart and Lowes—all major employers in Charlotte.

Though volatile, Charlotte’s job market isn’t entirely in disarray. The demand for tech and professional services talent is still high. Bank of America and Truist Financial, both staples of Charlotte’s fintech sector, are seeking applicants for hundreds of corporate positions, many of which were recently posted this month.

Large tech industry employers are hiring as well. Charlotte “unicorn” AvidXchange, fresh off a $127.5 million funding round, has several new Charlotte-based job openings posted on its website.

Zooming into Charlotte’s startup community, many early-stage companies are less affected by the social distancing measures that have disrupted non-tech industries. Here are some companies that are growing their teams in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Carewell

Carewell, a provider of home health supplies, is looking to add a couple of engineers to its team in Charlotte.

Since more people are relying on buying health products online, Carewell co-founder and COO Jonathan Magolnick says the coronavirus pandemic has provided a big boost in revenue over the past month. The company currently has 16 team members, with four more starting in May. Magolnick says the shift to work-from-home operations is going smoother than expected, especially in onboarding new hires.

“We had people starting before the work-from-home order was issued, so we had to onboard six people remotely over the last two-and-a-half weeks,” Magolnick said. “We created a virtual training program for the first time. It’s definitely something that’s going to be a strength of ours moving forward.”

Carewell’s local engineering jobs are listed on LinkedIn.

Wellzesta

Belmont startup Wellzesta, which provides software solutions for senior living centers, seeks to add a client success associate and a data scientist to its 25-person team. The positions are available through Venture for America Charlotte’s fellowship program.

Wellzesta CEO John Robinson says the company is seeing a significant increase in the adoption and use of its software products. From early-March to mid-April, metrics of customers’ time spent in the Wellzesta Life App have soared.

Already this quarter, Wellzesta has brought on a new developer and an intern, both new hires made after the company achieved strong sales in 2019. Robinson believes those trends will continue through the pandemic.

“We are continuing with the [new] hires as planned because we expect a post-COVID bounce,” Robinson says. “We expect increased app use among existing customers to translate into strong advocacy for our products, which will increase sales.”

FINBOA

Banking services startup FINBOA, which is currently in the 12th cohort of the Queen City Fintech accelerator, will be adding 3-4 new employees to its team in the second and third quarters of this year. Though the startup is based in Houston, it intends to build a team in Charlotte as part of its plan with QC Fintech.

FINBOA Vice President of Technology Dheeraj "Raj" Singal says these hires were planned before the coronavirus crisis, but he anticipates that the pandemic will yield more opportunities as FINBOA provides no-contact digital banking services that may be in high demand if social distancing measures continue.

Amid the pandemic, Singal says the company is adjusting to new needs and anticipating future needs. “One area we are focused on is managing risk and anxiety when businesses reopen,” he adds.

ThreatSwitch

ThreatSwitch, a security compliance services provider in Charlotte, is looking to fill a SaaS senior account executive role. The company plans to hire another senior account executive and a B2B marketing position in early Q4 2020.

ThreatSwitch Operations Assistant Kristen Race says that the company’s hiring plans are stable during the pandemic, as its customers are less affected by the economic fallout. Additionally, the work-from-home shift is advantageous to ThreatSwitch’s cloud-native security application.

“Our customers need to run their security compliance programs—and their employees need to participate in those programs—even though they are all working from home,” Race said. “That is a core part of our value proposition. We are one of the only SOC 2 compliant vendors in our space, which means we have a natural advantage.”

Read more ThreatSwitch coverage here.

Chime Solutions

Chime Solutions, a customer experience services provider that recently expanded to Charlotte, is hiring for three local positions: A life and health service delivery manager, a quality consultant, and a life and health licensed quality consultant. Read more about these positions on Chime’s website.

Better.com

Better.com expanded to Charlotte last year, promising to add more than 1,000 jobs to the region in the next five years. Earlier this month, the company announced a plan to hire unemployed hospitality workers in Charlotte, New York City and Orange County, California.

In Charlotte, Better.com is hiring across several teams, including sales and customer experience, operations and IT/security. View open listings and apply here.

RealRecruit

RealRecruit is adding a director of marketing and director of customer success to its team in Charlotte. The company’s risk management platform allows university administrators to review feedback and ratings from student athletes on the quality of their programs. RealRecruit's open positions are listed here.

Enventys Partners

Enventys Partners, a full-service product development agency in Charlotte, has nearly a dozen job openings across all of its services, including marketing, ecommerce, crowdfunding, operations and product development. Read our profile on Enventys here.

Fuzzy Logix

Fuzzy Logix, a firm that provides business performance analytics products and services, is seeking data scientists to join its Charlotte office. Learn more on the company’s career page.

More Startups Hiring (Packard Place List)

Packard Place provided Charlotte Inno with a list of companies that are hiring, compiled after the Public House event on April 23. Here’s a rundown:

Charlotte-based Medicare Advantage healthcare provider Troy Medicare is hiring back-end and front-end developers, as well as marketing and PR professionals.

Fifth Third Bank is seeking client and account services professionals in Charlotte.

Charlotte-based DualBoot Partners, a product development and business strategy firm, is hiring front-end and back-end developers.

PureSkill.GG, a Mooresville startup that uses AI to help gamers improve their skills, is currently seeking front-end developers to join its team.

Levvel, an IT strategy and consulting firm based in downtown Charlotte, is hiring for a range of positions, including front- and back-end developers, sales, business development, and client and account services.

Open Broadband LLC, which provides internet service to underserved communities in North Carolina, is currently hiring new employees.

Shandoka Cycles, a maker of compact electric motorcycles and mopeds, is hiring in several departments, including sales, business development, marketing and PR, and management/leadership.

Charlotte wearable tech startup Amissa is hiring front- and back-end developers and management professionals. (Read our profile of Amissa here.)

Stratifyd, a fast-growing AI startup in Charlotte, is hiring back-end developers and marketing/PR professionals. (Read more about Stratifyd here.)

Other Sources for Local Jobs