French startup Talent.io is turning headhunting into a marketplace by connecting promising engineers with tech companies. The company just raised $8.8 million (€8 million) from existing investors Alven Capital and Ventech.
While Talent.io started with Paris, the company is now operating in other major European cities, such as Berlin and London. The startup acquired Webcrowd and Go Digital in order to do this.
Engineers sign up when they’re ready to get a new job. Talent.io is going to screen them to keep the most legit candidates. Then, tech companies receive an email every week with new candidates. Those companies can start a conversation with those candidates.
After a month, candidates who don’t find a new job are removed from the platform. Talent.io helps you find full-time employees, freelancers and even interns.
So far, Talent.io has attracted 2,000 tech companies, with most of them in Paris — 200 companies in London and 200 companies in Berlin rely on Talent.io for now. Around 25 percent of candidates find a new job thanks to the startup.
The selection process for candidates is probably the main differentiating factor. If tech companies trust Talent.io that they only select valuable candidates, then they’re going to use it again and again. While 4,500 people sign up every month, only 400 of them get selected. With today’s funding round, Talent.io wants to multiply these numbers by 10.
Recruiting startups are not my favorite kind of startups. It feels like they create more turnover and have too big an impact on the job market. And yet, to be fair, recruitment is a lucrative industry. Tech companies spend thousands and thousands of dollars every year on recruitment. And it’s clear that Talent.io plans to take advantage of that.
