ZipRecruiter, GetNinjas, and more: news of the job board world

Wouldn’t you know that right after my last news roundup, ZipRecruiter decided to fess up about an IPO! It’s been an eventful couple of weeks for the job board and recruitment marketing industry (seems like I’ve been saying that a lot over the past few months), so without further ado, let’s get to it:

• Talent.com thinking about an IPO:  Job aggregator Talent.com is eyeing a new funding round and a possible IPO, the company has confirmed. The company hired its first chief financial officer and last week it posted an opening for a director of financial reporting and tax. Both additions anticipate serious fundraising. President O’Dell said the company hasn’t yet made concrete plans for the IPO and he didn’t say what Talent aims for in terms of valuation. Interesting!
• ZipRecruiter is going public: ZipRecruiter has set May 26 as the date for its direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange. The company’s updated filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission also reveals earnings for Q1 2021, showing a profit of $13.4 million and a two-year high in number of employer customers. In October, ZipRecruiter reported it had more than 800 employees in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Israel – down from a pre-pandemic peak of 1,260. I am sure there is more to come.
• GetNinjas is going public: GetNinjas, a Brazilian marketplace connecting freelancers and companies, has announced the share price range of its initial public offering on the São Paulo stock exchange B3 from BRL 24.90 to BRL 33.50 ($4.58 to $6.16 US). In 2020, GetNinjas reached 2.1 million registered professional users and net operating revenue totaling BRL 41.8 million ($7.7 million US, a nearly 90% increase year-on-year). Best of luck!
• RippleMatch raises big bucks: RippleMatch, a platform for recruiting from college campuses, has announced a $23.5 million funding round. RippleMatch’s platform aims to automatically identify and engage job candidates from more than 1,300 college campuses, according to the company. RippleMatch had previously announced a $6 million funding round in 2019. This market continues to heat up.
• CareRev raises funds: CareRev, a labor marketplace platform that connects hospitals and health systems with local healthcare professionals on demand, announced the closing of a $50 million series A financing round led by Transformation Capital, a growth equity fund solely focused on innovative healthcare IT and services companies. The L.A. company offers a cloud-based platform in which hospitals and other healthcare facilities post shifts when they need clinical support, and local, vetted healthcare professionals claim the shifts through their mobile app — eliminating the need for a traditional agency. Intriguing.
• Randstad revenue up: Randstad nv reported revenue rose 6% year over year on an organic basis in the first quarter. The company cited a strong recovery in the US and Europe. Monster revenue fell 21% in the first quarter after registering a decline of 26% in the fourth quarter. Randstad’s outplacement and reskilling platform RiseSmart saw revenue increase by 72% in the first quarter after posting an increase of 131% in the fourth quarter. Interesting.
• Alma Career revenue down: Alma Career, which houses Alma Media‘s recruitment businesses in ten countries in Eastern Central Europe, saw its revenue and adjusted EBITDA decline in the first quarter of FY2021. The Alma Career segment includes recruitment sites Monster.fi, Jobs.cz, Prace.cz, CV Online, Profesia.sk, MojPosao.net and MojPosao.ba, the Seduo online training service and Prace za rohem. The segment’s quarterly revenue amounted to €16.2 million ($19.5 million U.S.) — down 12.1% from €18.4 million in Q1 2020. Hmm.
• Jobcase buys Upward.net: Jobcase, a social platform dedicated to hourly workers, has acquired the job matching platform Upward.net.  The company, already serving more than 110 million registered members and nearly 20 million monthly active unique users, will increase its digital footprint by over 30% with the addition of Upward (placing the combined network as the 3rd largest online career destination). Upward.net will be a fully owned subsidiary of Jobcase and will retain 100% of its current employees. More to come, I’m sure.
• Jobvite, JazzHR, and NXXThing acquired: Recruitment software providers Jobvite and JazzHR along with NXTThing RPO are being acquired by K1 Investment Management, a private equity firm based in Manhattan Beach, California. The three firms will be combined into a single business with Peter Lamson, CEO of JazzHR, serving as CEO for the combined company. All three firms will continue to operate under their respective brands. Combined, the company serves more than 10,000 employers and attract 11 million job seekers per month. More consolidation.
• Jobstreet launches microsites: The Philippines branch of the marketplace Jobstreet has launched microsites for the provinces of Cebu, Iloilo and the Davao Region. The work-from-home setup has sparked more interest in job applications in Cebu, Iloilo and Davao, and candidates can now search for opportunities in their localities through microsites within the jobs portal. The Seek-owned leading jobs portal is also teaming up with selected regional offices of the Labor department in launching a virtual career fair from May 1-3. Smart move.
• Jobilla raises cash: Finnish talent acquisition startup Jobilla has announced the successful closure of a €2.16 million funding round led by tech investor Trind VC of which €700K was raised as loans and governmental grants. This latest investment round will fuel further expansion in Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands, while also scaling up the company’s operations in the US. The capital will also further develop its AI-powered candidate filtering to the platform’s capabilities for more time and money savings. Congrats!
• Pet-work job site launches: PackHire, a Los Angeles-based business, is an online, job-search platform created by pet people for pet people. Seda Bolulu believes animal lovers should have their own place to search for jobs that cater to their skills, background and interest in working in pet care. The site connects job seekers with a variety of jobs related to grooming and boarding, veterinary care, rescue organizations and nonprofits, work at major pet retailers, pet insurance, dog walking, management at a pet store, or data analysis at a pet care startup, among other positions. Good luck!
• UpWork revenue is up – again: Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ: UPWK) reported revenue rose 36.6% year over year while gross service volume increased. Upwork also announced a new work marketplace as well as a rebrand. The company forecast second-quarter revenue of between $119 million to $121 million, an increase of between 36.0% and 38.2%. Meanwhile, the company’s new work marketplace is designed as an ecosystem that offers a number of ways for freelancers and clients to connect. It positions the company in competition with job boards. Interesting.
• DHI revenue down: DHI Group Inc. (NYSE: DHX) reported first-quarter revenue fell 10.9% year over year with strength in its ClearanceJobs segment. The company noted eFinancialCareers revenue fell 22% excluding the impact of foreign exchange. The first quarter of 2020 included $7.2 million for impairment of intangible assets. Hmm.
• 51Job getting acquired?: China-based recruitment marketplace 51Job has received a revised takeover proposal from DCP Services, Ocean Link Partners and 51Job co-founder Rick Yan said. The latest bid is valued at $79.05 U.S. cash a share, or $5.3 billion U.S.  The value of the offer remains unchanged from the bid made by a group led by DCP back in September. Wonder where this is going?

See? I told you that things were hopping in our industry! Can we say ‘pent up demand‘? I think so. Anyway, I’m sure more is to come. Until next time…

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