Jobbio to expand following €1m funding round

Online jobs marketplace Jobbio is planning to ramp up its international expansion in the wake of a €1 million funding round.

The company, established by brothers Stephen and John Quinn, raised the money in a seed capital-funding round through AIB Seed Capital Fund, MXC Capital, Enterprise Ireland and private investment.

Jobbio has been named as one of Enterprise Ireland's high-potential start-ups and John Quinn, is the former owner of Champion Sports.

Chief executive Stephen Quinn said the funding is proof that the idea is working.

“It’s a significant round. It’s about what you do with it now,” he said. “We’re very ambitious in how big this can be. It’s now about taking that confidence and appropriating the funds in the right way, and going for it now.”

Jobbio is taking a more modern approach to recruitment, creating a marketplace that allows jobseekers to connect privately with companies they want to work for. Both jobseekers and companies can set up profiles, with candidates concentrating on marketing their skills through the “live bio” – a mixture of text, images, videos and links – while companies use the profiles to showcase their firms and opportunities.

About 550 companies have already signed up to Jobbio since its launch in 2013, including a number of well-known names. Ryanair have recently advertised on Jobbio, along with Dropbox, AirBnB, Uber and Bank of Ireland.

More than 100,000 jobseekers have registered with the firm, with more than 450,000 connections between brands and candidates since its launch.

“We’ve beaten everything we thought we would, every goal we set ourselves. The uptake has been stunning and some of the customer names – Ryanair, AirBnB etc – that’s real validation for us.”

The Jobbio success in Ireland can be applied to other markets, Mr Quinn said. The firm recently opened offices in London and New York, and plans to use the money to further expand its business there before branching out into new cities.

“We’re following our customers, that’s our growth strategy,” said Mr Quinn.

However, despite the move outside Irish shores, Mr Quinn said Ireland will remain the firm’s main base.

“We’re deploying sales people in London and the US, but the tech, marketing, the customer experience resides here,” he said. “Our aim is to create Ireland as the base for the company.”

The new funding and planned expansion will mean new jobs in Ireland, with the company aiming to increase its headcount here from 15 people to 25 by the end of the summer. Growth in the US and London will be based on growth in those markets.

Part of the growth will be based on mobile, with a new app due for launch in the second week in March.