Making talent-hiring and job-searching simpler, nPloy has just secured €2 million of fresh funding. The Sofia-based startup has developed an online platform that works like a dating app for job seekers and recruitment teams.
Job searching can be an exhausting process. From trawling through all the different job search websites to tackling each individual hiring procedure, and not to mention the interviews and all the CV updates and rewrites along the way – it’s not something that naturally fits into most people’s lifestyles. At the same time, for recruitment teams facing the ever-growing talent gap, there’s certainly some mismatch in the recruitment space at the moment.
Aiming to streamline the process and adapt it for the realities of modern life, nPloy has developed a new recruitment platform. The startup has just secured €2 million.
The funding
This €2 million raise marks the first investment for the Sofia-based startup. It was led by the local VC firm Morningside Hill setting the goal of expanding the platform to Central and East European countries.
Matching jobs and people
There are plenty of recruitment platforms out there – so what stops nPloy from becoming just another one of those sites?
Founded in 2018, nPloy directly matches and connects candidates and employers based on the dating apps model. Its algorithm matches talent with companies based on mutual expectations and requirements. Hiring teams get access to a diverse database and a modern approach to finding talents. Meanwhile, candidates enjoy features that make finding the right job simpler. It also has a feature that means people don’t have to actively search for a job – companies can apply to people in a switch-up of the traditional model.
The app’s smart algorithm shows the candidates only job ads that meet all their requirements, including salary. It also lets users know whether their application has been reviewed, approved or not – addressing a common frustration with job seekers.
As with dating apps, if there is a mutual feeling of interest between the company and candidate, a chat automatically opens between the two parties and a video interview can be scheduled. The latest version of the mobile app also offers the possibility for candidates to follow tailored news, join clubs with like-minded people and various types of career-related online events.
nPloy Co-Founder Konstantin Tsonev, explained: “Mass online job posting platforms, not only on the Balkans, but also in Europe, are often clumsy and inefficient. This is exactly what we want to change with nPloy, having successfully built an innovative job-matching platform based on the dating apps models. We’ve replaced the standard pre-screening process with an AI algorithm allowing users to see only vacancies relevant to their experience and requirements, and employers to source the right candidates more efficiently.”
Scaling up
Currently, the Bulgarian startup counts over 85k users and over 500 employers including BIC, SAP, Lidl, Postbank and others, thanks to its transparent and efficient selection process.
Pavel Velkov, managing partner in the VC firm Morningside Hill, said: “We invested in nPloy because we believe in the urgent need of transforming the recruitment market in Europe. Every good idea needs a great business plan and people who are passionate about its implementation, and nPloy has exactly that.”
Now, with this new funding, the team want to expand to new markets in Central and Eastern Europe. The aim is that by the end of 2023, the platform will be active in about 10 more countries.
Maria Petrova, director of business development in nPloy, added: “nPloy’s goal is to make things easier. Job finding doesn’t have to be such a complicated and slow process when there are modern technologies to solve these problems. In a market with low unemployment rates and growth in job openings, candidates don’t want to waste time in a couple of interviews just to find out that their financial expectations don’t even meet, for example. Any difficulty, delay and inefficient processes turn down a large number of applicants. This is where nPloy comes in – you create a quick profile and you can immediately apply or wait for an employer to send you a match request for a suitable position.”
