Part-up has raised €650.000 in a new funding round. The startup, based in The Hague, serves as a marketplace for team members, looking to get a professional project done. It was not just any ol’ investment round, though. The investors are no shareholders as is usually the case. Instead they join as part of the to start a Part-up cooperative. This roadmap enables team members and later for users to become co-owners.
Workers connect with organizations
Part-up is based in The Hague, from where they have the ambition to enable workers to liberate them from ‘jobs’. Instead of working a fixed job, through Part-up they can participate in changing teams and new assignments. This works both ways, as it also enables organizations to find the right temporary employees to form the right team for the job. Or as co-founder Laurens Waling explains: “This structure ensures projects not only have a short lead time but creates an environment where employees are encouraged to work not through hierarchal assignment but instead driven by personal motivation.”
‘Unique round of financing’
He claims that employees working on projects that align with their talents and motivations result in a company that innovates faster. Waling founded Part-up in 2014 together with Ralph Boeije and Erik Soonieus. “The unique way we shaped this round of financing, and the foundations of our business structure as a startup, fits with our corporate Vision”, said Waling. “We see an accelerating transition happening in the world of traditional, top-down organized enterprises. This transition aligns with shared ownership and a wholly different approach to work: one in which Talent is the deciding factor.”
Social startup
Part-up puts its money where its mouth is. Ownership of the startup is shared, the software is open source and profits are reinvested into the community. With positive results, they’re currently working with 30 health care facilities, PGGM and five municipalities, including the city of Amsterdam who is currently engaged in a test run with over two hundred trainees incorporated within the startup. Revenue for 2015 was just over €250.000, according to the startup. In 2015 they already raised €215.000 and took center stage on The Next Web 2015.
Apps for jobs
The investment will be used to further develop the platform, that uses an algorithm to match the workers to jobs and vice versa. The launch of an Android and iOS app will improve the usability. Part-up, which has previously been called ‘Tinder for Jobs’ now claims to move in the direction of ‘Whatsapp for jobs’. The app will act as a central messaging hub for projects in the construction and workload for teams, and should give more people easy access to work.
Picture: Part-up team (source)
