Munich-based WorkerHero, a recruitment technology startup, announced on Tuesday that it has raised €4M in a Series A funding round led by Mediahuis.
Existing investors, including 10x Founders and Bonsai Partners, also participated in the round.
Fund utilisation
The German company will use the capital injection to scale further and enter new industries.
In an interview with Silicon Canals, Steven Miller, co-founder of WorkerHero, discussed the criteria for targeting new industries.
“Our criteria for targeting new industries include the severity of the skilled worker shortage, the potential for technological disruption, and the overall market demand. We conduct thorough market research to identify sectors where our AI-driven platform can add the most value and where there is a significant need for efficient and effective recruiting solutions. Next to the current industries, we are planning to provide support to retail companies,” he says.
This expansion will be supported by an upgrade to a new platform version, which aims to simplify recruiting and job searching for users.
The updated version will offer an improved design and enhanced features, including advanced AI tools.
In addition, WorkerHero will prioritise international hiring to help companies recruit skilled workers from abroad.
Birth of WorkerHero
WorkerHero was founded in 2021 by Richard Fischer, Steven Miller, Michael König, and Emanuel Wernitz to address the shortage of skilled workers.
Explaining the reason behind establishing WorkerHero Steven Miller says, “The idea for WorkerHero was born out of Richard Fischer’s experience in his last position at a global corporation, where he was responsible for developing programs to attract blue-collar workers. He quickly realised that existing platforms were not tailored to the needs and requirements of these workers, leading to poor recruiting results. This inspired us to create WorkerHero, a platform specifically designed to meet the needs of skilled workers and streamline the recruiting process.”
How does it work?
Leveraging AI-driven sourcing and matching, the platform connects companies with high-quality candidates.
Miller explains their AI technology: “It considers factors such as skills, experience, location, and availability. Additionally, our AI analyses which platforms or channels are most effective in reaching specific skilled workers and automatically deploys job ads accordingly.”
Additionally, the AI continuously learns and improves from user interactions and feedback, ensuring that the candidates become more accurate over time.
“This not only speeds up the recruiting process but also significantly increases the chances of successful placements,” he adds.
Over 70,000 users have already created profiles on WorkerHero, claims the company.
Shedding light on the company’s strategy to attract users, he added, “We initially targeted the driver and logistics market during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was a time of high demand for these services. We utilised a combination of digital marketing, partnerships with industry-specific job portals, and word-of-mouth referrals to attract users.”
Various companies, like Telekom, HelloFresh, and BayWa, are already using WorkHero.
“Additionally, our talent pool grew rapidly because WorkerHero places a strong emphasis on user experience and prioritises a seamless application process. And the effectiveness of our AI-driven sourcing and matching technology played a significant role in our growth so far,” he adds.
Challenges
According to Miller, one of their biggest challenges was convincing companies to adopt a new technology for their recruiting needs.
He claims that many were accustomed to traditional methods such as job portals and were sceptical of AI-driven solutions.
“We overcame this by demonstrating the effectiveness of our platform through pilot programs and showcasing successful case studies,” adds Miller.
Moving forward
WorkerHero aims to position itself as the leading recruiting platform in Europe.
The company’s objective is to make recruiting as efficient and effective as possible, helping to solve the global skilled worker shortage and supporting economic growth through better job placements.
The investor
Antwerp-based Mediahuis is an international media group in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Ireland.
“Workerhero’s outstanding performance demonstrates the effectiveness of focusing on well-defined blue-collar sectors, delivering better-matched candidates much faster than broader market players. Workerhero’s unwavering commitment to user experience and quality delivery has driven impressive growth since its inception. We are excited to support Workerhero in its future growth and look forward to seeing its continued success!” says Patrick de Wachter, Director of Corporate Development at Mediahuis.
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