Labour recruiter Hyr raises $1.6 mln in Flybridge-led round

Hyr, a Toronto- and New York-based labour marketplace for the new economy, has secured about $1.6 million (US$1.3 million) in a seed-stage financing. The round, which brings Hyr’s total funding to date to US$2.4 million, was led by Flybridge Capital Partners and joined by Newark Venture Partners and XFactor Ventures. Founded in 2015 by CEO Joshua Karam and CMO Erika Mozes, Hyr’s mobile platform connects businesses like restaurants, hotels and retailers with workers to fill shifts, on-demand. It will use the funds raised to expand, reach into new Canadian and U.S. locations, and add new sectors and workers to the platform.

BLOG POST (reproduced courtesy of Hyr)

2018 is off to a great start.

Today, we’re proud to announce that Hyr has raised USD $1.3M, in an oversubscribed round, in series seed funding led by Flybridge Capital Partners with participation by Newark Venture Partners and XFactor Ventures. This brings our total financing raised to date to USD $2.4 M.

As a Canadian female entrepreneur launching a tech start-up in NYC just over a year ago, I was nervous. I knew we had something special, unique. But then again, maybe I was like a young mom who thinks their child is supremely talented and drop dead gorgeous. Just like…Every. Other. Mom.

I’ve watched my share of brilliant start-ups rise and fall. Even some that truly seemed destined for greatness bite the dust in a volatile market, where every start-up is dogged by the stat that 90 percent will fail.

So 2017 was my year to buck up, grow an armor of steel and convince the world, or at least venture capital markets, that our idea, our company was the real deal.

We had evidence to back up the claim that we were starting from a desirable need state. The labor market, as we know it, is changing. Rapidly. Especially the hourly paid work market, where businesses (especially in the hospitality and retail sectors) are struggling to find workers, and workers are increasingly looking for flexibility and freedom.

We felt that the answer to that evolving problem was to create a marketplace for today’s new economy, often referred to as the gig economy.

We would focus on connecting traditional businesses (starting with restaurants, hotels, and retailers) to quality workers, on demand. And on the flip side, our platform would allow talented, driven workers an option to choose their hours and pick up shifts in a pinch.

We also played upon a growing restlessness among a younger generation, who value time over money. And value experiences over things. The Bucket List Generation was exactly our target — being defined by what you’re working for, not where you work.

Finally, we believed then, and even more strongly now, that those workers deserved benefits. And so we created a form of benefits that are portable for 1099 worker’s entire working life.

That was 2017. And it turns out we were onto something. All those ‘stage mom’ jitters I experienced in the early days started to subside as we grew steadily, attracting 200 businesses and 10,000 workers to Hyr in our first year.

And what we heard over and over again was that Hyr understood the changing dynamic between workers and employers, who are outside of the 9 to 5 continuum.

The gig economy was looking for the ‘Uber’ of the labor market and Hyr was the answer.

We’ve spent the last 12 months making the case, with our focus squarely on growth — attracting and connecting credible businesses to quality workers.

With our new financing, we’ll spend the next year expanding, reaching into new locations across the US and Canada, and adding new sectors and workers to the platform.

To follow our journey, connect with us here or follow our very active IG Account, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter :).

To see what Flybridge had to say about us check out Jesse Middleton.

Talk soon, Erika

Photo courtesy of Hyr Inc