Simply Hired Raises $4.6 Million

Simply Hired, a Mountain View, Calif.-based employment search engine, has raised $4.6 million in fourth-round funding. Return backers include IDG Ventures SF and Foundation Capital. The company previously raised around $20 million.

PRESS RELEASE

Simply Hired, the largest job search engine, announced today that is has secured $4.6 million of new investment funding from IDG Ventures and Foundation Capital. Crossing a profitability milestone and operating cash flow positive for the past four quarters with revenue growth for 16 consecutive quarters, Simply Hired will leverage the new financing to support future domestic growth, increase headcount from 50 to 80 in 2009, and accelerate international expansion. Including this funding round, Simply Hired has raised $22.3M to date.

Simply Hired has seen significant growth on both its www.SimplyHired.com site, and its network of 5,000 partner sites. Both ComScore and Nielsen Media concluded that Simply Hired was the fastest growing job site in 2008. Its network, where Simply Hired powers job listings, includes LinkedIn, MySpace, The Washington Post, CNNMoney, BusinessWeek and Plaxo, reaching 23 million unique visitors monthly. This diversified strategy of reaching job seekers where they are spending their time on the Web has earned SimplyHired.com and its network a ranking as one of the forty most trafficked websites in the United States, according to Quantcast.

“IDG Ventures focuses on companies with strong financial footing that demonstrate clear, differentiated market positioning,” said Phil Sanderson, managing director at IDG Ventures. “Simply Hired encapsulates an ideal investment partner, with clearly outlined goals and consistent growth over the past four years. Our relationship with IDG enables Simply Hired to expand its footprint globally, and create additional network partners within the IDG family.”

Simply Hired recently launched localized job search engines for Brazil, Belgium, Ireland, Italy and the Netherlands. Simply Hired now operates in 13 countries and seven languages across five continents. Other global markets include Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Spain and the United Kingdom. The funding will enable Simply Hired to extend its global reach into new markets, allowing job seekers worldwide to search more than five million job openings.

“Job search is a global problem, and Simply Hired is committed to reaching both active and passive job seekers globally at both SimplyHired.com and at other online destinations through our network,” said Gautam Godhwani, co-founder and CEO at Simply Hired. “IDG Ventures enables Simply Hired to continue to expand its international footprint with additional resources and facilitates our relationship with the global network of 450 IDG online properties.”

“We continue to see solid progress from the Simply Hired team,” said Ashmeet Sidana, general partner at Foundation Capital, which initially invested in the company in December 2005. “I’m excited to see Simply Hired expand its partner network, and its global footprint to further its mission of helping people find jobs they love.”

Under terms of the agreement, Phil Sanderson, managing director at IDG Ventures, joins the company’s Board of Directors. Including this round, Simply Hired has raised $22.3M in funding from IDG Ventures, Foundation Capital, News Corporation’s Fox Interactive Media, Garage Technology Ventures and individual investors. The company is privately held and is based in Mountain View, California.

About IDG Ventures

IDG Ventures is a leading venture capital firm focused on investing in new media and information technology companies. With $280 million under management, the firm is an independent partnership making investments on behalf of its limited partners. International Data Group, the world’s largest IT media, research, and event company, is one of IDG Ventures’ limited partners. Through its relationship with IDG, IDG Ventures is able to uniquely add value to its portfolio companies by facilitating revenue acceleration and global expansion and establishing relationships with key strategic partners. For more information, visit http://www.idgvsf.com.

About Foundation Capital

Founded in 1995, Foundation Capital is a venture capital firm with a single purpose: building great companies. It is this entrepreneurial spirit along with a deep technical expertise that gives the partners the understanding, perspective, and enthusiasm to help promising companies in their formative stages. Foundation Capital targets innovative opportunities in cleantech, consumer Internet and infrastructure; telecommunications and networking; and enterprise software and on-demand services. www.foundationcapital.com

About Simply Hired

With more than five million job listings worldwide, Simply Hired (www.SimplyHired.com) is the world’s largest job search engine and recruitment advertising network. The company powers jobs on over 5,000 network partner sites such as LinkedIn, MySpace, Plaxo, CNNMoney, BusinessWeek and The Washington Post. It operates global sites in 13 countries and seven languages including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, India, Germany, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Brazil. Simply Hired was the fastest growing job site in 2008 according to both ComScore and Nielsen Media. Simply Hired has been lauded as one of the “50 Coolest Websites” by Time magazine, a “Top 100 Website” by PC Magazine and the “Best of the Web” by BusinessWeek. Simply Hired has raised $22.3 million in funding from IDG Ventures SF, News Corporation’s Fox Interactive Media, Foundation Capital, Garage Technology Ventures and individual investors. The company is privately held and is based in Mountain View, California.