We’ve all been through the frustrating and tedious process of applying to job after job and never even knowing whether the application was received. HireTide wants to eliminate that frustration.
Focusing on small businesses in university areas, HireTide is an app that will streamline the application process for both applicants and employers. They also strive to connect the right employee with the right business.
Founded:
Jerry Hendrix
Adithya (Adi) Kosgi
Scott Tolinski
2014
Where the idea came from:
After a few internships in college, Jerry wanted to try working locally, to get to know the businesses and people in the area. When he began to apply he became frustrated by the whole process. He had to fill out several copies of almost the same application and was never even sure his application had been seen. He decided that the whole process could be streamlined and improved.
The problem being solved:
HireTide is trying to solve the problem Jerry encountered when applying for jobs; the inefficient hiring environment in small business areas. Jerry says it’s a two-sided problem that applies to applicants and employers. HireTide will save job seekers time by allowing them to fill out just one application and submit it to multiple employers. It will also save businesses from having to look through hundreds of applications by allowing them to sort them using only the criteria they need.
Jerry is excited that other job seekers won’t have to face the same frustrating problems that he did when applying to jobs. He spoke to a lot of people that agreed the entire process needed to be streamlined.
Target Customer:
HireTide is looking to focus on small businesses (with less than 100 employees) in university areas. They want to help the companies that are looking for early workforce skill sets, not specialized positions.
Biggest Challenge:
Jerry says their biggest challenge so far has been getting the word out to businesses. They’ve approached chambers, gone door to door and walked into businesses looking to speak with managers. But, he says, sometimes it’s hard to speak to the right people.
Surprises:
Jerry says they were under the wrong assumption that most small businesses competed with each for employees and that job seekers weren’t aware of all the small businesses in their area. Instead, they found that businesses get a ton of applications and job seekers are very aware of what is available around them. “It gave us a lot of new opportunities and new ways to pitch.”
Funding:
HireTide received $5,000 from Start Garden and will be eligible to pitch for an additional $20,000. While the money will help in the long run, at the moment they are doing fine. “We will need it when we start our pilot in August and when we start expanding to other universities,” says Jerry.
The Future:
Their pilot launches in August. “We will be able to get a feel for what works and what doesn’t,” says Jerry.
According to their projections, they want to penetrate the Detroit, Kalamazoo, Ann Arbor, and East Lansing area markets, over the next few years which would yield over $450,000 in revenue. They plan to reach the entire Midwestern market in their fifth year, with revenue of a little over $3 million. After that they will eventually begin researching acquisition opportunities.
Advice:
Lansing and East Lansing are great places to be if you want to start a company. “If you have an idea, test it, research it, see if it can be improved on, but go for it.” The city offers great resources such as LEAP, The Hatch and many more, many that Jerry and HireTide utilized. “We wouldn’t have gotten started or be where we are without those resources.”
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