There is no shortage of online job boards, but that didn't deter Tim Ryan from launching Vestiigo in late 2009.
Ryan's willingness to wade into the competitive market was propelled by his belief there was an opportunity to serve the needs of fast-growing companies looking for top-notch talent. Started as a side project while working full time for a large telecom carrier, Vestiigo gathered enough momentum for Ryan to jump into the start-up world with both feet.
To get a better handle on the Toronto-based start-up's focus, I did a quick Q&A with Ryan.
How is Vestiigo different than other online job sites?
We're different in a number of ways. First, we focus on emerging companies – the type of companies you've never heard of but the ones that are making huge waves in their respective industries and the kind of companies that you'll be reading about in five years.
Second, we actively screen members before they join to ensure we maintain a community of active, engaged, and highly qualified members rather a static resume database.
Third, we're a career destination as opposed to just a job board. It means our approach with members is to help them find, land, and grow their careers. It's not just a case of coming to us simply because you're looking for just another job; members stay long after to get tips from their peers and experts on how to grow their careers through things like our blog.
What are the key features?
The site is relatively light in terms of specific features. We won't distinguish ourselves by outbuilding anyone, so we focus on making it easy to find, navigate, and be notified of opportunities and spend the rest of the time building partnerships with employers.
We let users choose the kinds of opportunities they'd like to hear about through their own dashboard and then they're notified through their choice of medium (phone, e-mail, RSS feed) about the right ones when they come along.
Is Vestiigo focused on serving particular niches?
We focus on emerging companies, but in terms of roles they usually fall into one of four major areas: information technology, sales and marketing, finance and operations.
What's the business model?
We charge employers to advertise, but have also been rolling out premium options for members.
What's your take on the online jobs marketplace? Is it evolving? If so, how?
I think the industry has been going through a long-overdue shake-up over the last few years led by companies such as LinkedIn. They've managed to take a significant amount of market share away from the incumbents such as Monster and Workopolis within a very short period of time.
Ultimately, I see the market branching off into more niche sites that are able to better curate and target their content and provide a far more personal experience for users. At the end of the day, looking for a new career or hiring someone is such a personal thing. You're not buying a laptop or table. It's not just a question of building the best technology, but about building the right experience for the users.
Special to The Globe and Mail
Mark Evans is the principal with ME Consulting, a communications and marketing strategic consultancy that works with startups and fast-growing companies to create compelling and effective messaging to drive their sales and marketing activities. Mark has worked with four startups – Blanketware, b5Media, PlanetEye and Sysomos. He was a technology reporter for more than a decade with The Globe and Mail, Bloomberg News and the Financial Post. Mark is also one of the co-organizers of the mesh, meshmarketing and meshwest conferences.
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