The idea of the Workee app came to me during one of my business trips to Copenhagen a few years ago. Back then, I was running my own software consulting business in Belarus and we had several clients in Denmark. Visiting them was one of my favorite job responsibilities because I adore the Danish lifestyle and architecture.
I noticed however that despite being the most digital society in the world (Denmark ranks No. 1 on the UN’s eGovernment Index), recruitment in service industries such as restaurants, hotels and shops remained rather old-fashioned. Very often I have seen restaurant managers print job ads and put them on their doors – just like in 2002 in the USA, where I had my first student job.
And that got me thinking: surely hiring shouldn’t be this tough? The result is Workee, a lightweight mobile-first app that connects job-seekers with the companies around them. Following our motto “Less is more,” we made the hiring process as simple and fast as possible.
Our engineers designed the Workee app to meet the modern job trends. First and foremost, around 65% of employees in service industries prefer to use mobile devices for all work-related issues. Next, from 2014 to 2019, there was a 2,500% increase in ‘job near me’ searches.
This approach has been especially popular with fast turnover jobs in the service industries, such as restaurants, retail and construction. According to our customers’ feedback, they consider the Workee app to be the fastest and most effective way to close their job openings.
In 2019, as soon as Workee got 700 Danish clients, my co-founder Yauheniya Beraziuk and I decided to relocate to Copenhagen to work more closely with our clients. Our business plan was approved by the Startup Denmark program, which allows foreigners to start their own business in Denmark. We’d heard about the friendly startup environment and extremely low levels of bureaucracy in Scandinavia, but in reality our expectations were actually exceeded! I am surprised that after running our business for almost two years we have zero printed documentation and we have never had to visit any governmental organization. We are also grateful to the Innovation Fund Denmark that provided two Innobooster grants to partly fund the development.
On a personal level, I feel very comfortable raising my three kids here in Copenhagen. My elder children are now 15 and 8, while my baby daughter was born here and is already attending a kindergarten. We enjoy the playgrounds, sandy beaches, interactive museums and great ice cream.
The Covid-19 pandemic has unfortunately also had a great impact on our company. As we were primarily targeting service sectors like HoReCa and retail, the lockdown practically paralyzed activity on the Workee app.
Nevertheless, in the fall of 2020 we closed a seed round from several business angels, including Michael Ritto, former CEO at Nordisk Film, and Vaekstfonden. It is especially important that all investors are experienced in the areas that are complementary to our team’s skills, so joining forces makes a lot of sense.
Now, after a long and tough year, lots of companies are finally hiring again. In June 2021, 700% more vacancies were posted in the Workee app than in last June, and this is only the beginning. Now Workee is the most popular service job app in Denmark with more than 1,200 registered companies. Among the companies hiring through Workee are brands like 7-Eleven, McDonald’s, Domino’s Pizza, Rema 1000 and others.
Our current goals are bolstering the company’s position in Denmark, enhancing our offering for large recruiters and getting ready to expand to Sweden and Norway. Wondering where it will take us? Follow our journey at LinkedIn.
Read more: What apps do modern Danish companies use?
