Industry: Software
Abodoo is a data and tech intelligence platform for reduced bias and faster hiring of SmartWorkers. A marketplace for both companies and candidates both permanent and contract, the unique algorithm with machine learning enables global access to talent and opportunity. SmartWorking is where a worker is enabled to work location agnostic some or all of the time whether from home, hub or in a hybrid model. Abodoo enables the discovery of talent, support of diversity sourcing and finally speed in hiring. Abodoo was founded by Wexford couple Vanessa Tierney and Ben Wainwright, with personal experience of working from home a key factor in their story. In 2011, Vanessa in hospital in the UK with a severe virus, which took months to recover from and was unable to commute to the office, but was still able to work from home. That was the initial ‘lightbulb’ moment, when they began imagining the possibilities if people could access strong career opportunities through remote working.
The Challenge
Developing the strategy for starting and scaling Abodoo was an initial challenge, followed swiftly by finding the resources, both professional and financial to execute that strategy. Finding investment and being ready to take advantage of the opportunities for investment when they came along were challenges the business faced in their early stages.
The Solution
South East BIC supported Abodoo from the beginning, identifying funding options and working with the team on the development of an investor-ready business plan, guiding them through the investment process and assisting them sourcing finance. South East BIC worked on their investment documentation and provided key support in accessing investment from Enterprise Ireland South East BIC worked with Abodoo to prepare them specifically for this investment.
The Outcome
The company is active in Ireland and Britain and has raised €750,000 to date, with backers including Linda and Dan Kiely and Enterprise Ireland. Abodoo is seeking to expand in the US market having won the Think Global Start Up Award from Mountainview and has just signed its first American client Concentrix on a global contract. With investment secure now and more planned the business will grow into new territories, which will see an increase in headcount: North America & Canada following the UK. Abodoo has 22,000 registered users in Ireland and Britain and not only matches workers with companies but also uses the data it collects to develop talent heatmaps that can highlight skills clusters outside of major cities. That allows employers to see what kind of talent is available in rural locations.
“Working with South East BIC gave us additional bandwidth on the team that the business just did not have at the start. Their impartiality and strategic direction greatly assisted in our investor-readiness preparation. The support we received from them was invaluable, at such an important stage in our development, when we were looking for seed funding”.
Sue Marshall, CEO, Abodoo
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