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In 2018, I sold Vettery for $110 million.
The part almost nobody knows?
We nearly went bankrupt 3 times, and I took personal loans just to pay rent.
Here's the story:
The part almost nobody knows?
We nearly went bankrupt 3 times, and I took personal loans just to pay rent.
Here's the story:
Vettery is an online recruiting marketplace.
I've always been interested in recruiting and the fact so many people don't like where they work.
So I set out to solve the problem of matching the right people to the right job opportunity at scale.
I've always been interested in recruiting and the fact so many people don't like where they work.
So I set out to solve the problem of matching the right people to the right job opportunity at scale.
In 2014, the business was doing $300k/mo in revenue, 30 employees and were growing fast.
But we also had a big problem.
Like most recruiting companies, our business was human-intensive. VCs were not interested at all.
We were running out of money and couldn't raise a dollar.
But we also had a big problem.
Like most recruiting companies, our business was human-intensive. VCs were not interested at all.
We were running out of money and couldn't raise a dollar.
We soon hit rock bottom.
I had put my last dime into the company.
Now, I was taking out a personal loan to pay rent.
I was broke, in debt and had a business nobody would fund.
I had put my last dime into the company.
Now, I was taking out a personal loan to pay rent.
I was broke, in debt and had a business nobody would fund.
We had two options:
1. Stay the course and probably go out of business
2. Pivot again and make one last "bet the house" move
I decided to bet the house.
1. Stay the course and probably go out of business
2. Pivot again and make one last "bet the house" move
I decided to bet the house.
We shifted the business to a two-sided recruiting marketplace model.
The goal was to make matches at scale with no human intervention.
We knew marketplaces are hard to start but would scale well long-term.
We had no idea if this would work, but it was our last shot.
The goal was to make matches at scale with no human intervention.
We knew marketplaces are hard to start but would scale well long-term.
We had no idea if this would work, but it was our last shot.
Marketplaces need two sides to interact.
We needed both candidates and employers.
How do you get one without the other?
We had a classic "chicken or egg" problem.
We needed both candidates and employers.
How do you get one without the other?
We had a classic "chicken or egg" problem.
We needed employers and went to a NYC tech event in April 2015.
Our goal: acquire as many employers as possible.
By the end of the day, we had over 300 potential leads including companies like Rent the Runway, JustWorks, Peloton and Casper.
Our goal: acquire as many employers as possible.
By the end of the day, we had over 300 potential leads including companies like Rent the Runway, JustWorks, Peloton and Casper.
We stayed up all night entering the data into a spreadsheet and qualifying the leads.
By 8am the next day, we were making phone calls and offering "free access" to test our marketplace.
At the end of that day, we on-boarded over 100 companies.
We were ready to launch.
By 8am the next day, we were making phone calls and offering "free access" to test our marketplace.
At the end of that day, we on-boarded over 100 companies.
We were ready to launch.
We launched the following week and had 11 marketplace matches for interviews.
It was complete hockey stick growth from there.
We raised a $9M Series A later that year.
18 months later, we were doing 20,000 matches per month with 30,000 companies on the platform.
Bonkers.
It was complete hockey stick growth from there.
We raised a $9M Series A later that year.
18 months later, we were doing 20,000 matches per month with 30,000 companies on the platform.
Bonkers.
Peloton ended up being one of our biggest clients after that first launch week.
Clients like that with strong retention led to our strong growth.
In 2018, we sold Vettery to The Adecco Group for $110M.
Here are a few lessons I learned from the deal:
Clients like that with strong retention led to our strong growth.
In 2018, we sold Vettery to The Adecco Group for $110M.
Here are a few lessons I learned from the deal:
What a ride.
This never would have been possible without the extraordinary work of so many great operators at Vettery.
I’m incredibly grateful for such a great time of my life building a useful product alongside a championship team.
This never would have been possible without the extraordinary work of so many great operators at Vettery.
I’m incredibly grateful for such a great time of my life building a useful product alongside a championship team.
I hope you enjoyed this story and it inspires some other entrepreneurs out there.
I’m currently in stealth with my new startup.
Follow me for updates and advice on building companies
@adcock_brett.
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I’m currently in stealth with my new startup.
Follow me for updates and advice on building companies
@adcock_brett.
Like/Retweet the tweet below to share with others:
