Refer Me Please: “Building A Startup Is Not For Faint-Hearted!”

Describe Refer Me Please in 50 words or less.

Refer Me Please is a new professional social network that aims to make recruiting processes much easier and better by empowering employee referral programs.

Why did you decide to pursue your own dreams rather than someone else’s?

I’ve always worked in big corporations such as Dassault, Philips, Google etc… Even though those experiences were really meaningful, I felt that I did not have enough impact. So when I had the idea of Refer Me Please, it became crystal clear that it was what I wanted to do: launch a startup, gather a team and grow the idea into a business.

7 years from now: How did your startup change the world?

At Refer Me Please, we want to change the way recruitment is being done. 7 years from now, we see Refer Me Please as a major platform used by companies, employees and job seekers to connect all together and change the face of recruitment. Our main goal is to create a true community where professionals can connect to each other in a simple and effective way, with a common goal: professional opportunities.

In what ways do you measure your success and how do you make sure you don’t lose track?

As for now the platform is 100% free, our monthly growth rate in terms of registered users is our main KPI. We then look at how many connections happen between candidates and employees. For now, we are trying to stick to a 20% monthly growth rate (without advertising).

Describe your typical working day from coming to the office to leaving it.

Even if days are never the same, this is what a typical working day looks like:

• Check emails 3 times a day (I try not to look at them all the time as it’s time consuming)
• Talk to my CFO who’s preparing our financial projections and our round of fundings
• Post on social media and blog
• Find new ways to growth hack (we are almost not spending any money on advertising yet so we always try to find ways to attract new users)
• Update lists of targeted users to contact

Already pivoted? Did customers use the network like you imagined it in the beginning?

We did pivot last July. When we launched Refer Me Please, we only gave the opportunity to employers to look for candidates. However, we saw that there were not that many interactions. We then decided to give  candidates the opportunity to contact employers. And that completely changed the dynamic.

Bootstrapped or financed: What fuels your startup now and what will in the future?

100% bootstrapped for now. However, we are opening soon our seed round. Sweat and long hours fuel our startup. We hope to add some investments to that soon!

What were the biggest challenges you faced building your startup?

I’d say build the startup! When it’s the first time, you really don’t know what to start with, how to proceed and what it’s like to build something completely from scratch, attract users, learn finance, growth hacking, coding etc. The second challenge we faced was not having a CTO straight from the beginning. That means we had to go with an agency, which is quite expensive.

With ferocious competition and a booming trend to build new companies: How do you make sure you don’t get lost in the shuffle?

I do not fear competition as it is a good thing! Focus on your business while keeping an eye on your competitor. We then focus on many aspects: customers first, stay lean, learn every day, and always move towards your goal.

What do you look for in team members?

Ambitious, go getter mentality, creative and commitment. We all have to strongly believe in our vision and strategy and always roll up our sleeves. Building a startup is not for faint-hearted!

Why would a talent join your team?

We are a fast growing startup, based in Dublin in the heart of the Silicon Docks and Paris. Each member of the team has a solid background (big tech companies, financial institutions…etc) and truly believes in open communication. We always brainstorm and listen to every one before taking any decisions. Launched less than a year ago, everything has to be implemented within the company. So many challenges to face and high responsibility!

What was your most memorable moment so far?

We have quite a few! Even though it was quite a nice moment to see we got hunted on Product Hunt, every time we know that someone got a job thanks to us is quite rewarding!

What advice would you give fellow founders for their startup?

Always believe in yourself and always have a go getter attitude. The only limits are the ones you’re creating.

 

 

________________

Sharing is caring so please share this post. Thank you!