HELPIGO is a web platform that immediately links the job offer with the demand in various sectors such as sport and food service, and soon also retail.
It offers a connection between companies offering a job (urgent, short-term and/or long-term) and job seekers who hold the qualifications being sought.
In just three clicks, our platform instantly replies to the question: “What qualified worker is available in my region at a certain time?“
Our flexible concept for all sectors affected by problems deriving from urgent staff management (volatility of workers, absence, staff turnover, urgent client contact, etc.) has already been launched in the world of sport. Running parallel to this and in line with our initial strategy, we are currently expanding to other larger sectors.
Our aim in raising funds is to position ourselves as first mover in the food service sector.
The employment market is constantly changing. Workers have become more mobile and multi-tasking; as for entrepreneurs, they are looking for flexibility and to control their human resources costs.
The catering world is a sector that is particularly exposed to the problems of personnel management.
-Workers (or job seekers) are plentiful but particularly volatile owing to job uncertainty.
-This sector is characterized by high turnover within each establishment.
Thus, restaurateurs and owners of establishments are constantly losing workers or face regular changes in their staff. This requires constant energy and inevitably leads to wasted time and/or permanent stress for the manager.
This may even translate into a loss of profitability if staffing is not available.
HELPIGO is a web platform which centralizes all active (or eligible) workers in the catering sector: hotels, restaurants and cafés. The interactive database makes HELPIGO the only B-to-B site which makes it possible to directly contact a future employee in less than three clicks.
Our disruptive B-to-B platform stands out for its user-friendliness and for the power of the information provided.
Where needed, the restaurateur can contact his pre-selected team of workers, generate an employment offer or immediately contact all eligible workers in his region who are available at a given time by sending a group mail.
The restaurateur no longer has to wait for a CV or make do with a costly, slow solution from a temping agency. He can directly contact workers who have been evaluated by his peers.
As opposed to collaboration platforms involving the “general public”, HELPIGO wants to bethe leading professional search platform for staff who are available urgently in the short-term or long-term. Our matchmaking platform is the tool that the sector has been looking for.
The concept has been registered with the Belgian Copyright Office. We have registered the trademark with the EUIPO – no dispute/objection has been made to date.
Our company is in the process of negotiating a partnership contract with the RTL Group concerning radio, digital and television media slots. This is a Media for Exit type contract.
HELPIGO and RTL Groupe are in discussions with a view to concluding an agreement which binds them as real partners, which implies both due diligence and the constant quest for performance coupled with an optimization of the media slots offered.
A number of Gentlemen’s Agreements have been concluded for our pilot project, only in the world of sport, so as to gradually establish HELPIGO’s reputation.
This only relates to quid pro quo exchanges between clients, friend sites, development partners.
This pilot project has enabled us to test the IT solution, determine the sensitivity of clients to our product and refine its strengths.
Similar (or paid) partnerships will be launched in the catering sector.
Market positioning | Our Unique Selling Proposition can be summed up as follows: “Immediate matching with a qualified, available and accessible employee, at lower cost thanks to an annual membership fee offering unlimited usage.” |
Marketing strategy | Deployment Three development axes should help us to reach our common objectives of branding, acquisition of potential workers and transition to purchase. 1. Human resources -Our plan envisages tripling current resources by dedicating 30% of the budget to human resources, including two sales persons (2017) and a project manager. We insist on these three persons being bilingual given that 59% of the food services activity is located in Flanders 2. Presence in the establishments -We will be active on the ground using internal communication channels to the sector, such as flyers, sanitary areas, table mats, etc. 3. Web presence -Our experience (acquired in the sport project) suggests an estimated worker-establishment acquisition cost of €5/worker on Facebook. Our plan therefore includes bringing on board 10,000 workers in the first year. – A paid presence on Google will then also be set up after our organic positioning has been evaluated. – Visibility in Internet-specific publications is also planned and will strengthen the permanent presence of HELPIGO in the web community 3. Radio and media – Radio will be used to target workers and will mainly focus on the country’s large towns. – It is also planned to use television advertising at specific times of the year. This should establish our reputation. – Other deployment channels are also currently in the process of negotiation. These in themselves are likely to ensure the supply of our reservoir of workers. |
Internationalization strategy | Our international expansion is part of HELPIGO’s DNA to the extent that our Internet solution already exists in three languages and is mainly due to a specific marketing plan for the newly targeted regions. A rapid deployment in the main towns of France and the Netherlands shall be our top priority as soon as the first positive results have been obtained in Belgium. |
-The food services sector is characterized by the high number of active workers estimated at150,000 workers (14% hotels – 86% catering). The potential of eligible workers (seeking work) is similar.
-The number of establishments is fixed at 48,000 establishments of which 23,900 have at least one to five employees.. -More than half of the establishments of all types operate only with one active manager and have no employees on staff. This gives a good idea of the volatility and uncertainty of the sector and the demand for extra help or temporary workers.
-On the other side, the sector is subject to a cycle specific to school holidays (tourism), end-of-year celebrations (catering-markets) and occasional shows (fairs, festivals, events, etc.).
-Finally, following the recent events (pedestrianization, terrorism, blackbox, etc.), the sector is particularly tense. The government has understood this and proposed the creation of flexi-jobs and better clarified the status of occasional staff.
Our platform offers an easy, low-cost solution to enable employers to ensure stability within their team. The costs to join our platform are perfectly in line with the price sensitivity in the sector, namely: €19.90/month.
Within this perspective, as far as our flagship product is concerned (JOB PROVIDER EXPERT), we are planning for the annual acquisition of clients at a rate of 2.5% of the market/year. Our target is set at 9.1% of the total market for food service establishments during the fourth year.
data: Food Service Sector: Planning Office 2011
The competition is focused around two main axes: temping agencies and on-line advertising sites.
As far as the temping agencies are concerned, we are thinking of acting in parallel with those who provide a “turnkey solution”. They offer a complete service but the cost is high and the implementation slower. Randstad recently confidentially launched its Ploy application. This has strengths and weaknesses. It particularly attracts managers for this style of “ready to work” solution.
As far as the on-line advertising sites are concerned, there are several competitors (Mister Horeca, Job Kitchen, etc.) who focus their business around the employment offer. HELPIGO is at the opposite side of this approach, since we are offering a concept based on the worker and his/her skills. Finally, our solution is available at a lower cost, since we offer unlimited use based on an annual subscription of €19.90/month (excluding VAT). The competition positions itself at costs ranging from €50 to €189 per offer/request!
TEAM
ceo
Business coach
board_member
Strategy Consultant @ Bain & Company
board_member
Private Banker @Belfius
board_member
Manager @ Archi 2000
board_member
Sports Consultant
Physiotherapist
board_member
Professional Hockey Player