Startups Awards Hall of Fame: Hiring Hub

Hiring Hub founder Sara Jones was winner of the Women in Business Award last year after she impressed judges with her innovative business model that disrupts the traditional recruitment process.

Hiring Hub allows employers to upload their vacancy, set a fixed fee, and approved recruitment agencies from the company’s network then compete to fill the spot – making the recruitment process easy, quick and within the employer’s control.

A year on, Startups caught up with the Hiring Hub team, who were also finalists for 2013’s Innovative Business of the Year category, to hear about their breakthroughs since winning and growth plans for the future.

What’s happened in the last year since you entered the Startups Awards?

Our business has gone from strength to strength since winning the award last year. We’ve doubled in size through organic growth, and we’re now looking to raise investment to accelerate that growth further through an ambitious sales and marketing drive, and investment into our platform. 

What’s been the single biggest highlight for the business since winning?

We’ve had a number of significant new users this year, so while it isn’t one specific highlight, the fact that major big blue chips are now adopting Hiring-Hub.com’s online recruitment marketplace and really engaging with it is fantastic and it has resulted in a definite step-change for us.

What are you hoping to achieve in the next year or so?

The next 12 months are really important for us. We’re in the middle of assembling a board and appointing a chairman that will help us steer the investment process. We plan to double in size again – both in terms of headcount and revenue – while investing heavily in technology to ensure our marketplace becomes the default option for those companies seeking to recruit via third-party recruitment agencies.

What did winning at the Startups Awards mean to you?

2013 was a rollercoaster for us so to win the award was a positive achievement and it gave us a boost – and not just for Sara but for the whole team. It also generated a good amount of PR, which is always welcome.

Would you recommend entering awards like this?

Absolutely. Why wouldn’t you want national exposure for your business and validation of your product/idea?