Startup.Info
January 1, 2017
SkillSoniq: Led by a relentless entrepreneur (Abby Verma) who is transforming the Freelance Recruiting Space using AI
SkillSoniq
AI-Powered Recruiting App
Jersey City, NJ
Professional Services
Technology
SkillSoniq is an AI-Powered recruiting app that connects companies with skilled, local "contract to hire" freelancers. Companies try out freelancers and easily convert the best ones to their payroll, taking the guesswork out of recruiting and saving 60%+ in recruiting costs.
$107,446
raised
$100,136
previously crowdfunded
225
Investors
$10.3M
Valuation
$0.82
Price per Share
$250.92
Min. Investment
Common
Shares Offered
Equity
Offering Type
$535K
Offering Max
18
Days Left
Rewards
Get rewarded for investing more into SkillSoniq:
$250+
Investment
StartEngine Owner’s Bonus
This offering is eligible for the StartEngine Owner’s 10% Bonus program. For details on this program, please see the Offering Summary section below.
$500+
Investment
1st Tier
5% Bonus Shares + $50 invoice credit if you sign up as a corporate customer of SkillSoniq.
$1,000+
Investment
2nd Tier
10% Bonus Shares + $100 invoice credit if you sign up as a corporate customer of SkillSoniq + “SkillSoniq Investor” Hat.
$2,500+
Investment
3rd Tier
15% Bonus Shares + $200 invoice credit if you sign up as a corporate customer of SkillSoniq + “SkillSoniq Investor” Hat.
$5,000+
Investment
4th Tier
20% Bonus Shares + $300 invoice credit if you sign up as a corporate customer of SkillSoniq + “SkillSoniq Investor” Hat + “SkillSoniq Investor” Hoodie.
$10,000+
Investment
5th Tier
25% Bonus Shares + $400 invoice credit if you sign up as a corporate customer of SkillSoniq + “SkillSoniq Investor” Hat + “SkillSoniq Investor” Hoodie + Exclusive 30 min Zoom call with Founder.
$20,000+
Investment
6th Tier
30% Bonus Shares + $500 invoice credit if you sign up as a corporate customer of SkillSoniq + “SkillSoniq Investor” Hat + “SkillSoniq Investor” Hoodie + Exclusive 30 min Zoom call with Founder + Early Access to Key Product Features.
Reasons to Invest
In Q2 of 2020, SkillSoniq closed its first round of seed funding from 240+ investors.
SkillSoniq generated $350k in gross revenue in New York alone during its first year (2019), and has since launched in four additional cities
The majority of hiring managers (72%) in the U.S. are continuing or increasing their use of freelancers, especially as a result of the pandemic
Rise above the ruckus of traditional job search and hiring methods
Rather than going through the long and expensive traditional recruitment process to determine whether a candidate can actually do the job they were hired for, companies using SkillSoniq are able to quickly assess candidates on a trial basis before deciding to hire them as a full-time employee on the payroll.
Launched in 2019 in New York, SkillSoniq made $350k in gross revenue and onboarded 6,000+ freelancers in our first year. In a world where one-third of U.S. employees have done freelance work in the past year and 72% of hiring managers are continuing or increasing their use of freelancers, we believe SkillSoniq is already making a splash.
The Problem
Hiring new talent is hit or miss, with a lot more misses than many companies can afford
Hiring the right candidate for a job can be time-consuming and expensive. To make matters worse, even after spending considerable time and money to select the right person for the job, companies may soon find out that the person they hired isn’t as qualified or hardworking as they seemed to be during the interview process.
The Solution
A way to definitively determine if a potential hire has what it takes to do the job
We believe that interviews are not the best use of time for companies and job-seekers, so we are replacing time spent on interviews with time spent actually working with a potential hire. SkillSoniq lets companies take new employees for a test drive on a freelance basis, without all the hoops of hiring expensive recruiting agencies, sifting through resumes on a job portal, or taking a gamble on unvetted and potentially unskilled talent on freelance websites.
Once a company is satisfied that their freelancer has demonstrated they’re a match for the position, our web app allows them to easily convert the freelancer to a full-time employee on their payroll, at a nominal fee.
The Market
The U.S. workforce is shifting more and more toward freelancing—especially in the wake of the pandemic
In 2018, there were roughly 5.6 million “skilled” freelancers across tech, creative, and professional job types. Collectively, these workers generated an estimated $135 billion within the freelance industry.
Now, during the COVID-19 pandemic, more than one-third of U.S. workers freelance, and 58% of non-freelancers who are new to remote work due to the pandemic are considering freelancing in the future. At the same time, 72% of hiring managers are continuing or increasing their use of independent professionals.
Our Traction
Generating revenue and increasing investments as our platform continues to expand
SkillSoniq launched in New York in 2019, a year in which we generated more than $350k in gross revenue and onboarded 6,000+ freelancers to our platform. In Q1 2020, we had gross revenue of just over $117K.
We cater to small businesses, many of whom went on a hiring freeze due to COVID. We expect demand to pick up in 2021.
In Q2 of 2020, we closed our first round of seed funding (100% over-subscribed) from 240+ investors.
Since New York, we have launched in four more cities across the U.S. and Canada, and we currently have 12,000+ freelancers and 300+ companies on our platform.
What We Do
Patent-pending, AI-powered technology that takes recruiting guesswork out of the picture
A company posts its open position on our app. Our patent-pending AI-powered matching technology does the work of finding an optimal candidate among our vetted network of freelancers. In as little as a couple of days after the original post, the candidate starts work on a trial basis.
If it’s a great fit, the company has the option to extend the trial or “buy out” the freelancer, making them a full-time employee on the payroll. If it’s a flop, the company, and the freelancer part ways, and the company hasn’t spent a cent on what would have been a failed hire on the payroll through traditional recruiting channels.
Throughout this cycle, our AI collects data to further hone its candidate curating power.
The Business Model
SkillSoniq makes money from both the freelancer and the company doing the hiring
“Take Rate”: Freelancers pay a 10% commission on every dollar paid by the company to the freelancer.
“Buyout Fee”: Companies pay a nominal fee when they decide to convert a freelancer to their payroll — Longer a company has worked with a freelancer on trial, the smaller this fee gets.
How We Are Different
Working to bypass the issues presented by traditional recruitment channels
Job portals create a hiring process that can take months as managers sift through hundreds of resumes and applicants apply to dozens of jobs without ever hearing back.
Staffing agencies charge a premium for their manual, human-driven services.
Freelance websites often provide low-quality employees that would never make the cut for a full-time hire.
SkillSoniq is powered by an AI system that continually collects data and allows us to efficiently connect the right candidate to the right job—meaning a lower cost and less time spent.
*The above information is based on internal research and management's experience
The Vision
SkillSoniq aims to eliminate the interview
We hope to disrupt the traditional recruiting process for good. Our ultimate vision is to make hiring as simple as speaking into Voice-Enabled Devices like Amazon Echo or an Apple Watch, where you would be able to start working with potential employees within seconds, without conducting any interviews.
In the SkillSoniq World, companies will automatically be assigned the best workers for the job through our app, and be given personalized recommendations on their next “individual or team” hire making it very easy for companies to scale teams.
*The information is for illustration purposes only, actual technology has not been developed.
In the next five years, we want to be present in every major freelance-heavy city and country across the world, aiming to become a leader in the category.
OUR LEADERSHIP
A team determined to find a solution for hiring woes
Our founder, Abby (Abhinav Verma), has spearheaded two successful entrepreneurial ventures in the past, and our Board of Advisors consists of high profile entrepreneurs, tech executives, venture capitalists, and an author of best-selling business books.
Collectively, our team has 40+ years of experience in sales, marketing, finance, and tech and is true problem solvers. We are driven to succeed because we have all felt the pain of hiring via traditional recruiting methods or the pain of finding a job.
Why Invest
Ever wondered if there’s a way out of traditional recruitment channels to do your hiring?
If so, it’s time to invest in a recruiting app which has taken the age old concept of “Temp to Perm” and added multiple layers of technology to it to transform the way companies hire talent. We believe this is needed now, more than ever, as companies invest in growth while staying lean, especially as they recover from the wake of the pandemic. We have already begun to see favorable metrics on our platform as companies see the value of hiring on SkillSoniq:
In 2021, we believe many companies will begin to scale up their hiring processes, which could provide huge tailwinds to our business. Internally within SkillSoniq, we are at an inflection point with proven sales channels, attractive unit economics, happy customers, rapid release of new product features, and a great deal of learning. With momentum building around freelancing and remote work, we believe that funds raised in this round will help us further capitalize on extremely favorable market trends we’ve seen.
Thanks for reading our story! We hope that you will invest in us to help us change recruiting for good and become a leading talent marketplace globally.
In the Press
The Daily Press
January 1, 2017
SkillSoniq Raises Seed Funding To Disrupt The Way Companies Hire Talent
Top Wire News
January 1, 2017
SkillSoniq: Disrupting Traditional Recruitment With AI Driven Talent Marketplace App
Financial Express
January 1, 1970
Linking freelancers to jobs: Need AI-powered digital platforms to boost freelancing
Bizz Buzz
January 1, 1970
SkillSoniq, a USA-based startup, is mulling its foray into India in the near future
Offering Summary
Company | : | SkillSoniq, Inc. |
Corporate Address | : | 20 River Court, Suite 2004, Jersey City, NJ 07310 |
Offering Minimum | : | $9,999.90 |
Offering Maximum | : | $534,999.98 |
Minimum Investment Amount(per investor) | : | $250.92 |
Terms
Offering Type | : | Equity |
Security Name | : | Common Stock |
Minimum Number of Shares Offered | : | 12,195 |
Maximum Number of Shares Offered | : | 652,439 |
Price per Share | : | $0.82 |
Pre-Money Valuation | : | $10,250,000.00 |
COVID Relief
This offering is being conducted on an expedited basis due to circumstances relating to COVID-19 and pursuant to the SEC’s temporary regulatory COVID-19 relief set out in Regulation Crowdfunding §227.201(z).
Expedited closing sooner than 21 days
In reliance on Regulation Crowdfunding §227.303(g)(2) A funding portal that is an intermediary in a transaction involving the offer or sale of securities initiated between May 4, 2020, and February 28, 2021, in reliance on section 4(a)(6) of the Securities Act (15 U.S.C. 77d(a)(6)) by an issuer that is conducting an offering on an expedited basis due to circumstances relating to COVID-19 shall not be required to comply with the requirement in paragraph (e)(3)(i) of this section that a funding portal shall not direct transmission of funds earlier than 21 days after the date on which the intermediary makes publicly available on its platform the information required to be provided by the issuer under §§227.201 and 227.203(a).
Voting Rights of Securities Sold in this Offering
Voting Proxy. Each Subscriber shall appoint the Chief Executive Officer of the Company (the “CEO”), or his or her successor, as the Subscriber’s true and lawful proxy and attorney, with the power to act alone and with full power of substitution, to, consistent with this instrument and on behalf of the Subscriber, (i) vote all Securities, (ii) give and receive notices and communications, (iii) execute any instrument or document that the CEO determines is necessary or appropriate in the exercise of its authority under this instrument, and (iv) take all actions necessary or appropriate in the judgment of the CEO for the accomplishment of the foregoing. The proxy and power granted by the Subscriber pursuant to this Section are coupled with an interest. Such proxy and power will be irrevocable. The proxy and power, so long as the Subscriber is an individual, will survive the death, incompetency and disability of the Subscriber and, so long as the Subscriber is an entity, will survive the merger or reorganization of the Subscriber or any other entity holding the Securities. However, the Proxy will terminate upon the closing of a firm-commitment underwritten public offering pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933 covering the offer and sale of Common Stock or the effectiveness of a registration statement under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 covering the Common Stock.
*Maximum Number of Shares Offered subject to adjustment for bonus shares. See Bonus info below.
Company Perks*
Time-Based
Friends and Family Early Birds
Invest within the first two weeks and receive additional 30% bonus shares.
Super Early Bird Bonus
Invest within the first four weeks and receive additional 25% bonus shares.
Early Bird Bonus
Invest within the first six weeks and receive an additional 15% bonus shares.
Amount-Based
$500 | 1st Tier
5% Bonus Shares + $50 invoice credit if you sign up as a corporate customer of SkillSoniq.
$1,000 | 2nd Tier
10% Bonus Shares + $100 invoice credit if you sign up as a corporate customer of SkillSoniq + “SkillSoniq Investor” Hat.
$2,500 | 3rd Tier
15% Bonus Shares + $200 invoice credit if you sign up as a corporate customer of SkillSoniq + “SkillSoniq Investor” Hat.
$5,000 | 4th Tier
20% Bonus Shares + $300 invoice credit if you sign up as a corporate customer of SkillSoniq + “SkillSoniq Investor” Hat + “SkillSoniq Investor” Hoodie.
$10,000 | 5th Tier
25% Bonus Shares + $400 invoice credit if you sign up as a corporate customer of SkillSoniq + “SkillSoniq Investor” Hat + “SkillSoniq Investor” Hoodie + Exclusive 30 min Zoom call with Founder.
$20,000 | 6th Tier
30% Bonus Shares + $500 invoice credit if you sign up as a corporate customer of SkillSoniq + “SkillSoniq Investor” Hat + “SkillSoniq Investor” Hoodie + Exclusive 30 min Zoom call with Founder + Early Access to Key Product Features.
*All perks occur when the offering is completed.
The 10% StartEngine Owners' Bonus
SkillSoniq, Inc. will offer 10% additional bonus shares for all investments that are committed by investors that are eligible for the StartEngine Crowdfunding Inc. OWNer's bonus.
This means eligible StartEngine shareholders will receive a 10% bonus for any shares they purchase in this offering. For example, if you buy 100 shares of common stock at $0.82 / share, you will receive and own 110 shares for $82. Fractional shares will not be distributed and share bonuses will be determined by rounding down to the nearest whole share.
This 10% Bonus is only valid during the investors eligibility period. Investors eligible for this bonus will also have priority if they are on a waitlist to invest and the company surpasses its maximum funding goal. They will have the first opportunity to invest should room in the offering become available if prior investments are canceled or fail.
Investors will only receive a single bonus, which will be the highest bonus rate they are eligible for.
Irregular Use of Proceeds
The Company might incur Irregular Use of Proceeds that may include but are not limited to the following over $10,000: Vendor payments. Salary payments made to one’s self, a friend or relative. Any expense labeled “Administrative Expenses” not strictly for administrative purposes. Any expense labeled “Travel and Entertainment”.
Show More
Most recent fiscal year-end:
Prior fiscal year-end:
Total Assets
$62,117.00
USD
$18,743.22
USD
Cash And Cash Equivalents
$59,888.00
USD
$18,250.00
USD
Accounts Receivable
$2,229.00
USD
$494.00
USD
Short Term Debt
$14,828.00
USD
$6,228.00
USD
Long Term Debt
$67,994.00
USD
$67,994.00
USD
Revenues And Sales
$301,634.00
USD
$367,297.00
USD
Costs Of Goods Sold
$262,575.00
USD
$319,622.00
USD
Taxes Paid
$0.00
USD
$0.00
USD
Net Income
-$66,357.00
USD
-$613.00
USD
Risks
A crowdfunding investment involves risk. You should not invest any funds in this offering unless you can afford to lose your entire investment. In making an investment decision, investors must rely on their own examination of the issuer and the terms of the offering, including the merits and risks involved. These securities have not been recommended or approved by any federal or state securities commission or regulatory authority. Furthermore, these authorities have not passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this document. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission does not pass upon the merits of any securities offered or the terms of the offering, nor does it pass upon the accuracy or completeness of any offering document or literature. These securities are offered under an exemption from registration; however, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has not made an independent determination that these securities are exempt from registration.
Updates
Less than 60 days left to invest in SkillSoniq!
1 day agoHi Friends,
There are less than 60 days left to invest in the Freelance Revolution through SkillSoniq! We have over 200 investors from this round, and are looking to get more! We are poised to leverage the freelance revolution and are expanding rapidly across the United States and Canada.
Click here to invest in us, and avail all of the investor perks we are offering!
Cheers,
Abby
SkillSoniq seeing a record-setting surge in demand!
6 days agoHi Friends,
I am happy to share that as companies realize the importance of hiring flexible talent, we are seeing a never-seen-before surge in demand for talent on our marketplace! So much so that the number of jobs posted on SkillSoniq has grown by over 400% Y-o-Y from March 2020 to March 2021.
In order to service demand, we have accelerated the rollout of product features, and are investing in streamlining our recruiting operations. Most companies looking for talent on our marketplace are startups and small businesses - Gives us great pleasure to be able to help small businesses in scaling their teams by using our app!
If you have not invested in SkillSoniq yet, pls click here to do so. Below are a few reasons we think you should!
1. We are now rated as a top 10 recruiting company on TrustPilot (Ahead of ZipRecruiter and Vettery)
2. We have launched in 4 new cities across the US and Canada in under 2 years
3. We operate in a $30B skilled freelance market, that is poised for massive growth
Let's go!
Regards,
Abby
Notice of Funds Disbursement
about 1 month ago[The following is an automated notice from the StartEngine team].
Hello!
As you might know, SkillSoniq has exceeded its minimum funding goal. When a company reaches its minimum on StartEngine, it's about to begin withdrawing funds. If you invested in SkillSoniq be on the lookout for an email that describes more about the disbursement process.
This campaign will continue to accept investments until its indicated closing date.
Thanks for funding the future.
-StartEngine
SkillSoniq partners with the Government of Canada to create jobs!
about 2 months agoHello Friends - We are thrilled to announce that SkillSoniq has partnered with the Toronto Business Development Centre (TBDC) and indirectly with the government of Toronto to provide exclusive recruiting services to their 100+ startups based in Canada. As a part of this partnership, SkillSoniq will introduce its AI-Powered recruiting app to TBDC’s network of startups and help them hire early employees at the lowest risk and cost.
Toronto Business Development Centre (TBDC) is Toronto’s first start-up incubator that was established in 1990, and offers programs that provide access to a network of key resources that can help accelerate growth for start-ups. TBDC strategically designed their services to help businesses thrive. They offer an unmatched mentor network, access to capital through their Angel Investor Network, and a portfolio of support services required to help startups build and scale.
TBDC motivates entrepreneurial-minded individuals from diverse communities to develop their business plans and to effectively start up their companies through a variety of tailored programs. TBDC and its affiliate organizations provide advisory support to young student entrepreneurs, individuals currently receiving social assistance, and persons with disabilities.
“We are excited to partner with TBDC, and indirectly with the government of Canada, to help their community of entrepreneurs hire early employees at the lowest risk and cost. Toronto has a vibrant startup culture, and we are super pumped about this opportunity to contribute by helping entrepreneurs scale teams quickly through our recruiting platform,” said Abby, founder of SkillSoniq.
SkillSoniq’s mission is to help startups and small businesses scale teams quickly – They find that startups face over a 25% attrition in early employees because employees leave for more established companies, or startups find that they have hired the wrong person. SkillSoniq, through its AI-Powered technology, allows startups to try out the best talent as an independent contractor or a freelancer, before converting them to their payroll. This allows both the jobseeker and the startup to get to know each other before they commit to a full-time role – A win-win for both parties.
“SkillSoniq is a top-ranked recruiting app, and offers a unique value proposition to our network of startups. We often find that founders in our network spend over 50% of their time on recruiting activities. SkillSoniq’s AI-Powered recruiting platform will allow founders to spend less time on recruiting activities, and significantly more time on building their businesses – which is how it should be,” said Noor Haq, Program Director at Toronto Business Development Centre.
You can read the full news release by clicking here.
SkillSoniq crosses $100K in funding on StartEngine! Still time to invest!
about 2 months agoHello Friends! We are thrilled to share that over 200 investors have now invested more than $100,000 in SkillSoniq on StartEngine! We are extremely grateful for all of your investments thus far, and have an exciting line up of product features we will be rolling out very soon!
A few of these features include:
1. Real-time chat feature (In Beta)
2. Payment integration
3. Integration of our platform with ATS and Payroll platforms (Eg- Greenhouse, ADP)
4. Complete re-design of user dashboard to make it more intuitive
5. Launch of an iOS Native App
Our vision is to become a leading freelance marketplace globally. Those of you who have not checked us out yet, pls click here to check us out and invest - This is the best way to be a part of the ongoing freelance revolution and contribute to the future of the workforce.
SkillSoniq launches a live messaging feature for customers!
2 months agoHi Friends - I am excited to share that we recently launched a live messaging feature (v1.0) on our platform for companies and freelancers to work and collaborate in more effective ways! Over the last few months, users were demanding a messaging feature which would help them in connecting with freelancers more quickly - So we listened to our users and delivered!
While we have launched Version 1 of this feature, we have a roadmap to invest in more messaging related features so companies and freelancers can collaborate and work more effectively on our platform. If you have not invested in us yet, please click here to do so. We are working to disrupt the traditional recruiting process, with the use of AI.
Stay tuned for more updates!
Notice of Funds Disbursement
3 months ago[The following is an automated notice from the StartEngine team].
Hello!
As you might know, SkillSoniq has exceeded its minimum funding goal. When a company reaches its minimum on StartEngine, it's about to begin withdrawing funds. If you invested in SkillSoniq be on the lookout for an email that describes more about the disbursement process.
This campaign will continue to accept investments until its indicated closing date.
Thanks for funding the future.
-StartEngine
SkillSoniq ranks in the top 10 recruiting companies (Top 6%)
3 months agoHello Friends!
We are proud to share that SkillSoniq has jumped up the rankings to now rank in the Top 10 recruiting companies on TrustPilot, going by market adoption! We have beaten recruiting companies like Vettery and ZipRecruiter on this list!
TrustPilot is a consumer review website that hosts reviews of businesses worldwide, and nearly 1 million new reviews are posted each month on TrustPilot. SkillSoniq was awarded a TrustScore of 4.8/5 on TrustPilot. A TrustScore is an overall measurement of reviewer satisfaction, based on all the service and location reviews a business receives on Trustpilot. SkillSoniq’s overall ranking and excellent TrustScore puts its reputation above several well-known companies in the industry, such as Vettery, which was recently acquired for over $100 million and ZipRecruiter, which is currently valued at $1.5 billion.
The fact that SkillSoniq is ranked in the top 10 recruiting companies across the world and has a higher TrustScore than Vettery and ZipRecruiter demonstrates SkillSoniq’s popularity among customers!
Notice of Material Change in Offering
3 months ago[The following is an automated notice from the StartEngine team].
Hello! Recently, a change was made to the SkillSoniq offering. Here's an excerpt describing the specifics of the change:
SkillSoniq provided updated financials, extended their campaign, and increased minimum investment amount.
When live offerings undergo changes like these on StartEngine, the SEC requires that certain investments be reconfirmed. If your investment requires reconfirmation, you will be contacted by StartEngine via email with further instructions.
Notice of Funds Disbursement
4 months ago[The following is an automated notice from the StartEngine team].
Hello!
As you might know, SkillSoniq has exceeded its minimum funding goal. When a company reaches its minimum on StartEngine, it's about to begin withdrawing funds. If you invested in SkillSoniq be on the lookout for an email that describes more about the disbursement process.
This campaign will continue to accept investments until its indicated closing date.
Thanks for funding the future.
-StartEngine
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