Lynxsy

unnamedI heavily drink the Kool-aid on every company I invest in.  I try to be positive but sometimes I do comment when something tastes funny.  In the last few months I have jumped in to a few new investments but Lynxsy is one that I know fills a void in the market.

The reality is that in the next few years almost 40% of the workforce will be freelancers.  People graduating college are seeking opportunities that they are passionate about.  Most college seniors are not spending time in the college career office interviewing for jobs.  The companies that show up in those offices are large corporate companies such as Verizon, IBM and Goldman Sachs.  The companies that students want to show up are FourSquare, Twitter, Vox Media, littleBits and Le Tote.  They are even looking for start-up companies in different areas from fashion to hard goods to media to food to skincare.

imgresEach of these companies have unique cultures.  Many of the first hires out of school stay a few months while others stay on full time.  Each of those young graduates are trying to find a place where they can learn, connect with a culture and mentally grow.  They are bright eyed and bushy tailed with a desire to plunge into the new economy.  It is just too costly for the companies who begin with 5 people today and have 50 within a year to spend time trying to recruit young graduates.  That is where Lynxsy comes in.

postit3-6ba101b2ec6e16e8f4afad69ceaa6651How great would it be if that at every college career center would begin with changing the name of the department to something like future life center.  There would be in a table at each center with microphones, small video cameras and desk tops.  Each student would sign up for LinkedIn to create their resume and contact info and create a short video on themselves.  They would take that info and upload it to Lynxsy and within a short amount of time be accepted into the pool.  Then companies, both small and medium could use that tool to find college seniors who are going to graduate looking for the right opportunity.   Eventually a match would be made.  The cost to the companies would be low and the upside would be high.

There are plenty of interesting jobs out there but finding the right people to fill them is not so simple.  Lynxsy is the perfect solution.

 

Comments (Archived):

  1. pointsnfigures

    Yup. I see where you are coming from. Being immersed in the startup culture, and having two daughters that are NOT technical, but yet want to work for startups. This is an outlet. The trajectory of our work lives will not be linear anymore. Your point about career centers was a good one, and there are so many things in society that have to change. Cool idea, hope they can execute.Posted it to Hyde Park Angels Facebook page and will share it around. Good luck.

    1. Gotham Gal

      as we know it is all about execution

    2. Brandon Burns

      I just saw this on my Facebook wall. WTF is going on in Chicago?!

      1. pointsnfigures

        sometimes shit happens. Cannot control everything. We have a lot of interest in the startup community here. check builtinchicago.org. I understand her feelings. She should be treated better, but I don’t want to curb people’s spirit. The bandwagon is plenty big.

        1. Brandon Burns

          Every city has its issues, I guess. And startup events tend to universally suck. I went to YC Startup School last week. Minus running into / catching up with Fred, it was worthless.

  2. Andrew Kennedy

    Cool idea.

  3. Brandon Burns

    I’m not sure how I feel about the freelance economy, even though I’m a beneficiary of it.Right now, its fairly easy for me to get freelance / consulting gigs when I want them, and make enough money so I don’t have to take them when I don’t want them so I can devote time to doing the things I want to do, like build a company. However, I’m afforded that luxury because I spent 10 years in one industry, doing what I had to do to work my way up to a position of seniority — including stints that lasted 2+ years at several different companies.Folks who are starting out freelance from the beginning won’t be able to set themselves up that way. People aren’t promoted to a senior level without proving that they can lead a team, manage clients / stakeholders, etc. — and those are not responsibilities given to freelancers who haven’t already done that someplace else, and you won’t get to do that someplace else without staying there long enough to prove yourself to the people there. It’s a crap Catch 22.There’s nothing wrong with freelancing, but if you don’t put in solid, multi-year full time work in somewhere, you’ll be hopping from one junior level position to another, and getting paid accordingly. Its a life, but its a rough one with little security and no clear growth trajectory.All that aside, Lynxsy is still great! Hopefully the college grads that find jobs through it decide to put in the full time effort needed to set them up for success in the future.

    1. Susan

      Thanks for the comment! Lynxsy is actually focused on helping recent grads launch their careers at full-time, junior level positions at high-growth companies. There’s a flexible trial period though for both the company and candidate to test each other out to ensure that it’s the right long-term fit.With that said though, from our experiences, we’ve seen + heard college grads benefiting greatly even from purely project-based or temporary work as that gives them the professional experience they otherwise might not have been able to obtain, and helps open more doors for them afterward.

      1. Brandon Burns

        I was just commenting on the freelance economy in general, not re: Lynxys in particular. Looks like you guys are doing a rad job. Wishing you tons of luck!Oh, and tell Connie I said hi. 🙂

        1. Susan

          Thanks all the support Brandon!Will do! 🙂

      2. CJ

        Susan – your contact details please as I need to discuss something with you guys in private. Thanks.

  4. Steve G

    How do they plan to locate/ build roster of “high growth” startups?

    1. Gotham Gal

      Biz dev

  5. johndodds

    I really like your implicit idea of transforming the role of the career centre into one of improving the marketability of the students, but I wonder if the simplification of the process might lead to low-staffed start-ups being overwhelmed with interested applicants to sift through.I know the job market is tough, but I’m jealous of today’s students in respect of the range of tools that help them directly network with potential employers and. more importantly, those such as blogs or twitter that can help get them noticed as someone the employer might be interested in.

    1. Susan

      Thanks Joanne for capturing the problem so well!John, to your point, we’re focused on the long tail of companies that don’t have the HR resources or budget of the Fortune500 to recruit college grads. We have an application and prescreening process in place to ensure that companies are only matched with the right set of candidates.We also hope to build out resources on Lynxsy to help students and recent grads navigate the entire job-search process as we’ve heard from many that if they’re not looking for big company opportunities, then they’re left to their own devices which can feel extremely daunting.

      1. johndodds

        Thanks for the clarification Susan. I shall follow your progress with interest. Good luck.

  6. AG

    Wow, totally on point. This coming from someone that pursued a “traditional corporate job,” mostly because I did not know how to find other jobs that actually spoke to me. This is the future. Excited to hear where it goes.