WorkMetro Inc. Announces First-Round Venture Funding from JAFCO Ventures and Bessemer Venture Partners
Strategic Investments to Bolster Growth of Local Employment Website Solutions
San Jose, CA - February 8, 2006 - WorkMetro Inc., an Internet services provider of local employment website solutions, announced today that it has received its first round of venture financing. The round was lead by JAFCO Ventures and Bessemer Venture Partners. The funds will be utilized to hire key personnel, build sales and marketing efforts, enhance existing sites and launch new sites.
WorkMetro specializes in the development and operation of employment websites tailored to the local recruiting needs of employers in major metropolitan markets throughout the United States. Each of its websites provides employers and job seekers with a highly efficient community-based employment web portal. The company experienced dramatic growth in 2005, expanding from two to twelve markets, and believes that this infusion of capital will allow it to expand its market rollout plans even more rapidly for 2006 and beyond.
When asked about their success to date, WorkMetro's CEO David Lambert explained, "The existing online employment marketplace is dominated by companies whose employment services are national in scope - an approach to job placement that is not particularly well suited to the goals of employers who want to hire locally, and to the needs of job seekers who prefer not to re-locate. In this way, WorkMetro addresses a significant underserved market opportunity."
JAFCO's Joe Horowitz commented, "We are very impressed with the effectiveness by which WorkMetro has been able to develop a broad customer base, built on a sound business model. We firmly believe in the company's potential to amass a dominant position in the markets they choose to address."
"WorkMetro has clearly cracked the code in the local job search business," added David Cowan of Bessemer Venture Partners, one of the original investors in HotJobs. "They have proven that expensive Super Bowl ads are not required to achieve high success rates in finding people jobs."
In addition to their strategic investments, JAFCO managing general partner, Joe Horowitz, and Bessemer general partner, David Cowan, have joined the WorkMetro board of directors.
About WorkMetro
WorkMetro is a market leader in the online recruitment marketplace. The company utilizes leading-edge web technology, a locally-focused business model and aggressive local advertising campaigns to address the needs of local employers and job seekers. WorkMetro was founded in 2003 by David Lambert, Jon Stevenson and Paul Swiencicki.
About JAFCO Ventures
In July of 2003, JAFCO re-established its U.S. venture capital operations with the formation of JAFCO Ventures and the closing of JAFCO Technology Partners I, a $100 million venture capital fund.
JAFCO Co., Ltd., the parent company and major limited partner of JAFCO Ventures, is a Tokyo-based, publicly traded venture capital firm with investment partnerships worldwide. Founded in 1973, JAFCO has managed over 60 investment funds globally through its offices in Japan, China, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, North America, and other parts of the world.
About Bessemer Venture Partners
Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP) carries on the longest-standing venture capital operation in the country. With more than a billion dollars under management, Bessemer has nearly a century of experience helping build innovative, high-growth companies. Many leading innovators, including Parametric, Ciena, VeriSign, Staples, Gartner Group, Veritas and Skype selected BVP as their early-stage venture partner. BVP has offices in Silicon Valley, Massachusetts, New York, Shanghai, Bangalore and Mumbai.