Moblyze: Carnoustie man raises £1.5m for ‘Tinder for jobs' app
Former Glasgow Warriors rugby player Chris Black was one of the founders of JAB Recruitment.
Established in 2000, it now has 40 staff across offices in Dundee, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Houston and Calgary.
He said the background of running this business, which specialises in energy jobs, has given him the credibility for his new tech venture, Moblyze.
Moblyze has carried out two successful funding rounds, raising $700,000 and $1.2m.
The concept of the app is that people upload their CVs and the artificial intelligence within the app then serves up appropriate jobs.
Companies pay for access to the app, which is free for job seekers and is focusing on energy jobs.
Chris, who lives in Carnoustie, said: 'With Moblyze, jobs find you – no more searching.
'The app matches users with current roles in oil and gas but also highlights future renewable opportunities.
'It audits profiles, identifies skill gaps, and connects users with training partners to help them upskill through the energy transition.
'People then 'swipe right' on the jobs they are interested in, a bit like how Tinder works.
'In the past six months we've grown to 4,000 users on the app, who have done 70,000 swipes on jobs.
'More than 100 companies have advertised 1,500 roles. This is growing all the time.'
Despite a challenging climate for raising financing, Chris is proud to have found investors to continue the development of the company.
The Scottish Government, via Scottish Enterprise, has invested £100,000 to support the platform's role in advancing energy transition policies.
Chris, 47, said: 'The climate at the moment for raising funding at this level is extremely difficult.
'When I was fundraising in December, January and February the feedback I had from other companies trying to raise money was that they'd been unsuccessful.
'However, we were getting a really good response from investors. I think it's because Moblyze speaks to both a public and a private imperative around the energy transition.
'We feel it's an extremely important time for the Scottish energy industry to ensure that we secure energy supply so the lights don't go out while at the same time observing a managed, just transition.
'We don't want to see the oil and gas workforce left behind, like coal miners and steel workers were in the past. They should be able to access high-value renewable jobs. They just need a platform to help access these opportunities.'
Currently with a working from an office in Westhill, Aberdeen, Chris said he anticipates members of the Moblyze team working from Dundee in the future.
The plan is to build the business to around 50 staff in the next two years.
The former Carnoustie High School pupil adds: 'I can envisage jobs not only being in Aberdeen, but in Dundee and the Central Belt as well. We'll definitely be creating jobs in Dundee.'
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