Hybrid helps startups when change is the only constant – our mahi with Jobloads
We’re helping ambitious startups make a difference
Every founder knows the scale-up journey is never linear. The path to solving a problem is full of surprises, pivots, and lessons.
It takes patience, agility, and sheer grit to stick at it – not to mention a sense of humour!
We’re lucky to work in the startup space and help companies like Jobloads make a meaningful difference in Aotearoa.
We get to see the passion, determination, and creativity of founders like Candice Pardy as they come up against roadblocks and find opportunities to adapt.
That’s why our Hybrid methodology is the perfect solution for startups that are constantly evolving and battling the resource crunch.
Read on to hear how Jobloads is solving the horticulture workforce problem by bringing together Māori values and cutting-edge software – and how we’re helping.
Jobloads is streamlining hiring for growers and helping jobseekers find mana at work.
Aotearoa is world-famous for its rich horticulture sector, but the industry faces a major labour problem.
Following the first lockdown in March 2020, media outlets have shared horror stories of fruit left to rot in the orchard as labour shortages crippled growers across the country.
Many were quick to make assumptions about New Zealand’s jobseekers, but a Gisborne businesswoman saw things differently.
When Candice Pardy (Ngāi Tāmanuhiri and Ngāti Porou) sought workers for her persimmon orchard, she noticed a startling issue with the contractors she hired to find and manage labour.
After witnessing unfair wages, late payments, and other forms of exploitation by some contractors in the industry, Candice decided to build an alternative solution.
Now she’s the CEO of Jobloads, a digital labour supply platform.
As an effective solution that enhances working relationships for everyone, Jobloads provides:
- Jobseekers with access to a free and user-friendly platform to get matched to jobs with quality employers.
- Employers help to build a trusted source of workers and hiring is easy with the best workers being sent directly to their hiring dashboard.
- Matches are made with full transparency and there’s career growth potential for seasonal workers on the platform as their work profiles are continuously maintained.
Jobloads achieved huge success in its early development. The startup won tremendous investment from Te Puni Kōkiri, K1W1, Icehouse Ventures, Startmate, Hillfarrance, and Candice gained support from global initiative, SheEO.
As with many startups, when it came time to build the core product and scale the business, the Jobloads team found themselves in a resource crunch.
That’s when Candice found YOUDO.
“I’m your typical entrepreneur, just passionate about solving a problem. I was a novice when it came to the technical aspects of building a reliable workforce for the Primary Sector – I didn’t even see Jobloads as a tech company! I needed to find the people who could ask the right questions and innovate with us to find a solution. At the time, YOUDO was able to jump in and quickly understand where we were at and the situation I’m in as a founder. Their empathy is what really set them apart.”
Candice Pardy, CEO of Jobloads
Our Hybrid methodology is the best solution for resource-crunched startups
When facing a resource crunch, tech startup founders usually face a tough choice –
“Should I take a big risk and outsource developers OR pump the brakes while I build an in-house team?”
This means weighing up the two scenarios:
| Outsourcing Developers | Hiring In-House Team |
It’s great when done right BUT it’s a big risk.
| Building the dream team in-house sounds utopian but means:
|
It’s a potentially paralysing scenario. But here’s the thing:
It doesn’t have to be a one-or-the-other decision – that’s why our Hybrid methodology exists.
Our style of working means we can jump in and become an extension of a startup’s internal team – filling any immediate gaps, taking the lead on development where necessary, and keeping the product roadmap on track as the business evolves and more team members come aboard.
This unique combination of expertise and responsiveness to change means that founders can minimise risk and get the best of both options. This is what makes us so valuable to founders like Candice.
“We used YOUDO to support us while we were getting our own tech team together. We’ve now got a solid team of four, which is a huge feat for our early stage! Now, as we move into the next phase and grow, we know we can call on YOUDO. As a founder, it’s so good to have this supportive team that we can turn to when we need them.”
Candice Pardy, CEO of Jobloads
We’ll be on-hand to support Jobloads when they need our help: working on product development, project management, and guiding Candice as she builds her team.
This scale-up journey has been full of change, pivots, and new opportunities to adapt as Candice and her team learn more about the problem they’re determined to solve.
And while working on an ever-changing platform can be challenging, we respect the integrity it takes to perfect the Jobloads platform and ensure it’ll make a meaningful difference to New Zealand’s primary sector and jobseekers.
Supporting a startup like Jobloads with such a strong kaupapa has been a rewarding experience for our whole team and a reminder of why we do what we do.
We want to show resource-crunched founders that they don’t have to make a sacrifice when it comes to building their product – they just need a tech partner that gets it.
Follow Candice Pardy and Jobloads on their mission “to make every job experience tika – right”.
