This week, the Startup Spotlight shines on Joel Cheesman, Founder of Ratedly.
What is your background?
I’ve been in the online recruiting space for 20 years, predominantly on the vendor side. I was author of recruitment industry blog, Cheezhead. I sold a company to Jobing in 2009. I launched Ratedly in April, 2016.
Tell us about the team you have built so far.
My development team encompasses two contractors in Europe. My data miner is a former Jobing coworker in Arizona. I’m running all the business aspects (sales, marketing, legal) from the home office in Indianapolis.
What financial support did you have to launch the business?
My personal bank account.
What problem are you trying to solve?
Monitoring the flood of anonymous employee reviews showing-up online has become impossible for many organizations, big and small. And if they are monitoring it, there are unnecessary costs and inefficiencies involved. Companies are also trying to keep up while living in an on-the-go world.
Describe the business, core products and services?
We’re automating the process of monitoring anonymous employee reviews online, pulling in current and new reviews for users to see daily via push notifications. We’re also building our platform entirely on iOS, appealing to a mobile workforce.
Who do you expect your customers and users to be at launch?
Early adopters, CEOs, heads of HR, employer brand managers; employers with many online reviews, and employers with over 100 employees. Early customers should also include some smaller companies with high turnover and a do-everything head of HR.
Where do you stand right now with regard to funding?
We are 100% bootstrapped
What is the business AND revenue model? What is your strategy for profitability?
Users will pay a monthly fee to monitor a company on their iPhone. Cost will be in the neighborhood of $99 – $179 per month.
Did anyone tell you this wasn’t going to be successful?
There were elements of the business that have received criticism, such as “Why only iOS?,” or certain price points might be prohibitive, but the overall feedback has been solid.
How will you measure success 12 months from now?
Satisfied customers, the repeat kind.