SNAPSHYFT Joins Global VC 500 Startups
February 28, 2019. San Francisco, CA Midwest tech startup SnapShyft, the fast growing cloud-based staffing software and mobile app dedicated to helping caterers, concessionaires, hotels, bars and restaurants proactively manage their on-demand labor force needs, has formally announced their selection into renowned San Francisco-based accelerator program 500 Startups latest batch of companies.
The four month accelerator program kicked off for the twenty-fourth batch in October, with fourteen startups in total, and culminated with Demo Day in late February 2019. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, the mission of 500 Startups is to discover and back the world’s most talented entrepreneurs, help them create successful companies at scale, and build thriving global ecosystems. A thesis proven in the dozen-plus unicorns 500 Startups has invested in to date. Since inception, 500 Startups has invested in over 2,000 technology startups, including Twilio (NYSE: TWLO), Credit Karma, Grab, Udemy, Ipsy, TalkDesk, Intercom, MakerBot (acquired by SSYS), Wildfire (acquired by Google), Viki (acquired by Rakuten), and Indianapolis-based Kenzie Academy.
Based in Indianapolis, Indiana, SNAPSHYFT is a labor marketplace for food and beverage operators, such as hotels, caterers, and restaurant chains, to reflexively scale their workforce based on customer volume without hiring and firing. Pre-vetted workers claim shifts off a calendar, which shows all open shifts in their market.
“SnapShyft is a major threat to temporary and contract staffing agencies that serve the food service vertical, who are struggling to stay relevant among the strong shift toward peer-to-peer engagement and gig staffing,” said Thor Wood, founder and CEO. “With no middlemen, workers on the platform are paid more, and operators get better tools for managing their labor force. Being a part of 500 Startups is a once in a lifetime opportunity that will help us reach the scale we need to truly transform the food & beverage industry.”
The food & beverage and overall hospitality sector, in particular, suffer from acute staffing difficulties. According to Stephanie Corliss, co-founder and COO, “In the United States alone over 150 million shifts go unfilled each year, and turnover hovers between 70-150% or worse. The average employment is less than 2 months, and the time to replace is averaging 28 days. Fill rates for temporary staffing firms average an embarrassingly low 34%, and the process they employ for vetting does not necessarily include background checks, so the quality of the workers and overall experience is negligible at best”. Thor offered further evidence, “SnapShyft’s marketplace fulfillment is 90%, and by letting qualified, experienced workers fill gaps in their work schedule, and with near instant worker payment, customer venues have seen a reduction in turnover, a reduction in cost and time-waste, and higher overall guest satisfaction”.
500 Startups is known for their portfolio diversity and inclusivity, on a global stage. “As a woman co-founder, and with more than half of our platform users being female, this was an important factor to us.” said Corliss. “We are honored to have been selected out of over 2,000 companies, and we actually turned down offers from other well known accelerators because of this, and we intend to take full advantage”.
“We are ecstatic to join the 500 family. We are avid students of their methods, and given their track record and our commitment to precision results, you will see SnapShyft available in markets across the US,” said Wood.
