In recent months, trucking companies have focused on securing drivers as truckload demand continues to soar, driving rates to all-time levels. Without drivers to fill their trucks, carriers continue to find themselves leaving business on the table.
Conversely, with companies offering them progressive incentive packages and regulations hindering their work-life balance, drivers find themselves looking for the best opportunities available.
Related article: Driver employment market may be improving amid ‘historic' pay increases
This ever-fluctuating job market is why recruiting software company YouCruit has built its trucking industry labor marketplace application Lanefinder — to offer drivers a simple way to explore available industry positions.
"With Lanefinder, a driver can find exactly what he or she is looking for in a matter of seconds instead of spending days plowing through job sites, taking 30-40 recruiter calls or chatting up other drivers at truck stops," said Patrick Gilmore, co-founder and chief technology officer of YouCruit.
On Wednesday, YouCruit announced it received an $11.5 million investment to support the continued growth of its trucking industry marketplace application. Coeli Investments led the round with participation from Viarp Invest, Primas Invest, Djakne Startup Studio and other undisclosed investors.
The company has raised $20.5 million in total for developing niche industry recruiting applications. This is its first investment under its strategy and focus on improving hiring in the trucking industry.
"YouCruit was founded in 2012 as a general recruitment marketing tool focusing on multiple industries but since last year had a one industry focus — trucking. Over 5,000 trucking companies have joined the platform since last year and we keep on growing, with hundreds of companies creating accounts and posting new trucking jobs every month," said Mats Holmback, co-founder and CEO of YouCruit.
"To satisfy the hiring needs of the companies currently on the platform, we need to find over 220,000 drivers every year for them. That's not a small number. The capital raised will be used to accelerate our Lanefinder brand awareness strategy, introducing drivers to the massive supply of jobs on the platform on a much larger scale, and to grow our team in Tulsa, Oklahoma," said Holmback.
Funding details: YouCruit
| Funding amount | $11.5 million |
| Funding round | Later stage |
| Lead investor | Coeli Investments |
| Secondary investors | Viarp Invest, Primas Invest, Djakne Startup Studio and undisclosed investors |
| Business goals for the round | Scaling Lanefinder product and operations |
| Total funding | $20.5 million |
To keep his team committed to matching drivers to the job that fits best for them, there is no fee for the recruiting platform, Holmback said. Instead, the company charges trucking companies a per-hire fee for each candidate it successfully places.
"We don't want to stand in the way of drivers finding their dream job just because a family-operated smaller company couldn't compete with the advertising budgets of larger companies like on general job boards. If a driver is looking for a company operating regionally around Illinois [and they want] to bring their dog in the truck, run specific types of freight with guaranteed weekends home, we'll show [them] that job," he said.
"Our clients' jobs are always searchable, but if they need an extra boost in hires we will ensure that their jobs get greater visibility and instead charge a success fee after the driver is hired, much like a professional recruiter would," said Holmback.
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