5 Questions with David Beatty, Co-Founder of Refer.me

David Beatty is co-founder of Refer.me, the platform for crowdsourced recruitment.

With a background in Software Development, Computer Engineering and Business, David previously worked with Goldman Sachs for 12 years, leading Technology Engineering teams in Europe and Asia.

David is passionate about software, business models, startups and anything remote-controlled.

What is your startup?

Refer.me is the crowdsourcing platform for recruiting the best talent. We allow everyone to be a headhunter within their network and earn cash by referring their contacts for new jobs. Employers list roles on refer.me, and set the cash bounty they will pay to the individual who successfully refers them a candidate for that job. Individual users can earn cash, and employers can access the best and most relevant talent in the workforce.

How did you come up with this idea?

We launched a broad referral platform in mid-2012 but the scope was too large so we needed to find the one area where referrals had the most benefit. Our pivot was suggested in late 2012 by my co-founder, Andrew Primrose while he was studying at NYU. Both of us had previously used referrals to find and hire staff in our last jobs, so we really believed in the power of referrals in recruitment. Referral hires perform better, stay longer, and report greater job satisfaction, so (in hindsight) our pivot was the most logical choice.

Who are you targeting and how big is the market in HK/Asia?

Initially, we’re targeting startups and businesses opening new offices in Hong Kong as their recruitment needs are most pressing. The market size in Hong Kong is significant, and our technology is inherently scalable to a far wider international market.

What are your future plans for your startup?

We’re completing our platform over the coming weeks, with lots of exciting features in the pipeline. We’ll also continue to refine our ReferRank algorithm. We’ll also be expanding our scope, geography and distribution channels.

1 Benefit and 1 Challenge in the HK startup scene?

Hong Kong has a great startup community, and the benefit is the ability to easily reach almost anyone. The same is true of general business in Hong Kong, it’s such a well connected business environment, that anyone is at most 2 connections away, this is great for referral, refer.me and businesses posting roles with us!

The biggest challenge for many startups is fundraising. Whilst there is a lot of money in the city, most HK investors traditionally look at property or the stock market, so unlike Silicon Valley or New York there isn’t an established network of VCs and angel investors supporting startups.