Wisconsin startup promotes local growth by connecting businesses and freelancers

Take it from a writer: finding a job is not always an easy task — especially when you are a freelancer. Ironically, it is not easy to fill a job either. This is the fundamental disconnect that Wisconsin-based startup MYSA intends to solve, but with one caveat: their platform aims to connect companies with local expertise. Recruiters have been around for ages, bridging the gap between companies and employees, and similar platforms for connecting freelancers with job opportunities have long existed. Consider just a few: Upwork, Toptal, Elance, Guru — even Craigslist. Most of these other platforms connect talent from all over the world – often, for cost-saving purposes. MYSA’s focus, however, is on local talent, and this is ultimately what sets it apart. But if it costs businesses more, why? In a LinkedIn blog post, CEO Jeff Rice addresses this issue, writing: “Without too much research, you can find several of our competitors out there who, presumably, can put you in touch with people who can do your work for you, and possibly even cheaper than we can do it. That’s because they’re driven first by profit, as many companies are. No judgment – profit is important for any company. But that’s where we differ from our competition. Though we, too, care about making a profit, MYSA’s first, and ultimately most important goal, is to use our platform to help communities like yours grow better and stronger.” With this overarching goal in mind, MYSA intends to keep businesses’ dollars in their local communities and to fight the brain-drain that occurs when local freelancers cannot find a job. In doing so it hopes to achieve a “win-win-win situation, for the businesses, the freelancers, and the communities.” Startups with a social mission such as MYSA have been starting to gain steam recently in the Midwest, particularly in Detroit where “tech for good” has been attracting serious investment. While MYSA hopes to fix the problem of hiring with respect to local communities, other companies have begun tackling different issues in the hiring process. Relink, a VC-backed Nordic startup, for example, aims to tackle the problem of hiring with the limitations of human data processing capabilities. Understanding that sorting through CVs and cover letters is a tedious and time-consuming task, the company employs machine learning algorithms to quickly analyze the material and recommend a match, more or less as Netflix does with movies, but for CVS. Together, companies such as MYSA and Relink are reshaping the hiring process. MYSA will be launching a beta version of its platform this October for freelancers and businesses within Wisconsin. For more information about the technology or to sign up for the beta launch, visit the company website.