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Startups have a lot of struggles. Managing their finances (or lack there of) shouldn’t be one of them.
That’s what Adam Jernigan, founder of Skip the Hire, thinks. After working for years in Silicon Valley doing financial planning and advising for pre-IPO startups, he saw how difficult and expensive it was for smaller businesses to hire qualified people, especially part-time, to do this work. He packed his family up and moved out of the "best place to start a startup" and headed to Austin.
Skip the Hire, which launched last month, provides a platform for startups to find financial experts on a project basis. The startup simply identifies their needs, sets a budget and project objective and consultants can bid for the work for 24 hours. Think 99designs or Elance, but much more specialized and curated. The business ultimately chooses their consultant, with any range of expertise from a MBA student to an advisor with 10+ years experience.
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“I come to people and I say, if you post a job, I can have this work done for you in a fraction of the time, with someone with more experience for a much lower price,” Jernigan said (pictured left).
Keeping the hire low-risk for the startup is key, Jernigan said, and that’s why there’s no cost to the client to use his service. Skip the Hire takes a percentage of the consultant's fee for revenue.
“It’s important in the startup world to really vet who you’re bringing on because of the risks associated of someone not working out,” Jernigan said. “We want to see companies succeed and scale and we want to be able to be on that ride with them.”
Jernigan has over 40 consultants working for him and hopes to employ over 100 by the end of the year. Any qualified candidate can become a consultant, and the opportunity has been especially successful with MBA students. They’re highly qualified, but can’t work fulltime due to their schedule. With Skip the Hire, those students can earn an ancillary income as well as get in front of potential employers. For experienced industry professionals, it can be a great way to expand their network.
The biggest hurdle yet? Jernigan hasn’t yet found his co-founder. While he says he doesn’t have the perfect type of person in mind, he’s looking for someone with expertise in business development, fundraising and project management.
Jernigan is currently running the company out of Capital Factory and is actively seeking fundraising.
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