Shift One, a blue-collar job marketplace, announced Tuesday it had raised $5.2 million in seed funding, led by City Light Capital and JAM Fund.
Founded in 2019 by Uber’s former West Coast Operations and Logistics Technology leader Jason Radisson, Shift One is aimed at connecting available warehouse and logistics labor with companies in last-mile logistics, e-commerce fulfillment and large-scale event management.
This labor economy has historically dealt with an information deficit, which forces companies to overhire in order to find the correct employee for the job. The strategy is not cost-efficient for companies, and brings down the value of these employees as well.
“Shift turns the labor problem of adverse selection on its head by identifying, assembling and upskilling top talent and putting it to work where it can have the biggest impact,” said JAM Fund principal and Tinder co-founder Justin Mateen in a statement to PR Newswire. “I’m excited to watch how this new approach can bring workers along as we tackle last mile and on-demand labor.”
Many of these workers are currently or transitioning to becoming contract employees, which tends to come with no benefits. Shift One gives workers on its platform the opportunity for full benefits, along with checking accounts and debit cards.
“In the wake of COVID-19, stable jobs are more important than ever, especially in the massive logistics and warehouse sectors. We are proud to work with Shift One and believe the company’s model can be truly transformational for millions of blue-collar workers around the world — creating a more straightforward path to the employment opportunities that are so critical for supporting the overall economic recovery,” said Jeff Reinhart, partner of City Light Capital in a statement to PR Newswire.
Early adopters of this technology like Amazon, NASCAR, the Consumer Electronics Show, Weee! and Mensajeros Urbanos, have been able to take advantage of Shift One’s marketplace and its full suite of productivity solutions including time, taxes, attendance, productivity and work-order management as well. Shift One plans to use this round of funding to build on those technologies and expand into new markets.
“In the last four to five months, we’ve moved very strong into last mile,” Radisson told TechCrunch. “We want to give opportunities to millions that didn’t go to college and that have seen stagnant wages for years. We want to give them opportunities to get ahead.”