Gen Z jobs marketplace Hatch banks $7 million Seed round

A jobs marketplace targeting Generation Z with AI-based matching has raised $7 million in its Seed round. 

Sydney-based Hatch was cofounded by The Iconic cofounder Adam Jacobs and Zip cofounder Chaz Heitner in 2018. The raise was led by Rampersand, with support from Alberts Impact Ventures, Aura Ventures, Jelix Ventures, and Investible, as well as existing private investors, including Ahmed Fahour, the former Latitude and Australia Post CEO.

The funding will be used on a national expansion from its existing Sydney and Melbourne focus. Employers using Hatch include Woolworths, Airtasker, Uber, News Corp, Nine, Qantas, Hello Fresh, Hnry, and Domain. 

Gen-Z professionals are now a quarter of the workforce and Deloitte analysis found that 44% – more than 10% of the total employee pool – have turned down job offers from organisations that don’t match their values.

Their experience hiring people at their previous ventures led Jacobs and Heitner to build a new, scaleable way to hire young professionals.

“What I saw at The Iconic is that CVs are often misleading, and it’s actually someone’s underlying skills and traits that matter,” Jacobs said.

“The past five years has brought an exciting structural change in career profiles, priorities, and how Gen Z looks for work. There’s this idea that AI is here to take jobs from the next generation, but in fact it’s here to help people discover them.”

The Hatch platform assesses skills, values, and motivations into account when recommending a role, and the result is candidates are 3-times more likely to be interviewed when applying for a job on Hatch compared to the industry average.

“We’re delivering an experience where AI is helping people from all backgrounds find work that’s the best fit for them, but one that always keeps the humans in the centre and in control,” Jacobs said.

“Ultimately that’s what hiring is about – people connecting with people.”

Rampersand investment principal, Taryn Pieterse, said Hatch is a great example of AI being used to deliver a materially better experience.

“When we met Hatch founders Adam and Chaz, we immediately recognised their successful track record, potential and ambition to bring new solutions to the changing world of work,” she said. 

“They are so driven to reinvent how people find work so everyone, and particularly young people, have a simple path to meaningful jobs, and employers have a more efficient process to find motivated team members.