Startup Q&A: Stephanie Florio, Co-Founder, Swob

RTIH: Tell us about Swob

SF: Swob, which stands for swipe and job, is designed to make job searching for students easy and recruitment even easier.

Using their smartphone, students looking for a job can now search in the comfort of their own phone. Swob is the first of its kind to target students in high turnover industries such as retail and food service for part-time, seasonal and full-time employment.

For employers, they now have the ability to securely filter through the best possible local candidates safely and efficiently.

RTIH: What was the inspiration behind setting the company up?

SF: The idea came from my brother, Alexander, who was in the process of applying for jobs, and thought there should be an easier way. At the time, he was using Tinder and made the connection.

Prior to launching Swob in November of 2017, we spent a year meeting Millennials and Gen Z’ers to learn about how they apply to jobs and their frustrations in doing so. What quickly became evident and a consistent theme was the lack of resources and tools to help them in their employment search.

While the ‘full-time, professional’ market has resources, there was nothing available for young job seekers and students. It was surprising to learn how common it is for young job seekers to print out resumes and spend hours handing them out to employers. For most, this was a frustrating experience. They felt their resume would get lost in a pile and never truly considered. This is why we developed Swob.

Not only did we meet with young job seekers, we also met with employers to understand what they would like to see in a recruiting service. We built our website based on the feedback we received from the human resources departments at McDonald’s Canada and Recipe Unlimited. Employers in high turnover industries face common problems and we have addressed these pain points with our employer dashboard.

"Young job seekers are looking for tools like Swob and are moving away from traditional methods. It has become increasingly more important for employers, especially those in high turnover industries, to adapt to new methods and not fall behind on new trends"

All of our features offered on Swob came from employer feedback. Our most popular feature is the Maximum Applicant Distance; employers have the ability to select how far they want candidates to apply from, ensuring local candidates. Employers in high turnover industries no longer have to go through stacks of resumes; they can post jobs, screen applicants, and communicate with the candidates they are interested right on our website.

I always wanted to start my own business; however, I never knew what I was going to start. When Alexander told me about the idea for Swob, I thought it was very interesting and unique. I was really inspired to start the business after the feedback we got from both employers and students – we found a problem and created a solution.

RTIH: What has been the industry reaction thus far?

SF: Swob has seen tremendous growth amongst young job seekers. It’s relevant to this audience and it’s something they understand will help make their employment search easier. However, employers in high turnover industries struggle to retain staff, which has become a real problem. Employers are now able to filter through local candidates on Swob through our Maximum Applicant distance feature.

When using other job boards, employers waste time going through tons of resumes from candidates who are applying from around the world, and we don’t think anyone is flying in for a part-time job. We listen to feedback and take it very seriously, which employers really value. They enjoy the fact that Swob is simple to use and feel up-to-date connecting with Millennials.

RTIH: What has been your biggest challenge/setback?

SF: The biggest challenge for us is managing growth and demand. We have students who are downloading and using the app; however, some downloads are coming in areas where we don’t have employers posting just yet. We are working towards getting as many employers posting on Swob, as we want to ensure all students an equal opportunity to apply for jobs.

RTIH: What are the biggest challenges facing the omnichannel retail sector right now?

SF: It’s becoming increasingly difficult for these employers to retain and find talent, with turnover exceeding 80% per year. Young job seekers are looking for tools like Swob and are moving away from traditional methods. It has become increasingly more important for employers, especially those in high turnover industries, to adapt to new methods and not fall behind on new trends. 

RTIH: What's the best question about your company or the market asked of you recently by a.) an investor and b.) a customer?

SF: We’re always evolving and considering feedback from our users. We’re trying to make the app and website the best it can be. We’ve been taking feedback from the employers we work with, and take it seriously when they suggest something they’d like to see.

For example, a Tim Hortons franchisee mentioned to us that he would post roles on other job sites, however received applications from Vancouver for roles in Toronto. Once we heard this, we developed a feature on our website called Maximum Applicant Distance. We heard a problem, and we developed a solution.

RTIH: What can we expect to see from Swob over the next 12 months?

SF: For us, if your first thought is to check Swob when applying for a job, or your first thought is to post on Swob when hiring, that to us is a success. Our goal over the next 12 months is to be present throughout Canada.

We’ve trademarked in the United States, and have goals to move into that market next. If we can make someone’s life simpler and help them find a job they’re looking for in an easy and efficient way, that’s success for us. We want to give everyone an equal opportunity to work.