Cambridge Data Gurus Join Hollywood Execs to Lead New Funding for Creatively, the Job Platform for Creatives

NEW YORK, April 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Creatively, the job platform for creatives, today announced a $5 million seed round led by Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Link Ventures, joining Michael Eisner's Tornante Company and Shari Redstone's Advancit Capital as investors. Creatively will use the new round of financing primarily to expand its product and engineering team as well as its data capabilities.

"Less than a year ago, we launched Creatively with the clear mission to help creatives find work. More than 125,000 creatives and 650 plus brands already have joined our community, and with this new funding Creatively is positioned for our next phase of growth," said Gregory Gittrich, CEO of Creatively.  "We're excited to welcome Link Ventures as an important strategic investor as we change how the world hires creatives and how creatives find jobs."

Creatively – cofounded by alice+olivia CEO Stacey Bendet – launched amid the pandemic on May 5, 2020. The company, led by Gittrich and Chief Product Officer Joe Indriolo, also a co-founder, provides creatives across disciplines and industries with free, immersive tools to showcase their portfolios, network, and find jobs.

Link Ventures, based in the Kendall Square innovation hub in Cambridge, invests in disruptive technology companies that leverage big data. The venture capital firm will use its relationship with data science studio Cogo Labs to help Creatively drive revenue and lower customer acquisition costs. Creatively's strong, organic growth and differentiated product made the job platform a great fit for Link's portfolio. The venture capital firm's past investments include EverQuote, Jobcase, Healthcare.com, Vestmark, Motorefi, and Stilt.

"There previously really hasn't been a job platform built for creatives. Creatively solves that problem. This is the LinkedIn for the creative world," said Lisa Dolan, Managing Director of Link Ventures. "Today's job market needs Creatively. Businesses are looking to recruit creatives directly, but lack the network and resources to find qualified, diverse talent. Creatively changes that. Their growth in less than a year is very impressive, and we're excited to be a part of the team."

More than 650 companies use Creatively to recruit and hire talent, including HBO, Tom Ford, SKIMS, Nickelodeon, Ro, CNN, The Gap, and more. Creatives contribute $763 billion to the US economy, more than agriculture, transportation, or warehousing. 

Creatively has been nurturing a community that reflects the diversity across the full spectrum of the creative world. More than 60% of the creatives who have signed up via Creatively's iPhone app and website identify as BIPOC.

Creatively recently partnered with the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) to launch IMPACT, an initiative to help support Black and Brown creatives in fashion and beyond with the immediate goal to create job opportunities. Creatively also works with a variety of schools (Parsons, Pratt, FIT, NYU, Yale, Bronx Community College, City College of New York, Yale, SCAD, University of Cincinnati, Academy of Art University, among others) as well as nonprofits, such as Born This Way Foundation, to help creatives find work.

In addition, the startup's "Creatively Classes" series offers free monthly classes, giving them the skills and inspiration they need to find work. Instructors have included designer Zac Posen, choreographer Galen Hooks, New Yorker cartoonist Sarah Kempa, artist and designer KidSuper, creative director Rajni Jacques, and Westbrook Media creative director Kameron Mack.

Link Ventures' past investments include EverQuote, an online marketplace for insurance; Jobcase, a job marketplace and social platform, Vestmark, a technology provider for wealth management and investment, HealthCare.com, a health insurance marketplace; Motorefi, a car loan refinancing platform designed to make auto refinancing easy, personalized and cheaper than the alternatives, and Stilt, a modern bank for immigrants and underserved people.

For more information, please visit Creatively.

ABOUT CREATIVELY
Creatively is the job platform for creatives. The professional network is designed for creatives of all disciplines, ranging from fashion and art to media and entertainment to marketing and advertising and beyond. Creatively's mission is to champion creatives and help them find work—from full-time jobs to freelance opportunities to internships. The platform is an active space for tens of thousands of creatives to showcase their portfolios via free immersive tools, network, and apply for jobs. More than 650 companies use Creatively to recruit and hire talent. The company, co-founded by alice+olivia CEO Stacey Bendet, launched in May 2020.

SOURCE Creatively