Debut, the app that is revolutionising the student recruitment market, has today announced the closing of a £1.7m round of seed funding, taking the total capital raised to over £2.2m in the last 18 months. The London start-up, founded by Charlie Taylor, one of the Forbes 30 Under 30 In Technology, has seen massive growth in its first year. It now works with 40 of the Times Top 100 Graduate Employers as it continues to transform the way students connect with future employers.
Debut currently works with organisations such as EY, Microsoft, Barclays, Capgemini, Rolls-Royce, L'Oréal UK & Ireland and General Electric. The native careers app allows students to learn about and connect with brands in an interactive and simple way via mobile. Through the use of data and analytics, companies like Vodafone have been able to reach and hire candidates, who wouldn’t have thought to apply otherwise. The IT Services Provider, FDM, is currently averaging a hire a week through the app. Debut will use this funding to expand the number of blue-chip companies available on the platform and to increase student access to high growth businesses with emerging graduate offerings.
Of the tens of thousands of students who use the app, an impressive 85% are actively engaging each month with top employers. Thanks to features like “A day in the life”, students can learn about roles and opportunities through a student lens. Companies can also target prospective candidates via a “Talent Spot”, inviting them to interviews or even fast-tracking them to assessment centres. Since it launched a year ago, Debut has sent more than 500,000 Talent Spots to candidates for exclusive career opportunities.
The app also offers mobile games designed in collaboration with employers to test particular skills and abilities in candidates or to provide them with insight into the company. During individual sessions, students spend up to two hours playing in-app games. Debut has exciting plans to further develop these features, recognising the importance of psychometric testing in evaluating a potential candidate’s suitability.
Charles Taylor, CEO & Founder of Debut, commented: “We are very proud to support students in such a critical moment in their lives. Students can often face barriers when it comes to accessing career opportunities - but Debut is breaking these down as all they require is a phone and our free app.
“We are thrilled to have such experienced investors onboard and have ambitious plans to develop the product, expand the team and grow both our user base and client roster. ‘
Dan Richards, Recruiting Leader at EY commented: “Debut is great for giving us access to an active student market we couldn’t reach in a mobile centric way before. We know mobiles are ubiquitous for students, so being able to reach them in a way that is familiar and convenient for them, is not only key to driving quality, but also engagement and our brand profile too.
“We are really impressed with Debut. In just a few months we have made 20 hires, with a further 127 candidates in our selection process. We’ve reached thousands of students using the app across the UK, from a really diverse mix of backgrounds and universities, with a breadth of strengths.”
This latest funding was sourced from a combination of venture capital firms and Angel investors. These included LocalGlobe, London's leading seed-focused VC that has backed some of the UK’s biggest success stories, like Zoopla, Graze and TransferWise. Further funding came from Supercell and Playfish backer Initial Capital, Deliveroo investor Entree Capital, and Paul Forster – former CEO & co-founder of Indeed.
Ophelia Brown, General Partner of LocalGlobe, commented: “Debut significantly expands the range and number of opportunities available to students during and after their university career. There is no other platform that gives so much help to students in understanding and finding the perfect role for them. For recruiters, Debut gives unprecedented access to students who previously they have not been able to access via traditional recruitment methods. We’re very excited to be Debut’s partner on their powerful mission.”