This jobs marketplace from Malaysia is already profitable and growing fast

Folks familiar with the startup scene in Southeast Asia might remember jobs marketplace TribeHired. They burst onto the scene in 2013 as part of Singapore startup accelerator JFDI’s first batch, and went on to raise a seed round that year.

Three years on, the fruits of their labors started to show. They became profitable in their home country of Malaysia in 2017. The company as a whole has been net profit positive since January this year. Today, the company announced that it has raised US$437,000 in funding from angel investment group AngelCentral.

This investment stands out: Startup investors typically back companies that are growing fast but vastly unprofitable – the result of expanding aggressively or lacking sound unit economics. Also, AngelCentral is founded by Lim Dershing, who started and sold successful jobs portal JobsCentral.

TribeHired has made over US$1 million so far this year, which is double of 2017. It’s seeing traction on its six-months-old marketplace for freelancers (the company primarily caters to full-timers), and it’s already contributing to a quarter of the revenue.

Ajay Sangwan, TribeHired’s co-founder and COO, tells Tech in Asia that the company is aiming to hit US$1.5 million to US$2 million in revenue next year by riding on the growth of the freelance marketplace.

TribeHired is differentiating itself by offering an experience that’s more curated than a free-for-all jobs marketplace, but less expensive than engaging a recruiter. The startup curates top talent that employers can view and make offers to.

The freelance marketplace runs on the same premise. It identifies the top five percent of tech developers who are open to ad hoc work and offers them up to potential clients.

TribeHired is positioning itself as a one-stop shop for talent. It’s expanding into non-technology jobs like marketing, sales, and finance.