Startups

The Whether to Receive $200,000

It Is the Helix Fund's Largest Single Investment Ever

The Whether, powered by St. Louis-based tech startup Better Weekdays, will receive a $200,000 investment from the Helix Fund.  It is the single largest investment to one company from the fund.  The Whether’s platform helps employers more easily attract, engage and hire job seekers by keeping relevant opportunities on the applicant’s radar.

“It’s critical to invest in innovative startups in the St. Louis region to ensure they get the support they need to grow and prosper in our region,” St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger said.  “I’m proud St. Louis County is able to back Better Weekdays, a cutting-edge tech company that will strengthen our workforce development.”

At the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership’s Annual Meeting on June 1, Better Weekdays Founder & CEO Chris Motley showcased the online platform, which allows job-seekers and hiring managers to interact in fundamentally new ways.

The Whether provides ideal conditions for job-seekers to explore career opportunities stress-free, and to interact with career services in a whole new way.  With The Whether, job-seekers can weigh both company culture and professional compatibility.  As a result, companies receive real-time feedback on how their brand is trending among potential hires.

“The Whether is a model for how we rethink workforce development,” St. Louis Economic Development Partnership CEO Sheila Sweeney said.  “Already St. Louis businesses are seeing the positive difference it can make for their organizations.  We’re thrilled to not only invest in the technology, but also adopt it.”

Edward Jones, BKD, Express Scripts and Wells Fargo have already signed on as clients.  Thanks to the Helix Fund investment, Motley announced The Whether will offer a free tier of service for a limited time to St. Louis-region businesses.

“The Whether provides visibility to my blind spots when engaging with candidates,” Edward Jones Senior Recruiter Andrew Toussaint said.  “The software helps me nurture candidates who are interacting with my content.  Ultimately, our goal is to leverage the Whether by utilizing its data to move candidates through our recruiting process in a more personalized fashion.”

Better Weekdays has partnered with regional colleges and universities to deliver a better career discovery experience to graduates with The Whether.  Potential hires will have a newsfeed with curated content of St. Louis companies of all sizes and educational opportunities, and each will have a mentor.  Companies are able to nurture relationships with prospective hires by providing them with content about their corporate culture, “a day in the life” examples or an executive profile before they even apply.

Employee recruitment methods have largely remained static, with career fairs and website postings continuing to be the most popular.  Companies often bemoan workforce recruitment as a pain point and consider current methods ineffective — despite spending $8 billion on them annually.

“We are solving a common and widespread social problem in workforce development,” Motley added.  “And we’re making it a more effective and enjoyable process at the same time for both job-seekers and recruiters throughout the country.”

The announcement follows The Whether being announced winner of the 2017 Launch startup competition at SXSWedu.  The Whether was selected out of 10 finalists.  Locally, Better Weekdays is a portfolio company for Capital Innovators and Arch Grants.

For more, visit BetterWeekdays.com or TheWhether.com.