Pruffi

Pruffi is the Russian agency of Internet recruiting specializing in personnel recruitment for the Russian Internet companies. Pruffi states that it looks for and finds stars of Runet.

Business model

For 2014 the agency closes vacancies using crowdsourcing in social networks, i.e. it is recruiting "according to recommendations". The council which crowned employment of the candidate is rewarded. Having the "correct" acquaintances, it is possible to earn from it about 30 thousand rubles. To the agency such scheme is profitable. First, so the cheapest way if to compare to the traditional agencies: it is not necessary to keep big staff of hanter, to rent for them the premises, to pay for the Internet; secondly, the risk decreases that the recruiter will leave to open the case, having taken the database on professionals.

The employer, he is a customer, pays Pruffi only for a position which managed to be closed using the agency. From this money of Pruffi gives "remuneration" to the one who brought this professional, having just clicked "Recommend" near information on vacancies and having selected the necessary name from the offered list of friends. The employed candidate does not pay anything. Any new city or the country are started on this model for half a year.

Initial task of the agency — to find vacancies and authoritative people in the professional environment.

"You find key figures, leaders of opinions. So conditionally 15 people in IT, 15 people in media. You suggest them to come on the platform, to begin to recommend and place vacancies. After they begin to create this circle, around it new and new 'layers' are formed".

Each social network has features. For example, in Facebook it is possible to find dear top manager, in VKontakte — perspective youth (programmers, designers). In Odnoklassniki it is worth catching accountants, lawyers, financial directors — professionals "for forty".

As for vacancies, Pruffi states them as "key".

"Key — it is not obligatory tops. Conditionally speaking, the producer is not a top vacancy, but for media it is a key vacancy. And to us it is very important that to us only key vacancies got. Because only then it is interesting to people to read and respond us. And simple vacancies, like fifty vacancies of cleaners a day — it is uninteresting. So we will never be such large-scale 'farm'. Across Moscow we undertake vacancies from hundred thousand rubles" — Alyona Vladimirskaya explains the strategy of the agency. At the same time on the website Pruffi positions with indication of "salary by agreement" prevail, but come across also with a salary of 30 thousand rubles a month. Earnings of Pruffi correlate with payments employed on the new place: "It is normal from one to two monthly salaries candidate plus taxes".

The agency also using users moves ahead. The gossip hotline works without noises though when people share interesting vacancies on the pages in social networks, there are certain difficulties.

"Frankly speaking, now promotion and dissemination of information — uncontrollable process. Often happens that in comments on a vacancy people can get acquainted and 'skhantit' someone, it seems: 'Oh, and you are a marketing specialist. I just need the marketing specialist. Pm'" — Alyona tells about potential profit which passes by the budget.

Performance Indicators

For 2014, the average "check" attracting candidates — from 100 thousand rubles of a monthly salary; average "check" from the employer customer, according to Vladimir — 400 thousand rubles. For incomplete four years of work the agency employs about three thousand people.

In staff of Pruffi of 16 people: several specialists on processing of recommendations, moderators, programmers, accountants. Their average income — about 80 thousand rubles. FOT — about 1.4 million rubles a month. About 15% of costs, or 400 thousand rubles, leave on marketing. A considerable part of the budget is spent for development and maintenance of the platform.

Operationally the agency is profitable. To support this level, according to Alyona Vladimirskaya, it is enough to earn 70 thousand dollars, or 2.5 million rubles a month — it is provided by about 20 closed vacancies with average "check" from 125 thousand rubles. In plans of Pruffi — the entry into the new markets requiring considerable investments.

As for dynamics of clients, in a month five-ten employers come, 70% of all customers of Pruffi, according to the agency, pass into discharge of constants.

History

2010: Vladimir leaves Mail.ru and founds Pruffi

In 2010 Alyona Vladimirskaya began the startup which received the name Pruffi there is an agency of Internet recruiting specializing in selection of the best personnel for the Russian Internet companies.

"I wanted not just to try Hunting, and to make some platform in social networks. Now I will not even remember how this idea was born. Precisely it was not from the 'Once Dreamed Me as …' series. Having worked in Hunting several years, I gradually began to understand that in this case there are not enough search sources, and exclusive. Began to think what can be made. At the same time in Mail.ru there was only an Odnoklassniki network, at the same time in Russia sharply gained popularity of Facebook. We very long spoke with Dima Grishin, and he told: 'You cannot, working in Mail.ru, to develop other social grid'. Therefore I left, and left in anywhere. You see, I had a good office in Mail.ru, good salary, generally, all all … I left with one girl. Just like that, to some small room. I had, of course, a money earned during operating time in Mail.ru, them I and put" — Alyona remembers.

Investments from Basov, development of the platform

100 thousand dollars were farther from the angel investor Alexey Basov^[1].

"Money went for development of the first version of the platform - it is the application for work in all social networks plus the application for mobile phones. Plus, respectively, the general admin panel, web forms in which HR place vacancies. We rewrote the platform after in the 2012th our business included Almaz Capital Partners. The fund estimated all our business at four million dollars, but entered with very small minority share. The amount of investments about 450 thousand dollars" — lists Vladimir the defined points of development of Pruffi. For September, 2014 the application works at all platforms and in popular social network Facebook, VKontakte, Odnoklassniki, LinkedIn, Twitter.

First in Pruffi looked for key experts in the field of IT, media, construction, architecture, education were added then.

With IT specialists and creative people with whose "sales" business began everything is clear: they are flexible, curious, sociable, have a wide range of acquaintances, use possibilities of the Internet more widely, than, for example, accountants — what is necessary for the project Vladimir. And here is how to leave to other spheres, it was unclear.

"We were helped first of all by change of an economic situation. When demand begins to sink, business looks for new exit points, new marketing channels. The Internet and how here to look for people becomes a new point for this purpose, employers do not understand. They need IT specialists, online marketing specialists and other are necessary. Take, for example, developers. Their eychara cannot estimate competence and a task of these people. And not because personnel officers bad. But because twenty years selected good heads of construction. The same in large retail, in insurance companies, in banks which leave in online now. There is a need for specialists from education, health care. And further the simple loyalty system begins to work. The person placed with us the IT specialist's vacancy, it was closed. He understands that a system works. And as initially he pays nothing, payment goes only upon hiring, further it begins to shower here and other vacancies".

Of course, competitors tried to repeat success of Pruffi. However its clones left the market also quietly, as well as arose. First of all because had no authority necessary for set and maintenance of base of good vacancies, skills of instant public relations. Pruffi aims to do by news occasions any resonant events like change of journalistic structure of the online newspaper Lenta.ru (the agency promised them to employ) or departure from the job of the CEO of "Yandex" of his co-founder Arkadiya Volozha (Pruffi announced intention "skhantit" it). And of course, competitors had not enough art of a self-praise of the foundress of Pruffi Alyona Vladimirskaya.

Notes