Many tech companies are seizing market opportunities during the pandemic, and French startup Malt is not one to sit the battle out. As a startup that acts as a conduit between employers and freelance developers, designers, and technical skills workers, the company is growing fast with a huge demand for tech products and services in the new normal.
Just recently, Malt raised a new round of funding amounting to $97 million, bringing up its valuation to $489 million. The latest funding, reportedly led by Eurazeo and Goldman Sachs Growth Equity, will be used to expand the venture to reach a bigger market.
In fact, Malt CEO Vincent Huguet mentioned in an interview that the funding would be allotted to push the venture further across Europe. Malt’s headquarters are in Paris and currently has offices in Lyon, Munich, Berlin, and Madrid. The latest funding can enable the company to fulfill its plans of setting up shop in Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg), and later on, the United Kingdom and Italy. And, of course, plans to break into the U.S. market are still on.
Since its birth in 2013, Malt has managed to onboard 260,000 freelancers in its network, with 30,000 ventures using the platform to outsource. In fact, many known companies use the service for their development and design needs. These ventures include Lufthansa, Unilever, Bosch, L’Oréal, Allianz, and BlaBlaCar. Malt has also partnered with consultancies such as McKinsey for project outsourcing.
Growing Big, Scaling Fast
You’ll fully appreciate Malt’s $489 million valuation in 2021 even more if you take a look back at its funding history. In 2019, the company closed its $28.6 million funding round, bringing its valuation to $36.6 million. Simple math will tell you that the company was able to scale up over ten times its valuation in just two years. Idinvest Partners, which led the startup’s 2019 funding round, is happy about their investment, for sure.
Back in 2019, Malt only had around 100,000 freelancers and 15,000 employers on the platform. These numbers grew significantly larger since. And with the company’s traction, it’s not surprising that investors are excited to go onboard.
Despite its impressive scale-up, Malt’s current stature requires hard work and domain expertise. Before founding Malt, Huguet was an ecommerce startup founder. With his background, it’s not surprising that he knows how to ride the surf in the digital space. His previous experience also gave him the skills to spot opportunities and pivot if needed.
Couple that with the expertise of Matl’s CTO Hugo Lassiège. He’s the founder of the Lateral Thoughts tech community and a former freelance developer himself. That said, he surely knows his way around the industry.
Staying True to Its Values
Huguet and Lassiège set up the business in 2012. The goal was to address the challenge of finding freelancers to help companies with projects. To do that, they came up with a transparent business platform and a community of expert freelancers.
So, what goes into building a business that scales up to more than ten times its valuation in the span of two years?
Perhaps one of the things that make Malt different from other online job marketplaces is how it fosters its community. The company fosters an air of caring and sharing. According to their website, they believe in sharing – whether it’s networks, knowledge, or even a good meal. And in a business platform for independent workers, having that value is surely a good personal touch.
Despite building a unified community, the startup doesn’t curb its freelancers’ freedom. In fact, it encourages its community to work their way and take smart risks. As a result, the company addresses challenges, learns, and aims to do better.
Malt is also big on ambition. In fact, their goal is to have a big, positive impact on their industry. But it’s not all work and no play for these people. In fact, the company website says joy is their secret sauce. They said joy is a habit that they’re addicted to, “a bit like karaoke.” That, in a way, gives everyone in the company a can-do attitude. And with optimism baked into the startup’s core, it’s not hard to bring it into every project.
