This start-up wants to solve the craftsman problem - with an app and translations

Jonas Stamm is just getting the job portal Crafthunt off the ground. It is not yet generating sales, but there are already thousands of registrations from craftsmen willing to change jobs. What's interesting is where they come from.

Jonas Stamm is so North German that you can't help but hear it. Joa, I'll tell you how it all started," he says, and for a moment it sounds like a harbor, a cutter, the sound of the sea. Yet the new start-up that Stamm, the founder of the series, is currently setting up has nothing at all to do with the freedom of the oceans, but sounds more like a forest, a weapon and a stalk. Crafthunft is the name of the app that the founder from Schleswig-Holstein is currently setting up, and which is intended to connect unhappy craftsmen with new companies - and preferably in such a way that the current boss doesn't find out about it.

The start-up has collected more than 8,000 registrations in just a few months. Above all, carpenters, painters, bricklayers and road workers have downloaded the app, filled out a questionnaire and are actively looking for a new employer. Companies then see that, for example, a master bricklayer between 25 and 35 years of age near Hamburg with particularly extensive experience in compacting concrete is looking for a job, and can write to him directly. In this way, the company's own boss should not hear about the job applications, unlike with a classic job portal.

Thousands of craftsmen are missing throughout Germany

The start-up's solution addresses a problem that has been growing in recent years: the shortage of skilled workers. The German economy is now so hard hit that almost every industry is desperately looking for talented or untalented employees. It is clear that companies are no longer in the driver's seat. In the case of craftsmen, the problem is already evident in the fact that there is seldom one on hand for relocations, renovations or conversions. A study by the Kompetenzzentrum Fachkräftesicherung, or Kofa for short, shows that there was already a shortage of around 65,000 craftsmen in 2020, and last year there were even almost 90,000.

"We want to be the big place where all craftsmen meet".

Jonas Stamm on Crafthunt's vision.

Of all things, Crafthunt could contribute to this number dropping with its app. Because what is particularly exciting about the first 8,000 registrations is where they came from: Just one-third of the crafters come from Germany, with the rest spread across Europe. According to founder Stamm, many from Eastern Europe in particular have registered on the app and are now looking for new employers. "We totally see a lot of craftsmen who are now in Poland but have indicated Berlin, for example, as their desired location," Stamm says. To communicate this, Crafthunt also wants to build a forum where artisans from all over Europe can exchange ideas regardless of job changes, for example, on how to start their own business in the U.K. or what is an appropriate wage for a certain job. "We want to be the big place where all crafters meet," Stamm says.

Crafthunt is looking for investor

That's still up in the air, though. So far, the numbers on the website of placements are modest, as Stamm also admits when asked. 188 conversations would have started the more than 8,000 craftsmen there with the just 300 companies that have made it into the app so far. "For the fact that we have not yet advertised to companies and are not yet marketing the app, the numbers are good," Stamm says. He can't yet say how many of the 188 conversations have turned into contracts, because the startup still lacks the tracking for that - and in a way, the business model depends on that.

Because they want to earn money one day by having companies and employees conclude and sign the contract directly via the app. To do this, Stamm also wants to translate and simplify the contracts due to the high number of foreign applicants, so that the craftsmen know what they are signing there. Crafthunt wants to take a commission for this service. It is not yet clear how high the commission will be, but it will probably be based on a percentage of the wages paid in the future, Stamm says.

"We are currently holding many talks during the week. Let's see who makes the best offer."

Jonas Stamm on the search for investors

For the commission business to be profitable, Stamm is aware that the company must grow. Still this year it wants to get 14,000 craftsmen on the side, in the coming year then 40,000 and also more enterprises inspire. Because a job portal without jobs, that does not go simply. 150,000 euro monthly conversion are aimed for coming yearly then, which would be on the year computed nearly two million euro. Meanwhile, a VC is supposed to help the growth. Crafthunt is already in talks, but nothing has been decided yet, says Stamm. "We are currently holding many talks a week. Let's see who makes the best offer."