The next LinkedIn? British scale up, THE DOTS is a network built around the future workforce of ‘NO COLLAR’ professionals
Launched in 2014 by Pip Jamieson, The Dots is a British scale up designed around the networking needs of ‘No Collar’ professionals – creators, creatives, freelancers, entrepreneurs and millennials. Pip founded The Dots on a houseboat called Horace, moored on the Regents Canal.
With 80 million No Collar professionals globally, costing an estimated £11 billion annually to recruit, The Dots are meeting their networking needs, which are currently underserved by incumbents like Linkedin. The Dots has a quarter of a million members and current clients include Google, Burberry, Sony Pictures, Viacom, M&C Saatchi, Warner Music, Tate, Discovery Networks and VICE amongst others. Pretty impressive stuff!
The Dots facilitates networking by collecting data on full teams that create projects, making their network high-trust as members have actually worked with a connected member. Collecting this high-trust data will enable machine learning to make sophisticated personalised recommendations to clients and in the longer-term will enable full team hires, not just individuals.
“Everyone thinks LinkedIn is insurmountable, but that’s exactly why I believe it’s ripe for disruption” Pip Jamieson told YCB. “LinkedIn was built around the networking needs of a traditional workforce of ‘White Collar’ professionals. However there is a new professional class emerging, called ‘No Collar’ professionals who have different networking preferences and need an alternative solution that reflects their behavioural and career preferences.”
With just 2.2% of all global venture capital going to female founders in 2016, The Dots’ Founder Pip Jamieson beat the odds in her recent £4m investment round by sticking with her seed investors Hambro Perks, The Garage Soho & Angel Academy – the female angel group who only invest in companies with female founders – all of which followed on from previous rounds. New investors include Force Over Mass & Numis Securities. The Dots originally intended to raise £3m, but extended the round to £4m due to investor interest. The investment will be used to consolidate The Dots’ position as a British challenger to LinkedIn ahead of international expansion.
Being a sole female technology founder, Pip has put diversity at its core, 61% female of The Dots community is female, 31% BAME & 16% LGBT +.
“I believe that by helping the companies we work with build diverse teams, unconscious bias will begin to fade. It won’t happen overnight, but I won’t rest until it does.” Pip said.
