University partner Crowdfunder has rocketed to success since forming in 2012 – and is now looking to fill 20 new job roles.
The Newquay-based company, an online platform that allows people to raise money and awareness for their projects, has already employed 30 per cent of its total staff from Plymouth University’s network of students and graduates. Moving forward, it is looking for a student ambassador from Plymouth to spread the word about its pioneering work, as well as recruiting developers and officers in roles ranging from marketing to finance.
For a full list of available jobs, see the Crowdfunder website.
The recruitment drive, which will see the company double its team over the course of the year, comes thanks to a £1.3 million fund raise on Crowdcube in 2015.
Since it was founded by a number of partners including Plymouth University, the digital fundraising platform has gone on to help thousands of people promote and successfully fund their projects.
Within the University alone it has helped to fund initiatives ranging from local sports competitions to research projects in Africa, and as a whole in 2015 it was estimated to have contributed $5.4 billion to the global economy.
Heather Forster, Crowdfunder in Residence at Plymouth University, explained why Crowdfunder is looking to expand.
“The potential of crowdfunding to change the world is just extraordinary,” she said. “The critical issue is that it allows ordinary people at grass roots level who have the passion, drive and energy to make things happen raise the funds they need to implement innovative and creative ideas. Plymouth University has the vision to support this brilliant company and has proven that high level digital jobs can be made available in the South West so that our graduates can stay in Devon and Cornwall and we don't witness a brain drain to the commercial centres.”
Shirley Walker, Head of Careers and Employability at the University, said:
“Over 26,000 students study with Plymouth, making us the largest university in the South West, and we have students studying in courses ranging from biology to business and English to economics. It’s fantastic that Crowdfunder has expanded in this way, and, as both undergraduates and postgraduates here at Plymouth have a very diverse range of skills, the opportunities will certainly appeal to a lot of our very talented students.”
Shaune Oosthuizen, a third year digital art and technology student, took a year-long internship as a web producer at Crowdfunder and said of his experience:
“Without doubt I grew in confidence, learnt how to interact with people from a professional stand point and it deepened my knowledge of how to deal with customers and customer-facing situations. My technical capability grew beyond measure because I was working on real-life projects that had life-changing implications for people. Crowdfunder has really taken off as a way for people to raise money for a huge variety of exciting projects, and I was so pleased to be able to help some of those people turn their ideas into reality.”