A New Startup With A Bold Vision!
In the past few years, the Balkans region has become known as the low-cost skilled labor workforce hub, especially when it comes to the tech workforce. Hundreds of companies of all sizes either opened up their offices across the Balkans or started outsourcing labor. North Macedonia, in particular, had some very attractive terms for foreign companies such as no or very low taxes for foreign companies, various subsidies etc. Many talented people became part of these companies, and many moved out causing "brain-drain" which is one of the key issues of the region.
The world is changed forever. Digital nomads working each month in different countries even continents, talents looking for purpose changing jobs quickly, HR people struggling to find, hire and keep talents.
Laika is a new company in the Balkans that strives to make a difference and solve the struggles for both talents and employers. Their solution--а hassle-free smart platform that matches tech talents with companies based on their skills, preferences and competencies.
"We've all been there. We have all searched for talents for months, going over hundreds of applications, publishing various ads across platforms, hunting and trying to outbid the current salary of the person we believe is a match. Our solution solves this and gives us more of what we need the most-time! Laika is out to fix the tech job search problem in the Balkans.", Alexandra explains.
Laika’s CEO Aleksandra Janakievska gathered a team inspired by the goal to transform the Balkans. After having spent 2 successful years at Brainster (a non-formal education provider based in North Macedonia) as a CMO, marketing instructor and a career coach for tech students, she decided to extend her mission to transform and develop the tech job market.
"There are so many critically important problems out there to be solved, and this is probably not the most important one. But when the problem finds you, it becomes your mission. And we know that no problem is hard enough if you persist. We are a team of 12 developers, serial entrepreneurs, geeky marketers, kick-ass designers and impact enthusiasts from the Balkans. We are launching this platform in North Macedonia, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Croatia very soon, to change the old ways tech people find jobs. With Laika, tech talents get job applications from Balkan companies while staying anonymous. It’s time companies stop offering irrelevant opportunities on LinkedIn.", she adds.
So, how does Laika work?
"All Tech professionals use it for free-even if they are not looking for a new job at the moment. Talents are always anonymous until they see who is willing to hire them and what are they willing to pay-under their own terms. They type in what they are good at and set their criteria for their next employment. They choose preferred salary, job position, type of employment, technologies, team and location somewhere in the Balkans or remote. They can apply to open job positions or wait for companies to reach out to them. They can explore all the relevant information about the company before they make their decision to join."
"Software engineers, designers, marketers, data scientists and other tech talents are our pride and joy-we will always work towards better opportunities for them. Together, we will make work better, because life’s too short not to love your job."
"On Laika, companies have everything they need to craft an extraordinary talent experience. They can source tech talent from four countries by telling a more authentic employer story. They can show their team, culture, offices, technologies, and projects to explain why are they the best place to work at. Companies will learn how to attract new and retain current employees, as well as optimize every step of the recruitment funnel. We want companies to have more time to focus on current employees."
There are currently 30 companies that are testing the product, and only 100 companies will be picked to join in the early stage.
They haven't raised any money yet and they say they won't do so, at least in the early stage in order to remain flexible to meet the talents and companies expectations.
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