Profesia Case Study From scratch to Slovakia's top job hub
Profesia is an online portal with job advertisements. It was the first in Slovakia to offer job market advertising through the internet. ui42 is responsible for the creation and successful launch of the portal. Over time, foreign investors also became involved in the project. However, what kept Profesia afloat in its early days was the founders' belief in its usefulness and benefits for users. Today, the online portal www.profesia.sk is a leader in the Slovak job market.
Key milestones of cooperation
1997 - We launch the first Slovak online job portal.
The initial idea for an advertising internet portal arose in the minds of ui42 founders Robert Mráz, Martin Krupa, and Dalibor Jakuš. The three IT professionals joined forces with graphic design students, and the Profesia project took shape. The job portal responded to the foreign trend of shifting print advertisements into an online format. While this form of advertising gained trust among advertisers and job seekers in our market, the founders experimented with various forms of advertising and tools such as charging for ads. However, these ideas did not meet with significant success.
2000 - SEAF funding for the project.
At a networking event for entrepreneurs with digital projects and potential investors - the global First Tuesday - Profesia not only received funding but also gained the trust of a foreign investor. The Small Enterprise Assistance Funds (SEAF), a US government fund supporting entrepreneurship, acquired more than half of the company's shares, providing the project with financial resources for further advancement.
Paradoxically, Profesia itself gained popularity during that period, and the funds primarily contributed to expanding the team and ultimately achieving the company's independence. A key milestone was the publication of Profesia's job newspaper for those who did not yet have access to the internet. The portal gained a competitive advantage through its user-friendly search functionality. By using filters, it generated relevant offers for users based on their interests.
2005 - Sale of the company to the British publisher DMG.
The trend of online job advertising was gaining momentum in the market. Foreign companies made efforts to acquire local online portals, recognizing their potential. In 2005, the British company Daily Mail, part of the DMG publishing group, became the majority owner of Profesia.
2012 - Profesia becomes owned by the
Finnish company Alma Media. The last change in ownership occurred in 2012 when the Finnish company Alma Media entered the scene. The attractive Profesia online job portal maintained its leading position in Slovakia, and the company itself represented a profitable investment in terms of cash flow, thanks to its attractive profit margin.
Specifications of the Profesia
- the first online job advertising portal in Slovakia
- After the start, a long period of losses.
- more important than investment was the belief in the project's potential
- currently still the most used online job portal
The main services we provided to the client
UX design
Web development
Marketing
Project result
www.profesia.sk is the most popular job portal featuring job offers from employers in various fields in Slovakia. The term "profesia" is the Slovak equivalent for an online job market. However, without the trust and perseverance of its founders, the project would likely have ended in failure. Foreign investments supported its development, and today the Profesia project from our workshop is considered a significant milestone, demonstrating that at ui42, we constantly bring innovations for the benefit of users.
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Boris Henezi
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