We all know how tough it is to get an internship or a job with decent pay as a graduate.
Undoubtedly, this generation enjoys the luxury of multiple social platforms which were unknown to the graduates of a decade and a half ago.
It used to be next to impossible to find a good job if one didn’t attend a top-tier college. Intern Avenue created Expressways in this direction.
Intern Avenue was one of the first portals in the UK to offer comprehensive solutions to job seekers as well as employers for finding the match for them. To be clearer to the millennials, it was the Tinder of the job industry.
Helping people to find jobs is a noble deed but Dragons breathe cash fire and are only interested in numbers. Let’s find out what unfolded in the Den!
Index:
Intern Avenue at a Glance:
| Idea | Automated online employment exchange |
| Founders | Modupeola “Dupsy” Abiola |
| Asked For | £100,000 For 10% |
| Accepted Deal | £100,000 For 30% |
| Dragons | Peter Jones |
| Business status | Acquired and defunct |
| Episode No. | Season 10, Episode 5 |
What is Intern Avenue?
Intern Avenue was a multi-award-winning tech company named ‘Best Recruitment and Jobs Start-up in Europe’ at the 2013 Techcrunch/Web Summit Europa Awards.
Its technology automated the candidate sourcing and selection process using unique algorithms. It claimed to reduce the time and expenses of hiring high-quality entry-level talent by up to 90%.
They claimed to achieve this by leveraging data, intensive research, and the latest technology in an innovative way to connect employers to high-quality and motivated emerging talent who are best suited to their needs.
Intern Avenue matched college undergraduates/graduates searching for paid internships with employers by using a data-based scoring system. The company built a predictive profiling mechanism that helped match the most suitable candidates with the right employers.
In Dec 2014, around 2,000 employers and 40,000 intern applicants registered with the service in the UK. Intern Avenue secured a GBP 250,000 grant from the Technology Strategy Board of the UK Government
Who is the Founder of Intern Avenue?
founded Intern Avenue in 2012. She is the daughter of Chief M.K.O. Abiola, a titleholder within the Nigerian chieftaincy system, and Dele Abiola, one of his wives. Her father was a famous and successful Nigerian business tycoon and philanthropist.
Dupsy attended South Hampstead High School for secondary school and then went on to read law at New College, Oxford. She was an elected JCR committee member, an active public speaker, and a legal debater.
After university, Dupsy was awarded a Lord Denning Scholarship and Eastham Scholarship by the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn and began her career at the Bar. She attended the Inns of Court School of Law and was called to the bar in 2006.
Dupsy moved into Private Practice as an employed barrister after completing her pupillage at 22 Old Buildings. She worked on several complex and high-profile cases, including involvement in the Wembley litigation.
In January 2018, she was appointed as the Global Innovation Chief at the International Airlines Group. She currently serves as the VP Chief of Staff at the Monzo Bank in London.
Did Intern Avenue get a deal on Dragon’s Den?
Dupsy appeared to defend her case in the Dragons’ court in a confident manner with an everlasting smile on her face. Her personality impressed the Dragons but her business model was not convincing enough. Utter disbelief in Intern Avenue’s business model flew three Dragons out.
However, Peter Jones had different ideas and was optimistic about the company’s future. He made an offer of £100,000 for a 40% stake in the business. This offer was matched by Hillary Devey purely because she was charmed by the young businesswoman’s persona.
Dupsy negotiated with the Dragons and came to terms with Peter by conceding a 30% stake in her business for £100,000.
What happened to Intern Avenue after Dragon’s Den?
Intern Avenue witnessed a sharp growth in traffic due to the Dragons’ Den effect.
The company made several tie-ups in the industry that boosted its revenue by a huge amount. It also partnered with several firms most notable of which was the British telecom giant, Vodafone.
With Vodafone as a distribution platform, they developed a unique and disruptive mobile solution. The partnership was announced at the Vodafone Institute’s Digitising Europe event in Berlin, which featured a keynote speech from the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel.
With Intern Avenue, the key point of differentiation from other market players (which were mainly advertising or agency-based talent solutions) was that they were focused on automation and building a predictive profiling mechanism that helped match the most suitable candidates with the right employers. This was data science applied to recruitment.
In addition, the start-up raised a small funding round on Seedrs. It also secured a £250,000 UK government grant from the Technology Strategy Board. The company won Best Recruitment start up at The Europas Awards.
Intern Avenue was acquired by Bright Network in 2017 for an undisclosed amount. The company’s assets and products were merged with those of its parent and it seized operating ever since.
Product Details:
- It was an automated online employment exchange.
- It was a first mover in its segment.
- It heavily relied on data science.
- It offered cost-effective solutions to employers.
- Its services were free to use for job-seekers.
Competitors of Intern Avenue:
Intern Avenue was not the first employment service to hit the internet. Multiple companies existed that provided this service but they were mainly advertising or agency-based talent solutions. Intern Avenue on the other hand employed data science and algorithm-based methods which put it way ahead of its time.
Some competitors of Intern Avenue were:
- Enternships (now Learnerbly)
- JobTeaser
- Handshake
What is the Net Worth of Intern Avenue?
Dupsy presented the Dragons with a Million Pound valuation of her company which quickly roasted away into £330,000. Dupsy and Peter agreed on this value.
Intern Avenue raised a seed round after (in 2014) that in which a whopping 165 people invested at a pre-money valuation of £2.7 million.
Intern Avenue was acquired by Bright Network in 2017 privately. The financial data of the company was sealed after that.
Is Intern Avenue still in Business?
No, Intern Avenue was defunct post its acquisition by Bright Network. The company was a pioneer in its segment and turned out to be a success story for the job-seekers, employers, and equity partners as well.
Intern Avenue had a happy ending and all the people involved in it turned out to be in a much better place than they were in before.
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What is Intern Avenue?
Intern Avenue was a tech company that functioned as an online employment exchange and employed automation, data science, and a predictive profiling mechanism which gave it an upper hand over its competitors.
What's the net worth of Intern Avenue?
Intern Avenue raised a seed round after (in 2014) that in which a whopping 165 people invested at a pre-money valuation of £2.7 million. It was acquired by Bright Network in 2017 privately and the financial data of the company was sealed after that.
