OurCrowd, a leading global online investment platform for early-stage firms, has published the High Tech Jobs Index Q1 2021. According to the report, job openings at OurCrowd portfolio companies have risen by 50% year over year for Q1 2021. OurCrowd states that portfolio companies are seeking approximately 1000 positions with software engineers and biz-dev openings in high demand.
According to the report, OurCrowd companies have added an average of 15 new job vacancies each day during Q1 2021, up from 14 per day during Q4 2020, or 13 per day during Q3, and 10 per day during Q2. Of course, the global COVID-19 health crisis emerged in Q1 202o with widespread closures occurring in Q2 202o.
OurCrowd states that demand for employees increased during Q1 2021 across most job titles but grew fastest for software engineers and business development executives, positions that amounted to more than 35% of all jobs posted.
Pertaining to the virtual work environment or the WFH movement, OurCrowd says that only 21% of companies expect employees to return to the office full time within six months and 79% expect staff to mix home and office working. Additionally, 15% of companies surveyed have not yet re-opened their office. and 22% say their staff have returned to full-time work at the office, while 63% say employees continue in a hybrid work environment.
Orr Danon, CEO of Hailo, states that while WFH tech has improved, employees are happy to get back to the office and now take advantage of a hybrid work model.
“We were an all-remote team before the pandemic and I have found that our access to talent has improved as way more people are open to all-remote roles now,” states Jonathan Aizen, CEO of Amitree. “We also feel uniquely powerful based on our intentional approach to building an all-remote team and our permanent dedication to being one.”
While job openings remain strong OurCrowd notes that the majority of companies (57%) say they would pursue a “cautious” growth plan in 2021. This compares to 52% in Q4 2020. The minority who said they would be hiring more aggressively shrank from 48% to 43%.
OurCrowd shares that the portfolio companies with the most job openings include:
- BioCatch: Behavioral biometrics company providing fraud prevention solutions to financial services.
- Bizzabo: Control center for event planning and attendee experience that consolidates logistical, promotional, and social tools.
- Freightos: Software-as-a-Service cloud solution for automating pricing and sales in the trillion-dollar freight (cargo) industry.
Venture funding, as well as online capital formation, has remained robust following an initial decline when COVID hammered all markets. Early stage firms and startups tend to be oversized net job creators, as well as creators of wealth. Indications that early-stage firms remain strong and in need of talent are a positive indicator for the overall economy.