The world of recruitment is changing, and traditional job search platforms are not always effective. Companies need verified candidates, and job seekers need reliable employers.
It was with this idea that we were approached by Happ Jobs, a startup that wanted to enter the US market with an innovative job search platform with a “pay-per-result” model. However, the idea is only the beginning.
Objective:
📌 Become fully self-sufficient within the first year.
📌 Reach break-even within 6 months.
📌 Operate with a marketing budget of $30,000-40,000 per month, and with investments — up to $90,000.
Happ Jobs needed a marketing strategy to:
— soberly assess the market to find answers on how to achieve their ambitious goals;
— understand which hypotheses are worth testing, given the realities of this market;
— the experience of other companies: how they work, what promotion tools they use, what advertising budgets they operate with.
We are often approached by clients with ideas who don’t know whether to invest. Startup founders are confident that their ideas are unique, but our research often reveals similar or closed projects. This helps clients reconsider their development and investment plans.
| How much time did the development of the strategy take? | 140 hours |
| Who was part of the marketing strategy development team? | Head of Marketing Team, Head of Content Team, Project Manager, Operational Marketer, Content Marketer, SMM Marketer, Head of PPC Department, Facebook PPC Specialist. |
| How was the result of the work implemented? | Independent implementation by the client-side team |
From idea to market insight
Happ Jobs is a modern platform for job search and recruitment in the US market. It helps candidates to find trusted employers and companies to hire high-quality specialists. The main feature is pay-for-performance, which means that employers pay only for successful employment, not for posting vacancies.
The US recruitment market is like a metropolis where every corner has its own rules. Going on such a journey without a map means dooming yourself to a long journey without the certainty that you are heading to your destination. We embarked on an in-depth study:
✅ What professions are most in demand now?
✅ Where is the highest staff turnover?
✅ How does seasonality affect hiring?
It often seems that we have a good understanding of the market, but in reality, we are just looking for confirmation of our assumptions. That’s why we need an objective third-party view from specialists who will collect statistics, conduct a detailed analysis of market dynamics and objectively examine the real situation.
We started with a deep dive into the US labour market and identified three key segments where the shortage of specialists was the greatest: IT, finance and logistics. These were the entry points that opened up the biggest opportunities for Happ Jobs.
Some of the conclusions from the market analysis:
| Labor Demand | The ratio of unemployed to job openings can range from 1:1 to 1:5. It’s important to track trends and maintain communication with business segments currently experiencing the highest staffing shortages. A list of these segments and demand fluctuations is included in the research. |
| Seasonality — A Key Factor | Job search peaks occur in spring and autumn. In December, demand drops, but it begins to rise actively from January. It’s important to adapt marketing campaigns to these fluctuations. |
| Main Target Cities for Launch | Based on research and findings, we have identified the most promising geographies for launching the startup: San Francisco, Austin, Dallas, New York, Seattle. A detailed rationale for choosing these locations is provided. |
Competitors. How to disassemble it brick by brick
At the stage of market analysis, in order not to defocus attention, we identified seven main companies that cover recruitment companies and job boards:
Recruitment agencies:
- Toptal
- Randstad
- Kelly Services
Job boards:
- Indeed
- Hired
- CareerBuilder
- Monster
We studied how the key players work, what they offer, including their strengths and weaknesses, what promotion tools they use, and how they communicate with their audience.
We analysed their websites, business models, traffic acquisition strategies, content approach, and level of social media activity brick by brick. The results? We found weaknesses in even the most powerful players:
Platform
Weaknesses
| Toptal | High entry threshold via a $500 deposit, limited pool of freelancers, suitable only for premium talent, not suitable for mass recruitment. |
| Randstad | It is focused on mass recruitment and is almost inactive on social media. |
| Kelly Services | Slow recruitment process, weak social media presence, minimal use of advertising. |
| Indeed | Has a strong user base, but does not guarantee the quality of candidates. Limited options for personalising candidate search, expensive premium services. |
| Hired | Focuses only on the IT market, high commission of 15% of the salary, not adapted for mass recruitment. |
| CareerBuilder | Expensive cost of posting vacancies, weak advertising activity, and focus on large businesses. |
| Monster | Limited features without a paid package. Outdated UI/UX scares away modern users. |
The main problems of the market:
- High competition between employers.
- Expensive services.
- Weak presence in social media.
- Narrow specialisation of platforms.
But this is only part of the conclusions! We have collected all the data in a handy table and analysed each aspect.
To understand the scope of work: this is only a small part, where a marketer describes the technical characteristics of competitor analysis to form a list of hypotheses and opportunities.
Visual characteristics and the content side of competitors are also important: website, social media, promotion, advertising, and features. That’s why competitors are additionally researched by a content marketer who knows from experience exactly where to look closely.
- Use of blogs and email newsletters to engage the audience.
- Focus on expert content and analytical materials.
- High activity on LinkedIn as the main B2B channel.
The depth of analysis depends on your budget. But one thing is for sure: we know how to turn the facts we find into your results.
We’ll figure out what really works in your niche and turn it into a strategy.
3 important steps to get started
Every startup is a bit of an experiment, a bit of a challenge, and a lot of strategic planning. To ensure that the launch of Happ Jobs goes smoothly, we have developed a clear plan with three key steps:
✅ Defining the positioning — formulating a unique offer and occupying the right niche.
✅ Online packaging — to create a wrapper that sells immediately.
✅ Promotion and optimisation — to test, improve and scale.
Positioning: If you’re not visible — you don’t exist
Imagine a platform that gives users a clear understanding of who it’s for and how it helps — even before they click “Sign up”. That’s what strong positioning looks like.
At this stage, your goal is to clearly communicate the uniqueness that already exists.
- What sets you apart?
- What problems do you solve?
- Why should someone choose you?
It’s essential to highlight specific benefits for each target segment, taking into account both the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors. Your positioning should run through all communication channels — grabbing attention, resonating emotionally, and driving action.
To launch the first product version, you need a crystal-clear value proposition for your two key pages: one for job seekers, the other for employers.
We need to craft sharp, compelling messages that instantly show users why this platform is made for them. The text should attract, clarify benefits, and inspire them to take the first step.
Following our research, we recommended focusing the initial launch on one of these three niches to avoid scattering resources:
💼 HORECA — restaurants, hotels, and the hospitality sector.
👔 White-collar roles — finance, admin, marketing, management.
🚛 Production & logistics — sectors constantly in need of skilled hands.
Clear positioning = effortless decision-making for your audience:
“Yes — this is exactly what I need!”
Online packaging: the candy needs to look delicious
Even the best product won’t sell itself without the right packaging. For this, we developed three key assets:
- Website
- Presentation
- Video presentation
Website
Some businesses can temporarily get by with a landing page or just social media. But for others, the website is a must-have.
For Happ Jobs, the website is not just a business card, but a meeting place for employers and job seekers, and therefore it is necessary to provide a user-friendly interface, intuitive navigation, quick access to basic functions, and adaptation to mobile devices.
That’s why we focused on:
✅ Separate landing pages for each audience — employers and job seekers.
✅ Smart search with filters and geolocation — no wasted clicks.
✅ SEO from day one — a blog with useful content to grow the platform organically.
✅ Design that builds trust — light areas for readability, dark elements for contrast.
✅ Logos of trusted brands — so that users do not have any questions about reliability
✅ Mobile-first — because in 2025, that’s not optional.
And in the long run: launching a mobile app, because speed and ease win.
Promotion
- Lead generation
- Content marketing
- Personal brand development
- Industry events & business communities
- Strategic partnerships
- Promotional hooks
- Referral program
- Social media
- Community building
- SEO optimization
- Email marketing
There are hundreds of ways to promote a business — but not all of them work equally well.We identified the highest-impact channels for the recruitment niche and built tailored recommendations around them.
But before diving into the tactics, let’s look at the two main growth drivers that support and extend the website’s power:
Lead Generation
Recruiting is a moment-driven game. Both employers and job seekers act here and now, so it’s not enough to reach them — you have to trigger action.
We developed a step-by-step lead generation strategy with channel testing, budget optimization, and scalable execution.
📌 Month 1
- Goal: 80 job seeker leads (under $10 each), 40 employer leads, and identification of the most effective sources per segment.
- Budget: ~$3,500 (testing phase).
- Ad channels: Google Ads (job seekers + employers). Facebook / Instagram lead forms — for fast contact collection.
📌 Month 2 - Goal: optimize budget and KPIs, reduce CPA for job seekers, and test new ad platforms.
- Budget: $2,950–$4,550.
- Additional channels:
- YouTube
- Google Discovery
- Retargeting site visitors
📌 Month 3 and beyond
- Goal: keep only high-performing channels, grow lead volume, and optimize costs.
- Tactics: horizontal scaling — expanding to new audiences.
For each month, we created a clear action plan, showing exactly what needs to be done and what results to track.Lead generation isn’t magic — it’s a system. The goal is to consistently generate more leads at the same cost, while ensuring stable, predictable growth.
Content Marketing
This is the tool that attracts your audience, builds trust, and organically promotes your service. To set the right direction from day one, we analyzed your competitors’ content and developed a foundational content strategy.
Using clear examples and annotated screenshots, we detailed:
📌 Website content
📌 Blog structure & SEO priorities
📌 Communication strategy & brand voice
📌 YouTube content ideas
📌 External platforms for publishing
📌 Social media channels
Based on competitor analysis and a basic content strategy, our experts also prepared a social media content plan? — to immediately demonstrate how this works in practice.
The right tools? Let’s be honest.
There are tons of marketing channels out there — but not all of them work for your niche.
Take TikTok, for example:
✅ Great for fashion, beauty, food, and mass-market B2C products.
❌ Almost useless for niche B2B, complex tech services, or high-ticket B2C offerings.
You could easily burn through time and budget on a trendy channel — and still end up with zero qualified leads.
That’s why our strategy isn’t based on hypotheses. It’s built on analytics and real-world testing.
We test first, then optimize, and only then scale.
The result — a clear picture of what works and what doesn’t. And growth — without extra costs.
Everyone talks about having a “comprehensive approach.”
We actually live it — because we function as a remote marketing department.
Our experience across dozens of industries lets us not only choose tools, but choose the right ones that work for your business.
Without action, a strategy is just a plan.
Happ Jobs had a bold idea, a clear concept, and financial goals.
But a marketing strategy isn’t about dreams — it’s about data.
Our task was to test the reality behind the idea:
- Is there actual demand for this kind of platform in the U.S.?
- Will the market accept a “pay-for-results” business model?
- Does the startup have real competitive advantages to survive in this space?
We delivered facts — and the founders made decisions.
The result? The concept changed. And that’s a win.
❌ Happ Jobs didn’t spend hundreds of thousands testing risky hypotheses in a hyper-competitive market.
❌ The team got real-world insights, not just hopeful assumptions.
✅ They realized the business model needed refinement before entering the market.
Success isn’t just about scaling — it’s also about protecting your investment. A marketing strategy doesn’t just help you make money — it helps you avoid losing it.
It gives you clarity before you spend big. We’re here not only to scale what works — but to test and validate what’s worth scaling. If your startup is at a crossroads — let’s talk.
We’ll explore the market, assess risks, and find the best path forward.
📩 Submit a request — we will help you assess reality and find the best way!
