Mobile App for the On-Demand Workforce, Forrge, Raises $1.5M Seed Round to Let Hourly Workers Set Their Own Schedule

NEW YORK, US, January 20, 2016 (Newswire.com) - Forrge, a San Francisco based tech start-up that enables hourly workers in retail and QSR to pick their own hours and set their own schedules, announced today at the NRF its mobile application and web platform. The company has raised $1.5M from respected VC firms and angel investors, to enable both the launch of its new app and beta testing with several national and international QSR concepts in the second quarter of this year, including Sizzling Platter, a franchisee of Dunkin Donuts, Little Caesar’s, and other concepts. Forrge will announce retail partners for the remainder of their 2016 rollout in Q2.

With the Forrge mobile app and platform, users can see shifts posted by retailers they are approved to work at, and pick up the shifts they would prefer, allowing greater flexibility, avoiding skill-mismatch, and reducing churn or attrition. Users can work at more than one retailer, and pick up as many hours across the platform as they would like, making it easier for some users to make living wage. An Uber-like star rating system will not only follow individual users across the platform, but will also be in effect for store-managers and individual store locations, providing greater transparency for the workforce. A dynamic pricing model for individual shifts can also be turned on by retailers, aligning supply with demand.

Forrge will give retailers the ability to empower their hourly employees and create a happier and more efficient workforce, ultimately reducing the high levels of turnover that currently hurt business.

Stacey Ferreira , Co-founder and CEO

“We are excited to be solving certain pain-points for retail as a whole,” said Stacey Ferreira, Forrge’s co-founder and CEO, “Forrge will give retailers the ability to empower their hourly employees and create a happier and more efficient workforce, ultimately reducing the high levels of turnover that currently hurt business. One of our primary goals is also to serve as a conduit between retailers and the millennial workforce; by 2025, approximately 75% of the global workforce will be comprised of millennials, who we know value flexible and mobile working schedules more than the traditional 9-5 model.” ​​

Forrge represents a growing evolution to the on-demand economy, and with companies like Uber, Shyp, Handy and Postmates now ubiquitous, the idea of flexible hours for the retail workforce is not only desirable, but inevitable.

ABOUT FORRGE

Founded in 2015 by Stacey Ferreira, Talulah Riley, Scott Ferreira and Lloyd Jones, Forrge is a San Francisco based tech startup that allows hourly workers in retail and QSR to pick their own shifts and set their own schedules, picking up as many hours across the platform as they would like, at approved retailers and QSR concepts. For more information, visit: www.forrge.com

The Forrge logo is available at: http://www.forrge.com/press/logodownloads ​

​Contact: [email protected]