Culture defines a company — but it also limits it. That’s what Pip Jamieson discovered while working for MTV in Australia. “Everyone we hired were just mates and mates and mates,” Jamieson says. Hiring friends of friends was an easy way to find creative talent, but she felt hiring based on employee recommendations created a homogenous culture that lacked a fresh injection of ideas, skills, and talent.
To solve that problem, she founded The Dots, a UK-based online network where creative professionals can showcase their portfolios. Companies can find talent on the platform, and creatives can find job opportunities from companies like MTV, Spotify, and others. The platform is also building a community. Like LinkedIn, you can add people to your network and even recommend them. The site is also a resource, listing co-working spaces, courses, and networking events. “I really believe that creativity is a force for good,” Jamieson says. “Soon machines are going to drive, code, do our laundry … The last things humans are going to be good for is creativity. So, we help harness that community.”
Here are some interesting nuggets we learned talking with Jamieson …
- The Dots raised funding from London’s Hambro Perks, which invests cash in ventures with at least one female founder.
- 2.6 million people in the UK work in the creative industry.
- The Dots has over 3,000 clients in the UK, including Tate Galleries, Somerset House, Google, and Facebook.
- Based on its current growth, The Dots will generate one million commercial opportunities for creatives by 2018.
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