Published:
JumpStart Invests in BSKLive, Inc.
CLEVELAND, Jan. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- JumpStart Inc., theNortheast Ohio
venture development organization that accelerates the growth of innovative
early-stage businesses and ideas, recently announced an investment commitment
of $350,000 in BSKLive, Inc. TheCuyahoga County company's flagship product,
StaffKnex, is a web-based software as a service (SaaS) application that
manages employee scheduling and staffing emergency resolution for companies in
healthcare and other industries with shift-based workforces.
StaffKnex provides a solution to employee "call offs" and "no shows,"
common in industries such as healthcare, food service, and hospitality.
Without StaffKnex, companies employ a scheduler to place phone calls or
utilize outside employment agencies to fill unexpectedly vacant shifts. Either
approach results in higher operating costs associated with manual calling,
overtime pay and the use of staffing agencies. The StaffKnex technology lets
administrators manage call offs in-house and within minutes, by combining text
messaging, voicemail, and email communication to reach a pool of available
fill-ins, while allowing for immediate responses from employees. The software
also provides a platform from which employers can manage labor requirements,
staff scheduling, and employee information, resulting in better
decision-making in creating work schedules.
JumpStart Entrepreneur-in-Residence Ted Frank will be working closely with
the company, providing business advisory services. "In an economic environment
where companies are battling to reduce or control costs in order to ensure
their survival, StaffKnex provides a unique solution that firms would be
negligent to ignore," said Frank. "Leveraging a highly scalable platform and
communications infrastructure, the company delivers an easy to launch,
closed-loop system that administrators can immediately use to more effectively
and efficiently fill unexpected vacancies. With a payback of less than three
months and low ongoing operating costs, StaffKnex's customers have driven
material operating efficiencies and seen exceptional returns on their
investment."
BSKLive's management team is comprised of several software sales,
development and operations veterans, including Chief Executive Officer Mark
Woodka. Woodka is former Vice President, Sales for Flashline Inc., a software
company that created tools for companies to manage their software assets that
was sold to BEA Systems in 2006.
"Labor is 70 percent of a healthcare facility's cost. Not managing labor
costs and schedule changes day in and day out can cost a typical healthcare
facility hundreds of thousands of dollars annually in overstaffing, overtime
and agency fees," said Woodka. "StaffKnex provides our customers an intuitive,
easy to use application that allows them to optimize their labor utilization
and manage schedule changes in an efficient and cost effective manner."
The company plans on using the JumpStart investment to finalize their
partner strategy, complete the private label version of the product, and
secure additional customers.
This is JumpStart's 47th investment in its 36th company. Other information
technology companies in JumpStart's portfolio include Ayalogic, Banyan
Technology, Inspiron Logistics, Knotice, Inspherion and PreEmptive Solutions.
About BSKLive, Inc.
BSKLive (www.staffknex.com) is a leading provider of integrated employee
scheduling and communications technology to optimize labor utilization and
control labor costs for employers with shift based workforces. BSKLive's
flagship product, StaffKnex, is an intuitive, web-based application that
combines staff scheduling, work requirements, employee qualifications,
business rules, and communications into a highly automated staff management
system.
About JumpStart Inc.
JumpStart (www.jumpstartinc.org) accelerates the growth of innovative
early-stage businesses and ideas into venture-ready companies by delivering
vital, focused resources to entrepreneurs and the community ofNortheast Ohio.
JumpStart identifies and invests in early-stage companies that have strong
potential in the marketplace, solid prospects for high growth, and are likely
to qualify for later-stage funding. Beyond investing, the JumpStart team
provides a continuum of business development services to its client companies
to help ensure their success.
SOURCE JumpStart Inc.
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