Creathio falls short of matchmaking goals
Creathio is a platform that “bridges specialized students with cases posted by companies that have a problem to solve, or simply want to improve an area of their business”. The goal of the company is to match students with companies, so they can get “hands on” experience with business cases.
Creathio works by having students work on real case studies of participating companies, so that the companies can receive academic support in solving cases such as B2B marketing strategies in Poland.
In mid-February, Creathio used their concept to host their own recruitment seminar, and find employees to work at Creathio. The workshop took place at the International House and was aimed at students and graduates who wanted to work with their idea. They intended to find 4 future employees to work with everything from coding to networking/sales.
However, they fell short of their matchmaking goals, and the platform left much to be desired. Here’s why:
1. The idea already exists – better
Aalborg University, the local university, has it’s own platform called AAU Matchmaking that matches students to companies. While startups are not the biggest part of the equation, the events offer ample opportunity for student to interact with companies, in the hopes of getting an internships, student job, or full-time employment. While the matchmaking program at AAU is only available for bachelor and master writing students, it allows students who are on the verge of job-seeking the opportunity to gain a deeper insight into a company outside of the traditional internship atmosphere.
2. The companies are not ready to scale
In addition to the fact that Creathio’s concept limits the amount of interaction students have with their case company, future employment is in many instance a distant dream. Many of the companies who have used Creathio’s platform in the beta stages can be categorized as small/medium size business. These business, while they may present interesting cases for students, may not in a position financially to offer employment to students afterwards.
3. Legal issues
Creathio has created a forum where students work on real case problems – but they are not being compensated for their work. While it is common for interviewees to tackle case problems in the recruitment process, they are typically facsimile cases or based on a previous issue the company had. Having students solve an ongoing case, without compensation, is taking advantage of the students needs to connect with companies and violating labor laws. In addition to this, there is a question of academic integrity. While students working in internships or through AAU Matchmaking may be swayed by a company’s opinions, the service aspect of Creathio’s business model has the potential to impact a student’s academic decisions.
4. Transparency
On the other hand, what company would actually expose their real case problems to outsiders? The platform is based on the idea that companies will be more than willing to expose their weak spots, so students can tackle the problems for them and prove they can contribute to the company. But realistically, companies are not interested in airing their internal issues to the general public.
There are many problems that can be tackled when it comes to giving students applied education opportunities, and skill building for today’s job market.
Students who actively search for real collaboration are more often than not, interested in networking and future employment. Creathio’s platform limits this.
Ultimately, Creathio should consider revising their idea if they truly want to make a difference and succeed as a service that helps students gain real life experience and enter the workforce.
