A team of University of Wisconsin-Madison students is heading to Minneaoplis next week for a national competition they hope could net $50,000 for their startup, SideShift. Like a dating app for jobs, the social media-inspired tool is designed to make it easier for small businesses to hire college students.
UW-Madison seniors Canyon Pergande and Nick Lawton launched SideShift last fall after seeing classmates frustrated in their search for a college job and local small businesses frustrated in their search for staff.
The pair noticed that many stores, restaurants and bars around campus don’t post jobs online or accept online applications. “They’re kind of forced to rely on a variety of hiring methods such as paper applications, resume drop-offs and word-of-mouth referrals,” said Pergande, 22, who works at The Kollege Klub, a popular college bar just steps from campus.