• Passionfruit has raised $4.3 million in seed funding from Firstminute Capital and Playfair.
• The London-based startup connects Gen Z workers with freelance gigs at startups. 
• The firm eventually plans to offer freelancers, whose work is precarious, additional benefits.

A startup that connects independent workers with freelance jobs at startups has secured $4.3 million in seed funding from Firstminute Capital and Playfair. 

London-based Passionfruit aims to give Gen Z workers — who will make up 27% of the workforce by 2025 — more autonomy in choosing what work they take up, to allow them to move away from the 9-to-5 corporate work model.

"There's a growing trust gap, off the back of the tech layoffs, between individuals and institutions," said cofounder Raffi Salama. "A lot of companies feel like they're not getting what they want out of their employees, and a lot of young workers feel like the traditional corporate ladder is not for them."

Workers can sign up to Passionfruit's marketplace platform, which connects them to companies in need of their specific skills or experience. Although the startup is largely focused on recruiting marketing specialists, it hopes to extend its talent pool to other specialisms in the future. 

Currently, the startup has partnered with 65 portfolio companies across 100 VC firms globally, and makes its money by charging a take rate from both workers and companies. 

Salama aims to make Passionfruit a "glue" between businesses and independent freelancers, so that companies can bring on new talent while enabling young workers to upskill. It is geared towards Gen Zs, Salama said, because the current freelancing market is dominated by those with existing networks and years of experience.

"Those without access, who are under 30, find it very hard to start and sustain a life as a freelancer," he added. "Going at it alone is a very difficult journey."

But Gen Z workers who choose to freelance must grapple with a lack of job stability, as well as losing out on employee benefits and holiday pay. Salama acknowledged the precarity, and said Passionfruit aimed to add features that helped make freelancers more stable down the line.

Salama has also noticed how freelancing complements a "sprint" approach to working that more Gen Z workers are adopting. "Maybe ahead of a big summer holiday season, freelancers can work really hard beforehand so they don't have to work over summer," he said.

In the past two years, more Gen Zs have turned to gig and freelance work in search of greater flexibility, a stronger work-life balance, and the opportunity to work as digital nomads. Financial anxiety has also played a role in this, with 43% of Gen Zs reported to be working an extra gig on top of their full time jobs in order to secure their finances, according to Deloitte. 

Investors are taking note of the shifting labor landscape. Amid a downturn in funding, Passionfruit closed an oversubscribed seed round, led by London-based Firstminute, which has previously backed workplace safety software Protex AI and drug discovery startup bit.bio, and London-based Playfair, which has previously invested in HR onboarding platform Omnipresent.

Playfair also led the startup's $700,000 round in December, which takes Passionfruit's total funding to $4.3 million. Additional backing came from FJ Labs and Portfolio Ventures, as well as angels such as executives from Stripe, Airbnb, and Workday. 

The startup will use the fresh funds for recruitment and to build out its software.