Tech
Florence is bringing the gig economy to nurses and social care workers. Check out the 20-slide pitch deck it used to raise $35 million.
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- UK-based startup Florence has created a temporary staffing marketplace for care workers.
- The company has raised a $35 million Series B round that was led by Axa Ventures Partners.
- Check out the 20-slide deck used to raise the fresh funds.
A startup that has created a temporary staffing marketplace for care workers and nurses has raised a $35 million Series B from Axa Ventures Partners.
Florence’s web platform enables health and social care organizations to post their staffing schedules and vacancies, in a bid to efficiently manage staffing shortages without the need for a ‘middle man.’
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Nurses and social workers can then book any suitable slots and fill out an online timesheet for the work they complete, through Florence’s app. Care providers are charged a commission for every booking made through Florence’s platform.
Cofounder Dr Charles Armitage worked at the NHS as a locum doctor, but found that he “had no control over the shifts he was working,” which resulted in patients “lacking important continuity of care.”
Florence aims to minimize this problem by filling the gap in understaffed organizations and giving nurses and care workers more flexibility with their schedules.
The app also provides workers with e-learning tools and counts over 100,000 e-learners and 2,000 social care organizations amongst its user base.
The UK’s healthcare workforce took a hit during the pandemic and the Great Resignation in 2021 — with 11% of the NHS’ health and social care staff resigning partly due to burnout and increased pressure.
Now, startups in the social care sector are scrambling to fill that gap, while giving health workers more independence as contractors. With the likes of US-based healthcare staffing platforms CareRev, ConnectRN, and ShiftMed all raising rounds above $50 million in the past six months, investors are tapping into a new ‘gig economy’ model for healthcare workers, as reported in Axios.
The Series B round was led by Paris-based Axa Ventures Partners, which has previously invested in healthtech startups Valera Health and health insurance marketplace Gravie. Additional backing came from Roo Capital and existing investors SEEK Investments.
Imran Akram, general partner at Axa Ventures, cited the “global shortage of healthcare workers” and outdated methods of staff management as key issues that Florence was “tackling head-on.”
Currently operating in the UK, Florence will use the cash injection to venture into newer geographies such as Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and North America, reach out to a wider pool of nurses and social care staff, and look into markets beyond elderly care.
Check out the 21-slide deck used to raise the fresh funds.