The idea
Sweqlink was born out of one entrepreneur’s struggle to fund their innovative startup. They had a limited network and no experience of the startup ecosystem.
During their journey into entrepreneurship, they came across the same issues new startup ventures faced time and time again – investors wouldn’t invest in the startup without the right team but startups don’t have the finance to recruit the right team. What a catch 22.
As this entrepreneur’s journey unfolded, they recognised an underutilised pool of talent who were happy to contribute skills and spare time in ideas they believed in. What if entrepreneurs could make it worth their while by paying for effort with shares in the business? This would also help to foster commitment and build a more dynamic team. They call this ‘sweat equity’ in startup language.
While this concept is nothing new, especially in the realms of startups, Sweqlink is the first matchmaking platform focussed solely on sweat equity partnerships. We match people looking for work-for-equity opportunities and founders wanting to pay in equity. We’re building this platform because no other self-serving solution adequately addresses this opportunity.
The talent partner
Jude, Maker-Manifester
Why did you join Sweqlink and what do you do?
“Everybody loves an underdog story but the truth is that the most successful startups in the world today were founded by entrepreneurs with degrees from world-class business schools and fairly priviliged backgrounds. Your socio-economic status shouldn’t be a limiting factor in business. This needs to change if we’re going to encourage innovation and diversity in business. I see an opportunity here to really make change and disrupt the way we build business relationships.
As a founding team member, I ensure Sweqlink remains true to its cause – making entrepreneurship more accessible to those with limited funds, network and knowledge of the startup world.”
Make ideas happen
At the heart of what we’re all about is making ideas happen. We’re setting out to create a platform that eases the formation of meaningful business partnerships, connecting those with ideas and those with the skills to drive them forward under a common purpose. Our vision is defined by the 3 pillars below:
To make entrepreneurship accessible to everyone.
We will ensure our communications avoids complicated language and
seek to educate and demystify
To challenge under-representation in the world of startup business
We will ensure our brand seeks to inspire and connect with aspiring entrepreneurs of all backgrounds
To give business ideas the best fighting chance of success
We will develop our platform and
reach out to willing and beneficial partners for our community
