The Covid-19 pandemic had a profound impact on Croux co-founders Stewart Price, Jennifer Ryan and Kenny Kung.
“We were all in hospitality operations in some way or another,” Price explained. “During Covid, in the hospitality world, there was a phenomenon called the great resignation where a lot of people were leaving the hospitality space due to conditions, low pay and a lack of benefits. We were all trying to find a better way to find people for our operations.”
This ultimately led to the creation of Croux, which is pronounced like ‘crew.’ The platform is an artificial intelligence-based staffing marketplace. It helps connect venues, hotels, resorts and country clubs with on-demand workers.
Croux chief operations officer and co-founder Stewart Price.
The Alabama company joined St. Petersburg-based incubator spARK Labs by ARK Invest this summer.
Price explained that Croux’s ideal customer is a company that needs to “flex up their labor force” or has a large “contingent workforce.”
“We partner with them,” he said. “They will post their shifts on the platform. Then we use AI in the background to recruit, vet and then match the individuals with the best skill sets for those jobs.”
The platform was specifically designed to offer flexibility. Currently, the organization has over 50,000 registered talent accounts. Individuals can apply for a variety of jobs, including security, housekeeping, cooking, bartending and dishwashing.
“A lot of hospitality workers these days need an extra $300 to 500 a month,” Price explained. “However, they already have a full time job or due to child care or transportation challenges, they’re not able to commit to what we call a full part-time job where they have to be somewhere every day or every single week.”
Price moved to Florida in May to help expand Croux’s presence in the Tampa Bay, Orlando and Miami markets.
“The hospitality scene here is booming,” he said. “Obviously, it’s a vacation destination area. We just did our market research and it felt like a perfect fit. We also know that unfortunately a lot of these immigration laws have forced people out of some of the hospitality jobs. So, there’s a big gap and need.”
Joining spARK Labs by ARK Invest was not a hard decision.
“I saw that it was an excellent opportunity to connect with other tech founders,” Price explained. “It made a lot of sense for us to join.”
“There are a lot of people going through some of the same hurdles or headaches that you may be going through,” he continued. “I also think it will open future opportunities for capital raises.”
Currently, Croux has a presence in five states. Price said that the company is focused on expanding its operations around the country.
“We’re excited to welcome the Croux team to spARK Labs,” said spARK Labs by ARK Invest CEO and president Becca Brown in a statement prepared for the Catalyst. “Their AI-powered staffing platform helps hospitality and event businesses find talent while creating flexible work opportunities for individuals. We look forward to supporting their growth and connecting them with our community.”