Silicon Milkroundabout is taking the plunge and becoming a startup in its own right, launching jobs fairs across Europe
Silicon Milkroundabout, Tech City’s popular jobs fair, is hiring a full-time team to help take the business international – with an event in Dublin’s buoyant tech scene planned before the end of 2013.
“We’re in the very early stages of planning our international expansion,” says Cathy White, a spokesperson for Silicon Milkroundabout. “We’re currently looking to expand internationally and offer events in various tech hubs, such as Dublin, Berlin and Tel Aviv, in addition to more events around Britain.”
She adds that the company aims to hold its first international event – most likely in Dublin – before the end of the year.
Concept by Songkick
Silicon Milkroundabout is the brainchild of Songkick co-founders Pete Smith and Ian Hogarth, who came up with the idea three years ago to set up an east London technology jobs fair. The first Silicon Milkroundabout was held in May 2011, and brought together 40 startups which were offering 100 jobs.
Since then, the twice-annual event has experienced strong growth, in line with the development of the local Tech City area and economy. Today, Silicon Milkroundabout hosts up to 150 startups at each event, with the latest outing, last November, showcasing 900 jobs to more than 2,500 candidates.
“Silicon Milkroundabout began two years ago as the community self-organising around something that should exist,” says co-founder Pete Smith.
“We all wanted to get in front of the best software engineers and most talented designers and product managers, but they weren’t aware of the opportunities we had to offer. So Ian and I made a suggestion to ten or so founders who we were also friends with, and within three weeks word had spread and we were hosting an event with several hundred attendees.
“With the tech ecosystem going from strength to strength, the time is right for us to launch Silicon Milkroundabout as a startup in its own right. Startups are still crying out to find the very best talent, and what started as a small event for the community has grown into a full-scale production, bringing together a variety of early-stage to late-stage startups.”
Silicon Milkroundabout is currently hiring for a “growth hacker” (ie an expert tech marketer) and a community manager to help build the company’s network.
The next Silicon Milkroundabout will be held at The Old Truman Brewery in Tech City on May 11 and 12, and will feature startups including Badoo, King.com, Makers Academy, Mind Candy and Moo.com among others.