Zenjob

Overview

Zenjob is a Berlin-based digital staffing company that lets businesses book students and other flexible workers for hourly or short-term jobs through an online platform and a mobile app. Tech.eu and TechCrunch report that it was founded in 2015, and Tech.eu names Fritz Trott, Cihan Aksakal and Frederik Fahning as its founders. According to the company website https://www.zenjob.com , it serves customers in sectors such as retail, logistics and hospitality, lists more than 40,000 registered workers and operates in more than 40 German cities. Matching, contracts and payments are largely automated, which is the central claim of its model.

Why this entity matters

Zenjob is one of the better-funded German HR-tech marketplaces and a reference case for platform-based temporary staffing in a labour-shortage market. TechCrunch and Tech.eu reported a US$30 million Series C in May 2020, led by Forestay Capital with Redalpine, Acton Capital, AXA Venture Partners and Atlantic Labs, following a 15 million euro Series B in 2019 and an 8 million euro Series A in 2017. In February 2022 invest-in.berlin reported a further 45 million euro round to fund expansion into more German cities and the Netherlands, without naming investors.

For founders and investors, the company shows how a staffing marketplace can grow through a demand shock. In the April 2024 Startuprad.io interview, Frederik Fahning said the business lost about 70 percent of its revenue early in the pandemic and then moved into retail, e-commerce, logistics and vaccination centres, with revenue growing about 150 percent from 2020 to 2021. These are founder statements, not audited figures.

Company or institutional background

Zenjob was founded in Berlin and describes itself as a staffing agency for side jobs. Employers book temporary workers by the shift, often on 24 hours' notice according to TechCrunch, while workers find and accept shifts in the app. The company website also describes longer working-student placements. In 2020 the company said its app reached about 15,000 students per day in 14 German cities; by 2026 its website cites more than 40 cities and about 60,000 jobs listed per month.

In the Startuprad.io interview, Fahning said the company had about 300 employees, with roughly one third in product and engineering, that about 95 percent of jobs ran fully automated, that it had briefly operated in the Netherlands and paused international expansion, and that it had converted to a European company (SE) at the end of 2023 with possible IPO plans discussed. Fahning also said the last round was led by the US investor ARAGON. These points come from the interview alone and have not been confirmed by a second source.

Role in the ecosystem

Zenjob operates in the temporary staffing and flexible work segment, competing with traditional staffing agencies and with other digital job platforms. Its role in the DACH ecosystem is that of a scaled marketplace that digitises shift-based work for retail, logistics and e-commerce employers, and it is a frequently cited example in discussions of the future of work, labour shortages and automation in recruitment. The company website names brands such as Zara, Hermes and Motel One among the businesses it works with, without describing the contractual relationships.

Selected relationships and affiliations

Publicly reported relationships include the three co-founders, Fritz Trott as chief executive at the time of the 2020 financing, and Frederik Fahning as founder and managing director at the time of the 2024 interview. Investors named in the sources are Forestay Capital, Redalpine, Acton Capital, AXA Venture Partners and Atlantic Labs, with ARAGON named by the founder as lead of the last round. Fahning also mentioned his earlier involvement with Exit Capital Partners and Atlantic Labs and a former Bitkom board role. These relationships are listed as reported and are not a verified capitalisation table or current board composition.

Startuprad.io relevance

Startuprad.io's coverage of Zenjob currently consists of one article: the April 2024 founder interview with Frederik Fahning, published as episode 424 under the title on the automated approach to temporary staffing. It covers automated matching, digital contracts and payments, the shift from growth to profitability, COVID-19 resilience, the Zenjob Pro offer for longer jobs, AI use in screening and customer care, funding history and the origin of the company name. A second post carries the Zenjob tag on the Startuprad.io blog, but its text does not mention the company and it is therefore not listed as coverage. The coverage count is below the preferred target of three.

Public source context

This record draws on Zenjob's own website https://www.zenjob.com , TechCrunch, Tech.eu, invest-in.berlin and Startuprad.io's founder interview. Funding amounts, headcount and automation rates are as reported by those sources and by the founder, and they have not been independently re-verified. Zenjob is presented as an active company; readers should check the company directly for its current ownership, structure and leadership. This record presents only publicly reported business facts.

Startuprad.io coverage

The Future of Work: Zenjob’s Automated Approach to Temporary Staffing | Startuprad.io E 424
Published: 17 April 2024
Last updated: 20 September 2026
Coverage type: Interview
https://www.startuprad.io/post/the-future-of-work-zenjob-s-automated-approach-to-temporary-staffing-startuprad-io-e-424

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Canonical record: https://www.startuprad.io/entities/zenjob .