Location: West Allis
Founders: Bekki Yang and Manny Lara
Founded: 2020
Service: An app connecting gig workers with restaurants and hospitality businesses
Employees: 3
Goal: Complete a funding round and move into the beta testing phase.
Experience: Yang is a past hospitality business owner and Lara was previously chief human resources officer at The Bartolotta Restaurants.
Good help is hard to find. For those in the hospitality industry, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic made it even harder.
For Bekki Yang, chief executive officer of West Allis-based WorkShift, this lesson was learned early on in the process of running her own catering business, called Eggrolls To Go, in 2016.
“To run a weekend-only catering company, plus a pop-up, you get so busy,” said Yang. “That’s when I first thought, ‘Gosh, I wish I had some extra help I could tap into.’”
That’s when the idea behind WorkShift, an app connecting gig workers with restaurants and hospitality businesses, was initially born. After connecting with her now co-founder and chief development officer Manny Lara in 2019, the duo decided to move forward with building the platform. Lara also has a background in human resources
WorkShift aims to connect restaurant and hospitality businesses with available talent to fill open shifts, while also helping talent learn the skills needed to land whatever career they want in the industry. WorkShift took home first place in the business services category of this year’s Governor’s Business Plan Contest.
What differentiates WorkShift from other gig work apps, according to Yang, is the user base it’s targeting. WorkShift targets college students, those already in the hospitality industry and looking to make some extra cash, and people in between jobs who are looking for work.
“There are not enough restaurant and hospitality workers right now,” said Yang. “The pool of workers has shrunk. What we do know is with inflation, the cost of living is going up. It’s not that we’re looking to find all this new talent. What we’re doing is creating a larger pool of talent (to pull from).”
Another WorkShift feature will be a career advancement component that helps users apply for jobs that will get them closer to their dream job. From there, WorkShift would also offer users an “AI-scripted” resume that would allow them to copy and paste certain work experiences and skills into their real resume.
“We’re not just another gig app. With gig apps, you come in, pick up a job, get paid and check out. We’re that plus more,” said Yang. “Our goal is to grow the next generation of service industry professionals.”
The company is gearing up to launch a funding round, which will help WorkShift move into the beta testing phase.
