The Dots
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UK professional networking platform connecting creative freelancers and companies through projects rather than CVs.
Also known as The Dots
Founders & leadership
Investors · 8
Also in the syndicate · 3
Funding
SEC filings, press & company announcements$15M disclosed across 1 of 2 rounds · 2017–2021
- $15MSeries ADec 2021 · 2 sources
Norwest Venture Partners (lead), Cloud Apps Capital Partners, Velvet Sea Ventures
Source ↗
Source: company announcements and press reports — follow each round's link for the claim.
Company profile
researched Aug 2026The Dots is a UK-based professional community and hiring platform for the creative industries, positioned by its founder as a "LinkedIn for creatives." Rather than organising members around traditional CVs, the platform structures information around creative projects: members publish work and tag the collaborators involved — editors, photographers, stylists, journalists, designers, engineers — creating what the founder describes as a living wiki of projects and people. Companies use the site to discover and message talent directly or to post roles to its job board, and the platform is accessible both on the web and via a mobile app.
The platform targets "no-collar" workers: freelancers, entrepreneurs and people with portfolio careers who juggle multiple jobs and side projects. A defining design choice is that its search and recommendation algorithm is deliberately weighted to surface diverse talent higher in results, an approach the founder has publicly defended against criticism. The company reports a membership that is 62% female, 34% BAME and 16% LGBT, and also emphasises neurodiversity and socioeconomic diversity. Accumulated project and profile data is used to personalise recommendations for both hiring clients and candidates.
Founding story
Founder and CEO Pip Jamieson conceived The Dots while working at MTV in Australia, where she saw colleagues struggling to find and book creative talent through LinkedIn as peers increasingly moved to portfolio careers. Hiring through personal networks instead produced a homogenous workforce, which she argued undermined creative output. She launched The Dots in 2014 to build a project-based talent platform designed to promote diversity, having previously co-founded The Loop, an Australian professional networking site for creatives.
Business model
The Dots operates a two-sided platform: creative professionals join and publish project-based profiles for free, while hiring companies pay for access to recruitment and search functionality, including direct messaging and job postings.
Core revenue comes from client companies subscribing to the platform's recruitment and search features in order to hire individuals and teams directly through the platform.
Traction
Reported over 300,000 members and more than 8,000 high-profile hiring clients by 2018, with over 10,000 companies and brands using the network for project sharing and hiring as of 2020. Around 30% of the community was based outside the UK.
Latest developments
By 2020 the platform reported more than 300,000 members and over 10,000 companies using the network, and the company was evaluating international expansion into Paris, New York and Los Angeles.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Positions itself as a challenger to LinkedIn within the creative segment. As of 2018-2020 reporting, it claimed roughly 300,000 members representing about 10% of the UK creative market, more than 10,000 companies using the network, and over 8,000 high-profile hiring clients.
Project-based rather than CV-based profiles, a focus on freelance and portfolio careers rather than a traditional full-time workforce, and an algorithm intentionally tuned to promote diverse candidates — positioned in direct contrast to LinkedIn, which the founder argues skews the other way.
Technology
A web and mobile platform built around project records in which contributors are tagged, generating a structured dataset of people and creative work. Algorithms use this data to personalise recommendations, and are explicitly weighted so that diverse talent ranks higher in search results.
Go-to-market
Community-led growth among creative professionals combined with subscription sales to corporate hiring clients; visibility has been supported by founder-led press coverage, editorial campaigns such as a "200 Women Redefining the Creative Industry" list for International Women's Day, and participation in UK trade missions to the United States.
On the supply side, creatives, freelancers, entrepreneurs and portfolio-career workers, particularly in the UK creative industries. On the demand side, brands, agencies, broadcasters and other employers hiring creative talent, including the BBC, M&C Saatchi, Burberry, Google, the Tate, Warner Music and Sony Pictures.
Geography
Headquartered and primarily focused on the UK, with London described by the founder as the world's largest creative cluster. Approximately 30% of members are outside the UK, and the company has explored expansion into Paris, New York and Los Angeles.
History
Launched in 2014 by Pip Jamieson. The company closed a £4 million round at the end of 2017 and, by 2020, reported cumulative funding of £5.5 million across two rounds. Between 2018 and 2020 it grew to over 300,000 members and expanded its base of corporate hiring clients while preparing for international expansion.
Risks & controversies
The founder has described repeated experiences of unconscious bias and sexism during fundraising, including investors assuming male colleagues were the CEO and questioning her on cash-flow management. The company's practice of weighting its algorithm to rank diverse talent higher has drawn public criticism on social media.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 4
launches, deals, and filingsThe founder joined a US trade mission led by London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Silicon Valley Comes to the UK, while the company explored expansion into Paris, New York and Los Angeles.
The Dots published a list of 200 women redefining the creative industry for International Women's Day 2018.
The Dots raised £4 million at the close of 2017 in a Series B round led by Hambro Perks and Sir John Hegarty, with participation from The Garage Soho (Sir John Hegarty and Tom Teichman) and Angel Academe investors.
Pip Jamieson founded and launched The Dots, a project-based professional network for the creative industries.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- the dots | Connect for Change — Explore Our Servicesthedots-uk.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does The Dots do?
- UK professional networking platform connecting creative freelancers and companies through projects rather than CVs.
- Who founded The Dots?
- The Dots was founded by Pip Jamieson.
- Who are The Dots's investors?
- The Dots's investors include Coral Reef IO, Cloud Apps Capital Partners, Norwest Venture Partners, Salica Investments, Velvet Sea Ventures.
- How much funding has The Dots raised?
- The Dots has disclosed $15M raised across 1 of its 2 known rounds.