WayUp

WayUp is a US job site and mobile application for college students and recent graduates. Candidates create an online profile — historically through forms, and on the current site by uploading a resume that is parsed automatically — and are matched with employers based on their interests, experience and skills. On the employer side, WayUp markets an early-career recruiting product suite covering candidate sourcing and screening, advanced analytics dashboards (hiring funnel movement, source schools, bias detection in job descriptions), employer branding content and virtual recruiting events, aimed at roles requiring 0-5 years of experience.

The service began as Campus Job, focused on part-time and temporary student work such as campus brand representative roles, and later broadened to internships and full-time roles for recent graduates in the first few years after college. By March 2017 the company reported more than 3.5 million user profiles across 5,300 US campuses and over 300,000 companies that had received applicants, ranging from local businesses and startups to Fortune 500 employers. Employer-facing marketing later cited a base of over 6 million candidates.

Following the July 2021 merger with campus recruiting software vendor Yello, WayUp is presented as part of an all-in-one campus recruiting solution: WayUp supplies the student-facing marketplace and virtual events while Yello contributes on-campus and virtual recruiting automation. The current consumer site advertises 3,800+ US employers, roughly 181,000 open roles, about 16,500 jobs posted weekly and 124 employer events per month, with named employers including CVS, L'Oréal, Boeing, HSBC, Target, BlackRock, Walmart, Capital One and RSM.

Founding story

Liz Wessel and JJ Fliegelman founded the company in 2014, two years after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, initially as Campus Job to connect students with part-time and temporary campus jobs. Wessel had previously worked at Google as a product marketing manager in California and India. The site launched in August/September 2014 and grew by roughly 1,000 users a week, with 7,500 job listings within a month of launch.

Business model

Two-sided marketplace: the candidate side is free to students and recent graduates, while employers pay for access to the early-career talent pool through a product suite spanning sourcing and screening, advanced hiring analytics, virtual events and employer branding. Employer engagement is initiated through a demo request/sales motion rather than self-serve pricing disclosed on the site.

Employer-paid recruiting services (sourcing/screening access to the candidate base, analytics, virtual events and branded content); the platform is free for students and recent graduates. Investor commentary cited 640% revenue growth in the year preceding the March 2017 Series B.

Traction

As of March 2017: over 3.5 million user profiles across 5,300 US campuses, 300,000+ companies that had received applicants, 25,000-30,000 weekly student sign-ups and 640% revenue growth over the prior year; the company claimed placement of 1 in every 3 applicants. Employer marketing later referenced a base of over 6 million candidates. The current site reports 3,800+ US employers, about 181,400 open roles, roughly 16,500 jobs posted and 2,012 applications submitted weekly, 409 student sign-ups in the prior 24 hours and 124 events in the month. Headcount was 44 in mid-2016 and reported as 50 by Y Combinator.

Latest developments

WayUp now operates under 'Powered by Yello' branding following the 2021 merger. The current site centers on AI-assisted resume parsing that builds a candidate profile in about 30 seconds, followed by voice or text questions to enrich the profile, after which recruiters from 3,800+ US employers can contact candidates directly. It also runs its own virtual career fairs and information sessions and partners with Yello for in-person campus events, listing roles for internship and graduate classes as far out as 2027-2028.