Swipe4Work is growing fast. The app now serves over 100,000 job seekers and hundreds of companies. NOM is therefore investing again, together with two angel investors from the recruitment sector. 'Not reinvesting in a successful company would be illogical.'
'We already had as many downloads on day four of January 2026 as the whole of January last year,' says Mattheüs Nubé in a meeting room at the Mediacentrale in Groningen. With a telling smile, he slides a laptop aside. No, the numbers don't lie: things are going fast with Swipe4Work.
Mattheüs is co-founder of the job app that aims to make applying for jobs in a tight labor market more fun, faster and fairer. How. Swipe4Work has developed a matching algorithm that matches job seekers with suitable job vacancies based on their skills, personality and work experience. Resume and cover letter? No need. The algorithm understands what really matters to job seekers and employers.
'The principle is simple,' Mattheüs explains. 'Job seekers fill out their profile, are shown the best job vacancies and apply with one swipe to the right. For generation Y and Z, Swipe4Work's target group, this is a logical way of applying. Downloading apps is normal and resumes and cover letters feel outdated. Employers are starting to see this more and more as well.'
First investment
In October 2023, mere months after the app went live, the company received an investment from NOM and G-Force Capital. At the time, Swipe4Work had already been used by more than 13,000 (latent) job seekers and about 170 companies had joined the platform. Everything indicated that this trend would continue. The funding allowed the company to accelerate growth plans, improve the product and scale up the marketing budget.
Now, just over two years later, the expectations have been amply fulfilled. Swipe4Work now has over 100,000 downloads and hundreds of affiliated companies, including Belsimpel, BAM, Fudura and Kentalis. An average of two new employers join every day. Whereas in the initial phase the company was mainly active in the northern Netherlands and the Randstad region, Swipe4Work now serves virtually all of the Netherlands. 'Except for the three southern provinces,' Mattheüs explains. 'But in a few months we'll be starting up there too. We want really good national coverage eventually. In addition, there are even concrete plans to scale up to other European countries in the coming years.'
Early phase
In order to continue to grow and realize its ambitions, new funding was needed. Once again, NOM proved willing to invest in Swipe4Work. A reinvestment, in other words. For NOM this is a logical next step.
'If companies perform well or offer sufficient prospects, NOM, like other investment funds, wants to contribute further to the development of the company,' says NOM investment manager Boudewijn Hulst. 'One of our reasons for existence is to fill gaps in the funding market. And you see those especially in the early phase of startups. They first have to grow hard to prove that their business model works. That requires investments in people, product development, sales and marketing. Costs they don't yet get out of their revenue right away. Private funds often do not dare to take the risk in that early phase. A regional development company, as the first external financier, can help bridge that gap with a pre-seed or seed round.'
If NOM finances again, this is a confidence signal for new investors considering joining: an existing investor who wants to participate in the current round endorses the trust in the founders and the growth strategy of the startup. In addition, it ensures continuity in the cooperation and communication with investors.
Enough reason to keep investing in companies with proven potential. 'These are founders and startups that you have known for months or years, which allows you to make a better investment assessment,' Boudewijn says. 'By participating in subsequent rounds, you also retain or increase your stake. If the company is later sold or if a large party steps in, you get more return on your investment. NOM uses this return as investment capital for other northern companies. Not reinvesting in a successful company would therefore also be illogical.'
Trust
Swipe4Work is one such promising startup, as evidenced by more than just the numbers. The company has largely achieved the goals set over two years ago, both in terms of revenue and number of clients. But just as important: the team has proven that they can learn from client feedback and adjust course where necessary.
'Together with G-Force Capital we dared to take the risk in the first funding round because we believed in the team and the business model,' says Boudewijn. 'Swipe4Work has since shown that that confidence was justified.'
In addition to the entrepreneur
For NOM the role of investor is clear: to stand beside the entrepreneurs and not sit in their place. Hence NOM never takes a majority stake. 'We invest in the entrepreneurs, their vision and the company's growth plan,' Boudewijn clarifies. 'And we provide advice in areas where we can actually add value, such as financial management and value creation in aspects that are important to investors. For example, how do you prepare your company for another round of funding with potential new investors?'
In addition to NOM, the new funding round is also being financed by two angel investors from the recruitment sector. And yes, investors from the same field as Swipe4Work bring attractive advantages. They know the market, the challenges and, like NOM, can help the company with more than just capital. Mattheüs: 'I am very happy with this combination of investors. NOM is a reliable party with which we have worked very pleasantly for over two years. The angel investors know recruitment inside out. The financiers complement each other perfectly, each from their own strengths, thus strengthening our company.'
Investment targets
The funding will be used on several fronts. First, Swipe4Work wants to further build on the matching algorithm. Until now, matching has been based on criteria such as skills and work experience. 'This already allows us to match better than most job boards,' says Matthew. 'Now we are making the move to AI-driven personalization. By adding an AI layer, the algorithm becomes more personal. It looks at how someone is searching: active or latent? Broad or specific? And the algorithm learns from user behavior. We've built up three years of data. We're now overlaying AI on top of that. Our goal is not so much to become the biggest in quantity of job postings. Latent job seekers want the best-fit job openings and employers want the best-fit applicants. That's why we want to develop the best matching algorithm in Europe.'
In addition, Swipe4Work is investing in sales and customer success. 'We need to make sure that volumes continue to grow and supply and demand are in balance,' Mattheüs emphasizes. 'For example, there is a lot of demand for job vacancies in engineering, healthcare and IT. We need to match supply to that.'
Another spearhead is marketing. What Swipe4Work was good at from the start is making noise on social channels such as TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn. For example, its video content strategy reaches more than two million Dutch people every month. The company now deliberately segments by target group: IT professionals can often be found on Reddit, other professional groups on other channels. The focus is on latent job seekers: people with a job who are considering switching. 'We reach them on those channels where they are in their spare time,' Matthew explains. 'Not where they're looking for work.'
Does the reinvestment bring extra pressure for him and the other founders? On the contrary, as it turns out. 'In the beginning, when we still had to prove ourselves, the pressure was greater,' he argues. 'Now we know that the concept works and is catching on. That doesn't change the fact that we have to work hard and make the right choices to achieve the growth plans. It doesn't come your way.'