For a long time we’ve only been able to judge professionals by their labels and associations: job descriptions, employers, or positions. At Zerply we’re building an evidence-based identity for professionals, that becomes more powerful over time as it incorporates what they’ve done, and what others say about them.

From day one we have been convinced that professional networking isn’t working for a sizable portion of the labour market, specifically the creative class that make up around 1/3 of the U.S labor force. We found existing professional networks to be nothing more than huge databases of old fashioned résumés that, while useful, do not provide an adequate picture from which to judge creative talent. Our vision has been to create a portfolio driven professional network where a person’s skills can be viewed first hand and their reputation validated by others. We do this by enabling creatives such as designers, engineers, writers, marketers, entrepreneurs etc, to showcase their work through portfolio integrations and broadcast endorsements from their peers. While it’s true that résumés might still be the medium for corporate Fortune 500 companies, the creative class seem better served by portfolios that demonstrate their talents. We enable users to show off their work through Behance, Flickr, or Vimeo for example, and share their accomplishments with endorsed tags and skills.

We believe in a visual, open and simple network, where professionals can connect across industries, and learn a lot about a person and their talent without the need for an intro or further research. The web has meant that we no longer need to ask just “Who do we know that can do X, Y or Z?” but better yet “Who is the best out there and would make a good fit for our company”. With Zerply you can find creative talent without network limitations, and instantly capture what they’re capable of, not just ‘who’ they’ve worked for. Now with our new development office in Tallinn, Estonia, and an expanding team, we plan to make it easier for even more professions to present themselves, with new integrations and improved discovery and networking tools. All with the goal that we can once and for all kiss goodbye to the last bastion of analog business - the résumé.