Meet nPloy, Winner of Startups of The Year 2024 in Sofia, Bulgaria/SaaS

We’re not just another recruitment platform. We’re nPloy, Bulgaria’s Startup of the Year according to HackerNoon, and a growing global force that believes your job shouldn’t suck.

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Tell us about you.

nPloy is an AI-powered job matching platform designed to turn the job hunt from a painful chore into a human-centered, intuitive experience. We wanted to create a place where you can swipe through jobs that fit your vibe and salary expectations; and where companies apply for you (yes, that’s a thing on nPloy since 2019!). With over 250,000 users in just five years, we’re redefining the job search experience - making it more intuitive, personalized, and yes, even fun. We keep things simple, fast, and fair. Your talent is our mission.

Tell us how your startup is changing the world.

nPloy has been using the power of AI to match candidates with employers seamlessly since 2019. The mission of nPloy is simple - we want to unite employers and candidates in a world where communication is clear, simple and effective. We won’t send you job ads that don’t fit your expectations. If you’re looking for your next Product Manager gig, you will certainly NOT see a Laboratory Technician ad.

What sets you apart from the competition?

At nPloy, what sets us apart is our commitment to redefining the hiring experience through innovation and empathy. Our team brings together tech experts, HR professionals, and visionaries who believe that job searching and recruiting should feel empowering, not overwhelming. By combining smart AI technology with a human touch, we’re creating a hiring ecosystem that’s faster, more transparent, and built on mutual respect.

What does it mean for you to win this title?

We are beyond proud and excited to have won #1 startup in Bulgaria and to be recognized for our continuous work that breaks boundaries and pushes the envelope in our beautiful country and beyond! We are inspired by other Bulgarian startups alike which have proved that it’s in our Balkan blood to create something unique and fun, push it to a world stage and transform the lives of our many users across the globe. This award means our efforts have not gone unnoticed, and we’re now more inspired than ever to push towards a hassle-free job search future.

What do you love about your team, and why are you the ones to set out for this mission?

We’re a small time of creative individuals with bright minds and unique qualities. We rarely say ‘no’ to ideas that get brought up in team meetings. We’re more of a “Hell yes! Let’s give it a shot. What’s the worst that could happen?” type of team, brought together by innovation and out-of-the-ordinary solutions for job-searchers and employees' daily problems.

Looking back, what milestone was the biggest turning point for your startup?

Going global and expanding our job pool to include international + remote job listings was definitely a big step in our journey. nPloy started as a job board for local jobs but now hosts thousands of remote jobs worldwide, updating daily. There are different type of jobs, internships and CLUBS that people can join and spill the tea in (in the app, we have Real Talks, Career Starters, Remote Workers and more).

What’s one valuable lesson you learned this year that you’d pass on to other startups?

2024 was all about:

1. Expanding
2. Listening

\ We worked hard not only to go global but to also listen to who matters the most - our audience. We took notes, communicated, and made our community feel a part of the journey. The results are clear, the nPloy community is here to help us reach the next level even faster!

How do you envision your industry evolving in the coming years, and how will your startup stay ahead?

Recruitment, hiring and job-searching are evolving by the minute - that’s no secret to anyone whether you’re actively looking for a job or not. We have been extremely successful in riding that wind of change and facing different challenges only made us more prepared to navigate the fast-paced industry. AI has been an integral part of nPloy’s functionality, fostering stable and surefire connections between candidates and employees. With AI becoming a bigger part of the job market with each passing day, we feel inspired and ready to take nPloy even further into the future and make an even bigger impact.

How do you or your company intend to embrace the responsibility of this title in 2025?

We are beyond excited to use this title as a driving force to push boundaries, spark new ideas & conversations, and continue shaping a better future for hiring. In 2025, we’ll leverage this recognition to amplify our mission, expand our impact, and inspire even more companies and candidates to believe in a world where finding the perfect match is simple, human, and empowering.

What goals are you looking forward to accomplishing in 2025?

In 2025, we’re aiming higher than ever. We’re focused on expanding into new markets and building stronger bridges between employers and candidates. Our goal is to make job searching and hiring not just easier, but genuinely enjoyable, and to set a new industry standard for what hiring should feel like.

2024 has been crazy, with all the new techs, and all the geopolitics fluctuations. What are the impacts of these to your startup, and to your industry as a whole? Be as brief or as detailed as you like.

2024 has definitely been a year of rapid change. New technologies have pushed us to innovate faster, making our AI matching even smarter and more intuitive. At the same time, global uncertainties have made candidates and companies rethink their priorities - flexibility, security, and transparency are more important than ever. We've embraced these shifts by staying agile and doubling down on our mission to simplify and humanize hiring in a fast-moving world.

We would love your feedback on HackerNoon as a tech publication! How has your experience been with us?

Hackernoon is THE BEST!!!

\ Thank you so much for providing us with a global platform where we can share what nPloy means to us and welcome new friends aboard.

Any words of wisdom you’d like to share with us?

Don't let bias kill your hiring.

\ Also, life is like a pasta dish. Make the best of it.

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About HackerNoon’s Startups of The Year

Startups of The Year 2024 is HackerNoon’s flagship community-driven event celebrating startups, technology, and the spirit of innovation. Currently in its third iteration, the prestigious Internet award recognizes and celebrates tech startups of all shapes and sizes. This year, over 150,000 entities across 4200+ cities, 6 continents, and 100+ industries will participate in a bid to be crowned the best startup of the year! Millions of votes have been cast over the past few years, and many stories have been written about these daring and rising startups.

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