Glassdoor has purchased Fishbowl, an app that allows users to anonymously provide frank employee reviews, join the interest-based conversation groups to chat about work, and search for jobs.
- Integration: Glassdoor, which has 55 million monthly users is already integrating Fishbowl content into its main platform, while Fishbowl will continue to operate as a distinct app for the time being.
- Evolution: Christian Sutherland-Wong, the CEO of Glassdoor, said that he sees Fishbowl as the logical evolution of how Glassdoor is already being used. Similarly, since people are already seeking out feedback on prospective employers, it makes sense to bring recruitment and reviews closer together.
- Transparency: “We’ve always been about workplace transparency,” he said in an interview. “We expect in the future that job seekers will use Glassdoor reviews, and also look to existing professionals in their fields to get answers from each other.” Fishbowl has seen a lot of traction during the Covid-19 pandemic, growing its user base threefold in the last year.
- Acquisition: The acquisition is technically being made by Recruit Holdings, the Japanese employment listings, and tech giant that acquired Glassdoor for $1.2 billion in 2018, and the companies are not disclosing any financial terms. San Francisco-based Fishbowl — founded in 2016 by Matt Sunbulli and Loren Appin — had raised less than $8 million, according to PitchBook data, from a pretty impressive set of investors, including Binary Capital, GGV, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, and Scott Belsky.
- Employment: Glassdoor will employ Fishbowl to supplement this and provide it another set of tools to examine how it can expand its platform beyond workplace evaluations. The goal is to target those who come to Glassdoor to read what others have to say about a firm or to leave their own comments: they can now also join in on conversations with others; and if they are coming to complain about their workplace, they can now also look for a new one!
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