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Sam Franklin
Started and sold Otta. Starting something new in 2025/26
Sam Franklin is the co-founder and CEO of Otta, a job search platform designed to improve the experience for job seekers in the tech industry. Otta aims to make job searching less burdensome by focusing on a candidate-first approach, allowing users to navigate their job search more effectively. The platform has gained significant traction, with over 6 million applications submitted in 2023 alone, and it has raised substantial funding from notable investors, including Tiger Global and LocalGlobe.124
Before founding Otta, Sam worked at Nested, a UK-based prop-tech startup, where he was instrumental in forming the Business Operations team and served as the interim Head of People. His career also includes experience as a consultant at McKinsey & Company and internships in investment banking at Morgan Stanley and private equity at ECI Partners. Sam holds a degree in Economics from the University of Cambridge.135
Sam's leadership at Otta reflects a commitment to salary transparency and improving hiring practices, which he believes are crucial for both job seekers and employers. Under his guidance, Otta has positioned itself as a significant player in the recruitment space, striving to enhance the overall hiring process in the tech sector.245
Highlights
I have exciting news to share. Otta.com is now part of Welcome to the Jungle France.
We started Otta in 2019 to make job search less soul-crushing, with an incredible candidate-first product. Since then we’ve delivered a lot of impact, including 6 million applications made on Otta in 2023 sent to 10,000 companies. And for our UK companies we’re nearly on par with LinkedIn in terms of the hires we provide.
I’m excited for our future within Welcome to the Jungle. They're a leading innovator in employer branding in France, with 350 people working on their mission, and they've raised over €80m to support their growth. We think it’s a great combination culturally, and we share a common mission to build a better future for job seekers.
Through combining forces I’m confident we’ll have an even greater impact. At Otta we've always wanted to invest more in helping companies with their employer branding, as we know how much it can help candidates in their search too.
Thank you to everyone who has worked at Otta for the journey so far. You’re all the reason we’ve reached this fantastic milestone. Together we've helped many people find fantastic jobs because of the product, brand and business we've built.
Theo Margolius and Xav Kearney you've been incredible co-founders over the last 5 years. Thank you.
And thank you to Otta’s investors who placed their trust in us, and provided invaluable support and counsel along the way.
Although today signals a change, one thing will always remain the same: our purpose at Otta is to make job search less soul-crushing and help people find fulfilment. Onto the next chapter to make this happen!
Congratulations to the team at Otta.com who released our first "Year on Otta" review for companies.
It's a mix of useful insights and fun stats on how companies stacked up in 2023 based on their interest from candidates on Otta. Go check it out!
One angle that I really like is the total time people spent viewing jobs. It's a fun way to put into perspective our scale and reach at Otta.
In total, there was a whopping 53 years of time spent viewing jobs on the platform in 2023! ⚡
I've also included a screenshot of Otta's results (4 days of viewing time). The highest company was Block with 96 days. And a few mentions to Octopus Energy with 68 days, Sky with 65 days and Deel with 56 days.
Wishing all our companies a successful 2024.
