French startup Jump, a modern take on the concept of umbrella companies in France, has raised €11 million (around $12 million at current exchange rates) in a Series A funding round.
Jump offers full-time contracts to freelancers looking for some stability and the benefits involved with a full-time job. It only acts as an administrative companion and workers remain independent — they can work with multiple clients and negotiate their contracts directly.
Breega is leading today’s funding round, and Index Ventures and Raise Ventures are also participating. The startup had previously raised €4 million (around $4.5 million) back in 2021.
After signing up, freelancers can bill their customers through Jump’s platform, and at the end of the month, they can create payslips and receive a salary. This feature alone means that freelancers can define a pay for themselves that works all year long — even during those slow summer months.
And with a permanent contract, workers are registered with the national healthcare system and can contribute to the national pension system. Jump also provides health insurance contracts via Alan, meal vouchers via Swile, access to employee savings schemes and more. In France, a permanent contract is also particularly helpful when you’re trying to buy a home and negotiating a mortgage with a bank.
There are some tradeoffs, though. Corporate contributions are deducted from your pay, and Jump itself costs €99 per month. But when you’re a freelancer, money is just one part of the equation. I can see many freelancers who would like the best of both the freelancing and full-time employment worlds. So far, the startup has managed to convince 2,000 freelancers to make the jump.
The startup recently also launched a free offering for freelancers who are just getting started. It includes a free, professional bank account with a virtual debit card that works with Apple Pay or Google Pay. There are also a handful of software features to help you bill your first clients, such as a built-in invoicing tool and a dashboard to track your financial performance.
“It’s pretty much in line with how freelancers work: They often get started with the basic French freelancer status, and then switch to another status when they begin to feel the limits of their freelancing status and they have enough revenue,” said Nicolas Fayon, Jump’s co-founder and CEO (pictured above).
In the future, Jump wants to be able to support more independent workers, as it now caters to software developers, data engineers, project managers, creative consultants and sports coaches.
For instance, it wants to support B2C sellers, such as “businesses that bill consumers via Stripe using online payments or physical payment terminals,” Fayon said. Jump also plans to expand to other countries, starting with a British umbrella company for freelancers working in the U.K.