Former ‘LinkedIn for blue collar workers’ startup Sample rebrands and pivots for new $2.4 million Seed raise

The founders of Sequoia Capital-backed Sample have rebranded and changed the focus of the business, raising another $2.4 million Seed round from new investors in the process.

As Sample, cofounded in 2021 by former Grab staffers Jascha Zittel and Elliott Gibb, the startup raised $920,000 in pre-Seed funding, led by Sequoia Capital India, in December 2021.

Their original idea was to be “LinkedIn for essential workers”, and a “career HQ” for sectors such as hospitality, retail, warehousing, transport and logistics, trades, and personal care services.

But it appears that idea didn’t deliver the traction they hoped for, and last year the startup changed tack and name. It’s now Mercu, a employee engagement platform for the “deskless workforce”, which automates workforce communication across onboarding, training, and shifts via the chat apps companies already use, including Whatsapp, SMS/iMessage, and LINE. The company is working on introducing FB Messenger, Kakao, and Telegram to its platform.