Align Capital Partners announced it has made a growth capital investment in We Are Rosie, a flexible talent marketplace for the advertising and marketing world. WRR founder and CEO Stephanie Nadi Olson has retained a significant stake in the Company and will continue to lead WRR through its next phase of growth.
“ACP partnered with We Are Rosie because we wholeheartedly believe in WRR’s vision and unique value proposition”
In its first four years since inception, WRR has grown its network of freelancers (known as “Rosies”) to more than 10,000 and added 40 employees. The Company tripled its revenue in the past year and now works with more than 25 Fortune 500 brands and all six major advertising holding companies. This year alone, more than 1,200 flexible work opportunities came to We Are Rosie.
“We’ve reached the point where it would be a disservice to We Are Rosie’s mission and vision to throttle our growth by staying bootstrapped,” said Nadi Olson, who quit her ad sales career in 2018 to start the Company. “This partnership provides us access to ACP’s growth resources and the capital to support our clients with better infrastructure so that we can accelerate our goals of creating access, opportunity and wealth for independent marketers, especially those who’ve historically been marginalized by the industry.”
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Known for its diversity, equity and inclusion commitment, WRR’s enormous success is based on its ability to expertly match clients with best fit talent— with more than 40% of placed Rosies identifying as Black, Indigenous or People of Color. Additionally, WRR provides Rosies with weekly pay and benefits to create a level of stability traditionally not available to freelancers. WRR utilizes an innovative, proprietary tech tool that matches talent with clients based on factors beyond a traditional resume.
“ACP partnered with We Are Rosie because we wholeheartedly believe in WRR’s vision and unique value proposition,” said ACP Managing Partner Rob Langley. “We’re thrilled to partner with Stephanie and her team as WRR enters its next phase of growth by further investing in its people and technology to create even more opportunity for underrepresented talent and easier access to that diverse, best-in-class talent for clients.”
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In addition to its mission first culture, ACP was drawn to WRR’s aggressive growth ambitions and its disruptive model that has transcended historical industry norms by delivering an equally compelling value proposition for its clients and its community. As a Company built “by marketing execs, for marketing execs”, WRR has organically built a platform uniquely suited to address the growing demand for digital marketing as an outsized share of overall media spend. WRR marks ACP’s second professional services investment in the past 18 months, following its July 2020 partnership with WilliamsMarston.
Operating Partner David Tiley, Principal Jack Parks and Associate Vijay Senthilkumar worked alongside Mr. Langley on the transaction. Jack Alexander, a technology and services executive with a passion for diversity and inclusion, advised ACP and joined the WRR Board of Directors at the transaction close. We Are Rosie was advised on the transaction by Cowen and Morrison Cohen, while ACP was advised by McGuire Woods.
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