Agency Republic co-founder Jon Claydon is spreading his marketing industry expertise by investing in a new social media recruitment firm, launched to tap into the burgeoning freelance market.
The start-up, YunoJuno, is being launched by three former ad men Shib Mathew, Chris Cater and Hugo Rodger-Brown, who claim the way the industry sources the best freelance talent is broken.
Claydon is best known for his role at Claydon Heeley Jones Mason, which was formed in 2000, following the merger of Claydon Heeley International and Jones Mason Barton Antenen.
Claydon became chairman, while Nigel Jones and Ed Mason were joint chief executives, although Mason left soon after. The agency, which also spurred the launch of Agency Republic, went through a number of management changes and is now Targetbase Claydon Heeley (TBCH) with Steve Grout at the helm.
Claydon left in 2007 and is also a chairman of Work Club.
YunoJuno is an invite-only network of freelancers, with the founders having worked in agencies both in the UK and abroad, and with backgrounds across creative operations, finance and technology.
According to the company’s blurb, “YunoJuno is a network of the very best freelance talent within the creative and technology sectors, along with the most creative and innovative companies seeking to produce cutting-edge work. We have a single, bold vision: to create a network of the greatest freelance talent in the world. Or, as we sometimes like to put it – a global freelancer mafia”.
Brett Akker, entrepreneur behind Streetcar/Zipcar and LoveSpace, has also invested in the business.
