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In an exclusive with Crunchbase News, is announcing a $3.6 million in a Series B. led the round, with co-founding general partner representing the firm on BuiltIn鈥檚 board of directors. , as well as a number of Built In鈥檚 , also participated in the round.

Many communities have some experience with building physical hubs to serve as the center of local entrepreneurial attention. These big spaces may offer co-working space, event venues, and regular networking functions to bring members of a city鈥檚 startup scene together as one, or at least they try to.

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What initially launched as a social network for Chicago鈥檚 tech community has since transformed into what , Built In鈥檚 CEO, called a 鈥渁 highly-differentiated recruitment platform鈥� that highlights local technology companies and connects talented folks with open positions at those companies. And it鈥檚 not just for Chicago anymore: Built In has spun up instances in six other markets: Los Angeles, Colorado, New York, Austin, Boston, and, as of just a couple weeks ago, Seattle.

The company has raised around $4.3 million across , the most recent of which was a $2.4 million Series A announced in November 2016. This Series B brings Built In’s funding total to $7.9 million across four rounds. Katris said this most recent round might be considered a Series A2 in many markets, considering the relatively small amount of capital involved and how recently the company raised a Series A round. But, she said, 鈥淲hen your valuation is doubling, it鈥檚 hard to say it鈥檚 an extension.鈥�

“Our strategy with fundraising has always been to take money when we need it to grow, not to survive,鈥� she said.鈥淭he impetus for raising this round was to fuel growth and build the platform for the future.鈥�

Katris and her team at Built In bootstrapped the business for its first three years, expanding to two other communities 鈥� Los Angeles and Colorado 鈥� and growing annual revenue to $600,000 before seeking outside funding.

鈥淚 thought it was really important to have a [proven] business model before raising,鈥� she explained during our interview in Built In鈥檚 Chicago headquarters.

According to Katris, the company has 鈥減retty much doubled business year over year for the last few years.鈥� Built In has over 500 customers across its markets, and customers range from small firms with under 100 employees to digital divisions of larger corporations and everywhere in between. Built In itself continues to grow its ranks, too. With approximately 60 employees today, Built In is on track to double its headcount in 2018 and could have as many as 80 people employed by year鈥檚 end.

Katris cited two major trends behind the rise of Built In and its community. She observed that 鈥渢en or twenty years ago, you wouldn鈥檛 have called [a company like] Walgreens, Grainger, or Caterpillar a 鈥榙igital technology company,鈥� but today they have hundreds of engineers on staff. So the opportunity has become vast.鈥�

It鈥檚 the second trend, though, that may give Built In more leverage, or so goes the company鈥檚 thesis.

鈥淢illennials are really shaping the workforce today. They鈥檝e driven this proliferation of community-based, purpose-based platforms,” she told Crunchbase News. “So if you think about what Etsy has done for DIY, what Airbnb has done for travel, WeWork for co-working, Built In is doing the same for recruitment. Our approach is to lead with content and community, so we鈥檙e connecting people who love tech, with those who hire tech, on something more than a job post ever could.鈥�

There鈥檚 an audience too old to have found a job through listings in a newspaper that鈥檚 also tired of cold pitches from recruiters and other transactional interactions common on big professional networking sites. By Katris鈥檚 telling, Built In represents a third-wave of platform that goes beyond 鈥渆mployer branding鈥� to 鈥渉umanize recruiting鈥� for the workforce of the future.

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