What Kicklox does

Kicklox is a Paris-based B2B talent marketplace founded in 2015 that connects enterprises, startups, and engineering consultancies with a community of 175,000+ engineers and tech professionals across France. The company operates a multi-product platform spanning traditional staffing services (permanent recruitment via Kicklox Hire, freelance sourcing via Kicklox Freelancer, and umbrella/portage via Kicklox Global) and a modular white-label SaaS suite (Kicklox Platform) that includes Skills Mapping, Intelligent Staffing with a matching algorithm, Workload Management, and a Freelancer Management System. The underlying technology is a talent marketplace with a matching engine that processes structured profile attributes (skills, location, availability, contract type) to generate candidate shortlists, with API access and integrations into 3,000+ third-party applications including Salesforce and SAP.

Kicklox generates revenue through five streams: professional services fees for CDI headhunting, transaction-based commissions on freelance sourcing, administrative margins on commercial portage invoices, tiered SaaS subscriptions (Essential, Growth, Scale, Enterprise) priced on monthly active users, and pay-per-use access to its 70,000+ profile CV database (Kicklox Open). Its customer base includes large French industrial groups (Airbus, Safran, Thales, Nokia, Engie, PSA, Eiffage, GRTgaz, Decathlon), engineering consultancies and ESNs, and technology startups, served through a hybrid GTM combining direct enterprise sales, self-serve platform access, and a freelancer services partner ecosystem (Qonto, Alan, AXA, Cautineo). The company is privately held with no disclosed external backing beyond an estimated $1.45M raised in 2018 from WILCO and Investisseurs & Partenaires, and operates with a lean team of 1-10 employees from its Paris headquarters on Avenue des Champs Elysées.

Name

Kicklox

Legal name

Kicklox

Website

https://kicklox.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Kicklox is a Paris-based B2B talent marketplace founded in 2015, connecting French enterprises, startups, and engineering consultancies with 175,000+ engineers and tech professionals via staffing services, umbrella/portage, and a white-label SaaS staffing platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Engineering Staffing & Talent Marketplace

NAICS

Employment Placement Agencies (561311)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Gig / On-Demand Generalist Staffing Platforms (BPACACAK)

Keywords

• Engineering recruitment services
• Freelance talent marketplace
• Staffing management software
• Technical talent sourcing
• Umbrella company services

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Recruitment & Headhunting Services (CDI): Executive search and recruitment services placing engineers and tech talents in permanent positions (CDI). Companies pay for successful placements through retained search or contingency fee arrangements. The company acts as a cabinet de chasse (headhunting firm) identifying and qualifying candidates for client needs.
2. Freelance Sourcing & Staffing: Commission-based sourcing of freelance engineers and consultants for project needs. The company maintains a vetted pool of 20,000+ freelancers and engineering companies that can be matched to client projects. Revenue generated through placement fees or service commissions.
3. Commercial Portage (Umbrella Company): Umbrella company solution where Kicklox acts as the contractual intermediary between client companies and independent freelancers. Simplifies multi-vendor management by centralizing procurement through a single supplier reference. Revenue generated through administrative fees on freelancer invoices.
4. Platform SaaS Subscriptions: White-label staffing and resource management platform offered as SaaS subscription. Four tiers: Essential (turnkey), Growth (customizable), Scale (unlimited fields), and Enterprise (bespoke). Pricing based on MAU (Monthly Active Users) with custom enterprise quotes. Platform includes talent profiles, matching, milestones, CRA tracking, and API access.
5. CV-Bank & Jobboard Access: Pay-per-use access to engineering talent CV database with 70,000+ profiles. Companies can search, filter by skills/availability/location, and access direct contact information. No engagement required - pay only when using the search engine.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Kicklox is a talent marketplace and digital staffing studio that connects companies with over 175,000 engineers and tech professionals for permanent recruitment (CDI), freelance missions, and commercial portage (umbrella company) services. The company operates a SaaS staffing platform (Kicklox Platform) that enables organizations to deploy white-label talent marketplaces with matching algorithms, skills mapping, workload management, and freelancer management capabilities. Services span direct recruitment, freelance sourcing, CV database access, and integrated vendor management for enterprises.

Product overview

Kicklox is a technology and engineering recruitment platform operating as a unified platform-plus-modules architecture. The core offering is Kicklox Services, which provides access to over 60,000 engineers and tech talents for CDI hiring, freelance missions, and engineering consulting. Supporting sub-products include Kicklox Freelancer (freelance sourcing), Kicklox Hire (headhunting/CDI recruitment), Kicklox Open (CV database/jobboard with 70,000+ profiles), and Kicklox Global (umbrella company solution). The flagship technology product is Kicklox Platform — a white-label SaaS marketplace for staffing and resource management — which comprises modular sub-products including Kicklox Manager (SaaS staffing tool), Kicklox White Label (custom white-label deployment), Skills Mapping (competency cartography), Intelligent Staffing (matching algorithm), Workload Management (capacity planning), and Freelancer Management System (FMS).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Kicklox Platform: White label matchmaking platform for resource management, staffing, and freelancer management
• Kicklox Freelancer
• Kicklox Hire
• Kicklox Global
• Kicklox Open
• Kicklox Services

Products and services

• Kicklox Services Core recruitment and staffing service providing companies access to over 60,000 engineers and tech talents for permanent (CDI) hiring, freelance missions, and engineering consulting. Designed for enterprises and SMEs needing expert talent acquisition support with full accompaniment from need specification through integration.
• Kicklox Freelancer Freelance sourcing service enabling companies to collaborate with qualified freelance engineers and tech professionals, with contractual support and guidance from Kicklox's team. Targets companies needing project-based engineering talent.
• Kicklox Hire Headhunting and permanent recruitment (CDI) service for hiring engineers and tech talents on permanent contracts. Includes candidate sourcing, qualification, and integration support for hard-to-fill technical roles.
• Kicklox Open CV database and jobboard (CVthèque) providing pay-per-use access to over 70,000 qualified engineering and tech talent profiles. Allows companies to search by skills, location, availability, and access direct contact information. No engagement required.
• Kicklox Global Umbrella company solution (portage commercial) enabling companies to work with multiple independent service providers through a single contractual framework. References 70,000+ independent talents, simplifying multi-vendor procurement by serving as the single supplier counterparty.
• Kicklox Platform White-label talent marketplace and staffing management SaaS platform enabling organizations to optimize resource management, skills mapping, intelligent staffing with matching algorithms, workload management, freelancer management, and vendor management. Offered in Essential, Growth, Scale, and Enterprise tiers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Found rare maker-engineer hybrid talent for robotics startup in 10 days
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers21 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability2 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• QontominorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership providing business banking services to freelancers on the Kicklox platform. Qonto offers banking solutions tailored to independent workers and small businesses using the Kicklox ecosystem.
• AlanminorGTM or Marketing PartnerHealth insurance partnership offering coverage solutions to freelancers within the Kicklox community. Alan provides simplified health insurance for independent professionals.
• CautineominorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership providing additional services for independent workers on the Kicklox platform. Cautineo offers supplementary professional services to freelancers.
• AXAminorGTM or Marketing PartnerInsurance partnership providing coverage solutions to freelancers working through the Kicklox ecosystem. AXA offers professional liability and other insurance products for independent workers.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• HR Path: European HR transformation and workforce solutions consultancy with HRIS and talent-management practices; overlaps thematically with Kicklox's enterprise workforce/skills-management positioning, especially Kicklox Platform and Skills Mapping.
• CleverConnect: French recruitment technology vendor providing ATS, career site, and HR matching tools; adjacent peer to the Kicklox Platform SaaS offering for clients digitizing their own hiring and staffing workflows.
• Work4: Mobile-first recruitment platform focused on hourly and hourly-skilled workers; an adjacent HR-tech peer in the talent-acquisition category overlapping with Kicklox's SMB/recruitment customers, though with different verticals.

Broad incumbents

• Upwork: Large global freelance services marketplace with broad category coverage; serves as a generalist alternative for clients who might otherwise route engineering staffing through Kicklox or similar vertical platforms.
• Akka Technologies: European engineering and R&D consultancy serving aerospace, automotive, and industrial customers; competes with Kicklox's enterprise recruitment and freelance sourcing, and is itself a named Kicklox customer accessing the freelancer network.
• Toptal: Global freelance marketplace specializing in top-tier software, design, and engineering talent; competes with Kicklox for enterprise-grade tech staffing contracts, especially for international talent needs of French clients.
• Alten: Major French engineering and technology consulting firm providing staffing, R&D, and IT services to industrial clients; an established ESN competing directly with Kicklox at the same enterprise buyers (Airbus, Safran, Thales ecosystem).

Direct peers

• Freelance.com: French-listed freelance and IT services platform offering sourcing, portage salarial, and staffing solutions; directly comparable to Kicklox's combined recruitment + portage + freelance marketplace offering.
• Comet: French tech-talent marketplace focused on engineering and digital profiles; overlaps directly with Kicklox Open, Kicklox Hire, and Kicklox Freelancer product lines for the same enterprise and startup buyers.
• Malt: French freelance marketplace connecting independent consultants and tech freelancers with enterprises; the leading direct competitor to Kicklox Freelancer in France, sharing the same target buyers and engineer/tech talent supply.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kicklox
• Xx.com/kicklox_

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kicklox