Forty Nine
Forty Nine is a Paris-based two-sided talent marketplace that matches vetted remote software developers with early-stage to Series-B tech startups across Europe and Africa, charging transaction fees on employer payroll via its marketplace and Bootstrap Program.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersParis, France
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Forty Nine does
Forty Nine (legal entity fortynine inc.) is a Paris-based two-sided talent marketplace that connects vetted remote software developers with early-stage to Series-B tech startups across Europe and Africa. Founded in 2019 (one source records 2020) and operated by a team of 1-10, the company runs three product lines: the core Forty Nine Talent Marketplace for matching developers with startups and handling contracts and billing, the Bootstrap Program that defers hiring fees until a startup closes a capital raise above $100,000, and the Brogrammers Slack community that provides post-placement networking and learning for matched engineers. The underlying platform combines a self-serve web job board (fortynine.co) with a sales-assisted matching layer underpinned by a "top 3% talent" mixed interview process and a project-based skill assessment that prioritizes demonstrated work over traditional resumes.
Forty Nine firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Forty Nine
- Legal name
- fortynine inc.
- Website
- https://fortynine.co
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Forty Nine is a Paris-based two-sided talent marketplace that matches vetted remote software developers with early-stage to Series-B tech startups across Europe and Africa, charging transaction fees on employer payroll via its marketplace and Bootstrap Program.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Forty Nine industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Tech Talent Marketplace
- NAICS
- Employment Placement Agencies (561311)
- SIC
- Services-Employment Agencies (7361)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Remote & Global/Multilingual Direct Hire (BPACAFAO)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Professional & Technical Direct Hire (IT, Engineering, Finance, Healthcare) (BPACAFAC), International Payroll & Contractor Payments (FSAMAIAC)
Keywords
Where Forty Nine is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Paris
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Markets served
Forty Nine business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Recruitment/Hiring Fees: The company charges clients (startups/companies) a fee built on top of the payroll. The fee is only charged after successful placement and hiring.
- Bootstrap Program - Deferred Payment: For early-stage startups, hiring fees are only due when capital raise is successfully secured (over $100,000). Company bets on startup success.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Standard Hiring - €1,000 deposit per position |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Bootstrap Program - Hire now, pay later |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Developer Services - Free for job seekers |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Forty Nine product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Forty Nine runs a two-sided remote talent marketplace that vets and matches the top 3% of software engineers (full-stack, mobile, cloud, data) with early-stage and growth-stage tech startups across Europe and Africa. The company charges transaction-based placement fees to client companies on top of payroll, with no cost to developers, and offers an optional Bootstrap Program that defers fees until a successful capital raise of over $100,000.
Product overview
Forty Nine is a talent acquisition marketplace that connects remote software engineers with high-growth startups. The core platform matches developers with roles in web development, cloud engineering, data engineering, mobile development, and product design. The Bootstrap Program offers deferred payment terms for early-stage startups, allowing them to hire talent before securing capital. Access to the Brogrammers Slack community is provided as a value-added service for matched developers. The platform operates primarily in European tech hubs (Paris, London, Berlin, Barcelona, Lisbon) while sourcing talent globally, including from Africa (Morocco, Tunisia, Madagascar).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Forty Nine Talent Marketplace A two-sided talent matching platform that connects high-quality vetted remote software developers (web development, cloud architecture, data engineering, mobile development, product design) with ambitious tech startups globally. The marketplace handles candidate application, assessment, matching, contract management, billing, and guaranteed end-of-month payments. Targeted at startups hiring remote engineers and at software engineers seeking remote roles.
- Bootstrap Program A specialized hiring service within Forty Nine that enables early-stage tech startups to hire vetted remote developers now, with payment of recruitment fees deferred until the startup successfully closes a capital raise (Pre-Seed, Seed, or Series-A) exceeding $100,000. Targeted at resource-constrained startups, particularly those backed by top accelerators such as YC, eFounders, and Station F; no fees are charged if the capital raise fails.
- Brogrammers Developer Community A global developer community hosted on Slack that provides matched developers with networking, knowledge sharing, peer learning about the latest technology stacks, and ongoing career support. Access is provided as part of the talent marketplace offering. Targeted at software developers who have been matched with Forty Nine client startups.
Quantifiable outcome
- Companies report hiring in 2 weeks instead of months
Companies that use Forty Nine
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Forty Nine technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Forty Nine partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Forty Nine competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Upwork: Largest open freelance marketplace; a broad incumbent alternative for startups sourcing developers, though with less curation and fewer managed-services layers than Forty Nine.
- Deel: Global payroll and EOR platform that has expanded into contractor hiring and talent matching; an adjacent incumbent moving into Forty Nine's hiring/contractor-payments overlap.
- Remote: Global HR platform offering payroll, EOR, and contractor management; comparable as a broad incumbent that bundles cross-border payroll with talent engagement for distributed teams.
Emerging players
- Crewfire: Talent partner service helping startups hire remote engineers; emerging niche player with comparable target customer (early-stage startups) and managed-hiring service model.
Direct peers
- Andela: Marketplace connecting vetted global (notably African) engineers with companies; closely comparable given the Africa-sourcing/Europe-US demand model and tech-talent specialization.
- Lemon.io: Vetted marketplace for pre-screened remote developers targeted at startups; directly comparable in target customer (early-stage tech startups), vetting process, and remote-first delivery.
- Arc.dev: Remote developer marketplace with time-zone matching and vetting; directly comparable as a two-sided talent platform for startups hiring remote engineers globally.
- Gun.io: Vetted freelance developer network serving startups and growth-stage companies; comparable in the curated developer pool and freelance/contract engagement model.
- Toptal: Premium freelance marketplace for vetted software developers; most direct comparable given the shared 'top 3%' talent-vetting thesis, freelance engagement model, and global remote focus.
- Turing: AI-driven remote developer matching platform serving startups and enterprises; comparable in automated matching, global remote sourcing, and developer-vetting workflows.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Forty Nine social profiles
Digital presenceForty Nine financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Forty Nine leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Forty Nine funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Forty Nine M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Forty Nine
What does Forty Nine do?
Forty Nine runs a two-sided remote talent marketplace that vets and matches the top 3% of software engineers (full-stack, mobile, cloud, data) with early-stage and growth-stage tech startups across Europe and Africa. The company charges transaction-based placement fees to client companies on top of payroll, with no cost to developers, and offers an optional Bootstrap Program that defers fees until a successful capital raise of over $100,000.
Is Forty Nine a public or private company?
Forty Nine is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Forty Nine founded?
Forty Nine was founded in 2019. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Forty Nine based?
Forty Nine is headquartered in Paris, France, in the Europe region.
How does Forty Nine make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Recruitment/Hiring Fees are the primary driver. The others are bootstrap Program - Deferred Payment.
Who are Forty Nine's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Upwork, Deel and Remote. Crewfire is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Andela, Lemon.io, Arc.dev, Gun.io, Toptal and Turing.
Does Forty Nine have an API?
No public API is recorded for Forty Nine.
What industry is Forty Nine in?
Forty Nine's product category is Tech Talent Marketplace. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPACAFAO, Remote & Global/Multilingual Direct Hire, with a secondary code of BPACAFAC, Professional & Technical Direct Hire (IT, Engineering, Finance, Healthcare). Its NAICS code is 561311 and its SIC code is 7361.