DESIGNERDOCK

Name

DESIGNERDOCK

Legal name

DDHQ UG (haftungsbeschränkt)

Website

https://designerdock.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Frankfurt

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Recruitment/Staffing Services: Commission-based recruitment services for companies and agencies seeking creative, marketing, and design professionals. Job seekers are served free of charge. The company operates on a placement fee model where client companies pay for successful candidate placements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

DESIGNERDOCK is a specialized recruitment agency that places creative, marketing, design, and digital professionals into permanent and freelance roles across the German-speaking communications industry. The firm operates an online job listings portal and provides headhunting and consulting services to advertising agencies, design studios, marketing departments, and communication companies, with services free for job seekers and commission-based for hiring clients.

Product overview

DESIGNERDOCK is a specialized recruitment agency operating a unified job portal and recruitment service platform for the German-speaking communication, marketing, and design industry. The core offering consists of the Stellenangebote (job listings portal) where candidates can browse and apply for positions across categories including Art Direction, Coding, Graphic Design, Account Management, Marketing, Packaging, Project Management, Strategy, Text/Copywriting, UX Design, and Visual Design. The Bewerbungsformular (application form) serves as the centralized submission system. For employers, the Personalberatung (recruitment services) module provides specialized headhunting backed by consultants who are industry specialists. Supporting services include Berufsbilder (career profiles), the Talente werben Talente (talent referral) program, the Dockblog content hub, and free legal resource guides covering employment, contract, and intellectual property law. The company operates multiple office locations across Germany (Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Munich) and Vienna, with each location having dedicated consultants.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• DESIGNERDOCK Wien: Vienna franchise operation of DESIGNERDOCK serving the Austrian market

Products and services

• Personalberatung (Recruitment Services) Specialized headhunting and recruitment consulting service for employers seeking talent in advertising, graphic design, digital, marketing, and the communication industry. Recruiters are themselves specialists from the respective fields they serve, providing pre-screened, industry-experienced candidates. Service is commission-based for client companies.
• Stellenangebote (Job Listings Portal) Online job portal displaying current vacancies in communication, marketing, design, digital, and advertising sectors across Germany and Austria, with filtering by region, category, and job type.
• Dockboerse External job exchange platform accessible via dockboerse.de, featuring additional job listings related to the communication and design sector.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• DESIGNERDOCK Franchise NetworkcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 1996Franchise partnership model for operating regional offices. Franchise partners (Geschäftsführer/Partner) receive brand licensing, access to candidate database, marketing materials, and operational support in exchange for franchise fees and revenue sharing. Current franchise opportunities listed for Vienna, Munich, Stuttgart, and new territories.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Honeypot: Honeypot is a European tech-talent marketplace with a focus on product, design, and engineering roles. It is an emerging peer in the broader European creative/tech hiring space and represents the kind of digital-first model that could pressure traditional agencies like DESIGNERDOCK.

Broad incumbents

• Indeed: Indeed is the world's largest job search engine with strong DACH penetration. It competes with DESIGNERDOCK as a free self-serve channel for employers seeking creative and marketing talent, potentially disintermediating agency-led placement.
• Robert Half: Robert Half is a global staffing firm with a dedicated German operation placing marketing, creative, and communications professionals. It is a broader incumbent that overlaps with DESIGNERDOCK's creative/marketing placement services as part of a wider portfolio.
• Michael Page: Michael Page is an international recruitment firm with strong DACH coverage across marketing, digital, and creative roles. It competes directly with DESIGNERDOCK for mid-to-senior creative placements but serves a broader range of functions across multiple industries.
• Hays: Hays is a global recruitment and workforce solutions provider with significant German operations covering marketing, digital, and communications hiring. It overlaps with DESIGNERDOCK's permanent and freelance placement model but at greater scale and broader sector coverage.
• Adecco: Adecco is one of the world's largest staffing companies with a German business that includes marketing and creative placements. It competes with DESIGNERDOCK for entry- and mid-level creative roles and benefits from broader geographic and functional reach.

Regional players

• Kununu: Kununu is a leading DACH employer-review and recruiting platform operated by Xing/New Work SE. It is an adjacent ecosystem player influencing the same creative/marketing talent pool that DESIGNERDOCK serves, affecting both candidate behavior and client employer branding.
• StepStone: StepStone is a leading DACH-focused job board and recruitment platform. It competes with DESIGNERDOCK by enabling direct employer hiring across the same marketing, design, and communications categories, particularly for standardized roles.
• Xing (New Work SE): Xing is the leading German-language professional network and a major DACH recruitment channel, used by DESIGNERDOCK itself for sourcing. It represents both a marketing channel and a competitor that enables direct employer-to-candidate matching.

Direct peers

• Gulp Information Services: Gulp is a Germany-based recruitment platform focused on placing IT, creative, and marketing freelancers and permanent staff. It is the closest direct peer to DESIGNERDOCK in the DACH creative/marketing staffing niche, competing for the same candidate pool and same client agencies.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Designerdock
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/designerdock
• Instagraminstagram.com/designerdock
• Xx.com/designerdock

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 DESIGNERDOCK