Sorce, a groundbreaking startup co-founded by Oluwapelumi Dada, David Alade, and Daniel Ajayi, recently celebrated its acceptance into Y Combinator (YC), a testament to its rapid ascent in the tech world. The founders received the exciting news from David Lieb, a General Partner at YC, after submitting their application past the deadline. Sorce, which initially launched as Swype in August 2024, quickly gained viral traction on social media, attracting users from nearly every country globally, a clear indicator of its innovative appeal.

Dada describes Sorce as a "Tinder for jobs," offering a revolutionary platform where individuals can apply for multiple positions with a simple swipe. This AI-powered solution addresses the common frustration of repetitive job application processes by automating much of the work. The platform analyzes a user's skills, job history, and preferences to automatically match them with relevant companies, streamlining the job search and application experience significantly. The core solution was developed in just seven weeks by the co-founders.

The startup's early success was remarkable, accumulating almost 500,000 users and over 20 million swipes since its official launch. An early version, called "One Click Apply," even caught the eye of serial entrepreneur Sam Parr, founder of The Hustle. Parr's viral X post, which garnered 1.7 million views, highlighted Dada's ambition and product, attracting initial funding from Founders Inc. and encouraging others to support the young entrepreneur.

To scale Sorce into a global competitor against industry giants like Indeed and LinkedIn, Dada assembled what he calls a "cracked team." Daniel Ajayi, an MIT-trained professional with experience at Nvidia, built the sophisticated AI agent infrastructure that powers Sorce's automated application process. David Alade, an expert in iOS app development and a close friend, contributed significantly to the platform's mobile functionality. The team expanded to six members, including Matthew, who rebuilt Sorce's search algorithm to understand the semantic meaning of job descriptions, effectively doubling user engagement. Ben championed the employer program, which generated substantial revenue before its pause.

Sorce's impact is evident in the caliber of companies where users have secured interview offers, including major players like OpenAI, Mitsubishi, Nvidia, Coca-Cola, Visa, and Samsung. Despite this impressive growth and recognition, Sorce initially faced challenges in monetization. The company experimented with a Tinder-like subscription model and a recruitment service, generating over one million dollars in revenue. However, a strategic decision was made to pause monetization and prioritize user base expansion, with the belief that a larger user base will inherently create more value for companies and ensure long-term sustainability.

Oluwapelumi Dada harbors an ambitious vision for Sorce: to become the world's leading job platform. While established competitors like LinkedIn boast 1.1 billion members and Indeed attracts hundreds of millions of monthly visitors, Sorce has already achieved the notable feat of being ranked the fourth most popular job app in the US within its first year. Dada's strategy involves two key pillars: replicating Indeed's comprehensive job listing approach, but with the added complexity of building intelligent AI agents to apply to all diverse job types, and an unwavering commitment to product excellence, inspired by Duolingo's meticulous A/B testing and user experience focus. Marketing efforts, including short-form content creation by Ajayi, have also contributed to the company's significant social media following.

Sorce's journey is supported by a strong network of backers, including Founders Inc., Y Combinator, and prominent angel investors such as Opeyemi Awoyemi (co-founder of Jobberman) and Adewale Yusuf (founder of AltSchool Africa). While the exact funding amount remains undisclosed, a forthcoming announcement is expected to reveal more details. Sorce's innovative approach to simplifying job applications, coupled with its robust backing, positions it as a significant player in the future of recruitment, despite ongoing questions about the broader implications of its efficiency on the traditional job-hunting process. Dada's personal journey, from arriving in the US for school five years ago to becoming a YC-backed founder, underscores the startup's remarkable trajectory.