“Gen Z” has its Tinder of quick jobs

Two Generation Z entrepreneurs had such trouble finding employees that they invested their money in the design of a mobile application that they are launching in Quebec this fall to solve the problem.

• Also read: She dominates the world of illustration from Montreal

• Also read: Dinner at a restaurant with five strangers, there’s an app for that

“We had to reduce the paperwork, make it faster,” says Aya Sgar, 21, the brain behind Pagato, a platform that allows you to find temporary workers in a few clicks.

When she founded her home cleaning service in 2022 in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Aya discovered placement agencies. She had 10 times too many clients, had to find people, was overwhelmed with forms to fill out.

“Indeed too, it’s too long when you need someone there, not tomorrow,” explains the businesswoman whose studies in computer science at McGill stopped after two sessions due to business to manage.

His meeting, two and a half years ago, with a 23-year-old “gen Z” was decisive. Gianluca Faraone became her first investor, the one who – after her – believed the most in her idea.

Together, they built a start-up from A to Z. With $500,000, they coded the app, wrote the conditions, designed the marketing strategy and tested the product with employers. They didn’t stop for a second.

Tequila, Heineken

This fall, after 14 months of work, they are ready to launch Pagato throughout Quebec. Young people – and not so young people – now have access to eight-hour shifts paid $170 on average if they want to make some money.

30 to 40 employers are already working five to six shifts per day. However, you have to get up early if you want to be among the five or six chosen per day.

“It’s going quickly, but it’s just the beginning, we’ll have more soon,” assures Aya Sgar.

This is the app he would have needed, in 2022, when Espace Zen, his home cleaning service, was exploding and crumbling under demand.

Pagato works well in events and distribution, for the moment. Whether it’s an eighth server for Saturday’s wedding or a 14^e packer for the rush Tuesday delivery, the baby app finds you an employee.

Its partnership with Zūm Rails, a fintech of Montreal, allows it to verify the identity of workers and pay them by transfer maximum three hours after the end of the shift.

The vision of Aya Sgar and Gianluca Faraone has been the same since they started working on Pagato in July 2023. Instant work, instant payment, let’s gono time to fool around.

Their marketing focuses on TikTok to find young people, on the tablet weather application to find employers.

Worthy representatives of their generation, it would be ill-advised to underestimate Aya and Gianluca. Who doesn’t dream of a pool of workers ready to fill a shift in an instant?

Paid in brief

Birth in July 2023

$500,000 invested

30-40 employer companies in the app

5-6 shifts offered per day

Maximum 3 hours to get paid after the shift

$170 on average for 8 hours of work

Aya Sgar, 21, from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu

In 2022, she founded Espace Zen, which offers home cleaning on request, and she began a bachelor’s degree in computer science at McGill University.

In 2023, she founded Pagato and abandoned her studies.

In 2024, Elle will launch Pagato.

Gianluca Faraone, 23 years old, from Montreal

In 2022, he launched Nord Gear, which offers indestructible smart watches, and he met his business partner, Aya Sgar, through mutual friends.

In 2023, he founded Pagato with her and abandoned his studies in computer science at Concordia University.