Cleo is a curated two-sided platform connecting highly qualified professionals returning from career breaks with companies that have made a verified commitment to hire them flexibly. We are launching in Chicago in 2025, bootstrapped, with a three-person founding team working without salaries in year one.
The platform is built on no-code tools (Bubble, Webflow) to minimise engineering costs. Revenue begins in month 4 from company subscriptions. The business reaches break-even at month 7 and generates a positive cash position by end of year one. Total 12-month operating costs are approximately $59,000. With $35,000 starting capital and revenue beginning month 4, the business is self-sustaining by month 7.
The Mom Project has raised $106M but operates as a broad job board serving all levels. No platform owns the premium end of the returnship market — senior professionals matched with companies that have made binding commitments. That is Cleo's precise and defensible position.
Two structural problems are colliding in the US labour market, and no existing platform is solving them together at the senior end.
2.4 million women with 8 or more years of professional experience have taken career breaks in the US and are ready to return to senior-level flexible roles. The majority report that existing platforms treat them like first-time applicants rather than the experienced executives they are. The career gap is still widely treated as a red flag, despite strong evidence to the contrary.
Senior talent shortages are acute. Executive search for VP and director-level roles takes 4–6 months on average and costs 20–30% of first-year salary. Meanwhile, ESG reporting obligations are creating urgent pressure on companies to demonstrate gender equity progress in a measurable, auditable way. The demand for verified, reportable action is growing fast.
$14B total returnship and flexible senior talent market, growing 18% YoY. $4.2B corporate ESG-driven talent spend annually. Cleo's initial serviceable market — senior professionals and mid-to-large companies with ESG reporting obligations in the US — is approximately $2B+.
Chicago has a dense concentration of mid-size corporate headquarters with active ESG programmes, particularly in consumer goods, financial services, healthcare, and professional services. Strong existing professional women's networks — Chief, Ellevate, Lean In Chicago — reduce supply-side acquisition cost. It is the founding team's home market, enabling high-trust early relationships on both sides.
Cleo operates a dual subscription model. There is no per-hire fee and no job posting fee. Revenue is recurring, predictable, and grows proportionally with the user base.
| Tier | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | Free | Basic profile, browse roles, 3 applications/month |
| Professional ★ | $29/mo | Full profile, AI resume builder, unlimited applications, interview coaching, priority matching |
| Concierge | $79/mo | All Professional + 1:1 coaching, executive introductions, salary negotiation support |
| Tier | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Explorer | $199/mo | 3 role commitments, candidate matching, basic ESG reporting, email support |
| Committed ★ | $399/mo | 8 roles, smart matching, full ESG dashboard, quarterly reports, Cleo Verified badge, priority support |
| Growth | $699/mo | 15 roles, all Committed features, dedicated success manager, quarterly ESG review call |
| Enterprise | Custom | Unlimited roles, ATS / HRIS integration, custom ESG reporting, executive briefings |
Professional LTV: ~$35/mo blended × 8 active months = ~$280 | Company LTV: ~$520/mo blended × 18 months = ~$9,360. Revenue is primarily company-driven — 50 companies at blended $520/mo = $312K ARR before professional subscriptions. The four-tier ladder trades slightly lower blended ARPU for meaningfully higher conversion and upgrade velocity.
| Phase | Months | Key goals | MRR target |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-launch Build & curate |
1 – 2 | Build platform on Bubble/Webflow. Hand-curate 100 founding professionals from Chicago networks. Form LLC. Complete all legal documentation. | $0 |
| Soft launch First revenue |
3 – 4 | Soft launch. Outreach to 20 Chicago target companies. First 3 paying companies. First 20 paying professionals. Platform fixes. | $1,480 |
| Traction First placements |
5 – 6 | 8 paying companies, 80 paying professionals. First 3 successful placements. First ESG reports issued. Testimonials collected. | $4,714 |
| Break-even Proof of concept |
7 – 9 | 15 paying companies, 180 paying professionals. Break-even reached. First company renewals. ESG badge publicly adopted by partner companies. | $11,382 |
| Scale Year-end |
10 – 12 | 25 paying companies, 300 paying professionals. First annual ESG reports published. Pre-seed conversations initiated. City #2 planning begins. | $22,485 |
Assumes conservative company tier mix (50% Explorer, 35% Committed, 12% Growth, 3% Enterprise) and 85% of paying professionals at the Professional tier. Professional conversion from free to paid assumed at 25%. Lower blended ARPU vs old model is offset by meaningfully higher expected conversion — fewer companies staying stuck on a single tier.
Total revenue: ~$78,000 | Total costs: ~$59,000 | Net at month 12: +$17,100 | Break-even: Month 7
| Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Illinois LLC formation | $150 | State filing fee |
| Legal — entity & platform documents | $3,500 | T&C, Privacy Policy, operating agreement, contractor agreements |
| Brand assets | $0 | Already designed in-house |
| Registered agent (annual) | $100 | Annual renewal fee |
| Total one-time | $3,750 | Month 1 only |
| Category & item | /Month |
|---|---|
| Technology | |
| Bubble.io (Agency plan) | $350 |
| Webflow CMS | $50 |
| Domain, DNS, SSL | $20 |
| Postmark transactional email | $25 |
| Klaviyo marketing email | $100 |
| OpenAI API (AI resume builder) | $150 |
| Airtable + Notion (operations) | $61 |
| Technology subtotal | $756 |
| People (contract only — founders take no salary) | |
| Bubble developer (20h/month) | $2,500 |
| Legal compliance (ongoing review) | $500 |
| Part-time bookkeeper | $300 |
| People subtotal | $3,300 |
| Marketing & community | |
| Chicago networking events (Chief, Ellevate) | $300 |
| Semrush Starter (SEO tools) | $120 |
| LinkedIn Sales Navigator | $80 |
| Canva Pro | $17 |
| Marketing subtotal | $517 |
| Operations | |
| Google Workspace (3 users) | $18 |
| Zoom Pro | $15 |
| Operations subtotal | $33 |
| Total monthly recurring | $4,606 |
One-time (month 1): $3,750 | Months 1–12 recurring: $55,272 | Total 12-month costs: ~$59,022
The go-to-market is deliberately sequenced: supply side first, demand side second. Companies will only commit if the talent pool is already credible. The founding cohort of 100 hand-curated professionals is the product before the platform is even live.
The entire platform is built on no-code tools to minimise engineering cost in year one. A part-time Bubble specialist (contracted at 20 hours/month) handles build and maintenance. This enables an MVP in 6–8 weeks and keeps monthly platform costs under $800.
If Cleo raises a pre-seed round in year two, the platform migrates from Bubble to a custom React/Node stack. Bubble exports data cleanly — the migration cost is approximately $40,000–$60,000 over 3 months. The no-code approach in year one does not create a technical debt trap. It creates a working, validated product that informs the custom build.
Illinois LLC with a clear operating agreement between three co-founders. Equity split, IP assignment, and decision-making rights must be formalised in month 1 before any external conversations. A simple founders' agreement prepared by a startup attorney costs $1,500–$2,000 and prevents costly disputes later.
Terms & Conditions — platform use, subscription terms, cancellation policy, limitation of liability for both user types. Privacy Policy — GDPR-compatible: data minimisation, right to deletion, cookie policy, data retention. Contractor agreements — IP assignment clause for Bubble developer and all contractors. Stripe disclosure — FTC-required auto-renewal language for subscription billing.
Cleo's acceptance criteria (years of experience, seniority level) must be applied uniformly and documented. The platform cannot be used to filter candidates by protected characteristics. Terms of Service must explicitly prohibit this and Cleo must have a process for investigating and removing companies that violate it.
Cleo is a marketplace platform, not a staffing agency. The platform facilitates connections and does not employ, place, or take legal responsibility for employment outcomes. Staffing agencies require licences in most states — Cleo does not, as long as this distinction is maintained in all documentation and public communications.
Professional profile data is sensitive. Cleo must collect only what is necessary for matching, store it securely, and give users meaningful control. From day one: allow full account deletion, never sell data to third parties, and share only profile information with companies — no contact details until both parties consent to connect.