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Nexi.me is a Romanian project we have been keeping an eye on for some time now, more than an year. And it has evolved very nicely ever since.

Founded by Cristian Andreica and Ciprian Mardare, Romanian entrepreneurs with previous experience in online projects, such as Balaur.ro, the guys had a golden idea: what if you could recommend someone whom you consider skilled enough for a job inside your company? Customary, one would attach a friend’s CV to an email marked as important and send it to the entire HR Department hoping someone else spots one’s golden talents. But now, when Nexi.me is in full action, all you need is 30 seconds and the results are guaranteed.

A few months ago, Nexi.me was accepted in the Rockstart Accelerator program in Amsterdam. Rockstart Accelerator is an interesting program providing a seed investment, 6-months of office space and a 3-week road-trip to Silicon Valley. And since Nexi.me is a project we hold so close to heart and the guys are getting ready for their Silicon Valley trip, we thought of asking Cristian a few questions just to make sure we all know the entrepreneurial magic behind Nexi.me.

1. Can you let us know a little bit about Nexi.me – how was the concept borne and how has the company evolved so far?

Nexi.me took life about one year ago, while me and Ciprian Mardare, my cofounder, were employed in Balaur.ro. In a meeting with Alexandre Almajeanu, the investor of Balaur.ro, we were twisting ideas and talking about the ways companies attract talented people. We had lots of friends that were employed after being recommended in advance, so we had the idea of creating a platform where people can refer their friends for jobs.

We built a prototype and launched Nexi.ro. After showing the product to a few HR managers and specialists, we found that a referral is much more valuable if it’s done by one of the employees, not by someone from outside the company. We went coding again and changed Nexi.me into a private referral system, where employees are invited by the HR department to refer their friends for jobs inside the company. And we launched Nexi.me.

The concept is the same ever since, but we’re constantly changing parts of the business model.

2. Which is the solution Nexi.me brings to the table and why should companies start using the platform?

Nexi.me is an online platform that helps HR departments reach top talents through the social networks of their employees. It’s the number 1 tool that they can use to attract referrals from their employees. By moving the referral process from offline to online, the company scores a higher number of quality applicants, increases the number of hires through referrals and reduces the cost per hire.

Let’s think of the employees for a second as they are the ones that provide candidates. Current solutions for referring a friend involve sending an email to the HR department or completing a form on the company career site. There is currently no way to know what happened with my referrals. Has my friend got in touch with the HR? Is he hired? When does he start? Do I get a referral reward? All of these are questions that each employee has for each referral they provide.

Nexi.me has designed a beautiful platform for employees where they can refer their friends in less than 30 seconds. Imagine that! They receive job updates with the best candidates from their social networks, so they don’t have to spend time searching for people. They can send a job to a friend, together with a personal message, thus avoiding the need of a phone call. Everything is tracked, so they are always up-to-date with the status of their referrals. It has never been easier and more pleasant to work with a company product.

3. Nexi.me was selected for the Rockstart Accelerator program. How did the selection process go and what’s your experience so far?

Everything starts with the online application form. Together with other 353 applicants, we put Nexi in the Rockstart selection basket and hoped for the best. We received an email saying that we made it to the next phase. We then completed a video interview (recorded the answer to a few questions) and had a few Skype calls. We made it to the next and final phase.

The final phase was a presentation in front of Rockstart founders and the selection committee in Amsterdam. We pitched our company and in a couple of days we found that we were accepted. We moved to Amsterdam in about a month and have been living there ever since.

On the 15th of July 2012, we pitched at Demo Day, the graduation date. By then, we had the company incorporated, the business model ready and 10 companies in a pilot. The last 3-4 months have been extremely exciting, as there’s something you learn on a daily basis. Mentors challenge your every assumption. Pressure keeps you going further and take action. Working together with 9 other teams, learning from their experiences and mistakes, helps you be a better entrepreneur.

4. Do you think that someone with a rich technical background is more likely to develop a successful business or any key ingredient missing?

I think that entrepreneurs with technical background have a higher chance to succeed with an online business or a tech-company in general. Being there when the product is built helps you know its weaknesses. Knowing the speed of development helps you setup achievable targets and deadlines. You are much more prepared in meeting with a customer, because you know exactly how the product behaves.

Depending on the business itself, there might be a need for other ingredients, such as sales or marketing expertise or some very specific domain knowledge. I think it’s important to spot those needs early on and involve people that can help you as early as possible, as founders. if they are not committed to your company, then they should be involved in a later stage, when you have validated the business model and have paying customers.

5. When did you decide that a 9 to 5 job is not your calling?

I’ve been employed as software developer since 11th grade, in high-school and I guess I’ve always wanted to work on my own product. The “ah-hah” or “wow” moment was in my second year of college, when I built XTWIP, together with Bogdan Bocse. In about 6 months, I met with over 500 new people. Being an entrepreneur involves a lot of networking which for me was great. I want to keep doing that while I work on my own company.

6. And since we love predictions, imagine you’re 50 years old. How do you picture yourself?

I usually like to setup goals for only a couple of years in advance. But at 50, I see myself next to my wife, having my kids in college or graduated, 30-40 millions in the bank and a big house. And a dog.