BoomersWork, a Halifax company that matches retired executives with projects for businesses or organizations, is developing a pricing model for startups to allow young companies to benefit from the experience of seasoned corporate vets.

The company launched this spring and now has a client list of 150 executives beyond their fiftieth birthday who want to keep busy by taking on projects for companies, governments, or not-for-profit organizations.

“BoomersWork is an eHarmony for business,” said CEO Rick Emberley yesterday. “It’s not a job site. It matches people, many of them recent retirees, with businesses that need help with projects.”

The thinking behind the venture is that there’s a massive wave of seasoned executives now retiring who want to keep active and possibly make a bit of extra money. They desire flexibility in their lives, yet they want to be on-site and in an office when they work. So, they’re looking for projects that can keep them busy for a few months at a time.

Meanwhile, there is no shortage of businesses or organizations that need experienced executives to lead a special project – the opening of a new office, perhaps, or a launch. These groups can register with BoomersWork.ca, and post the specifications of their project, or projects. There’s no limit on the number of requirements they can post.

The BoomersWork software matches their needs with the profiles of the executives on file. Emberley stressed that the profiles are not simply résumés, but include candidates’ interests and type of work being sought. (Just because someone spent a career as a CFO, doesn’t necessarily mean they want a project in finance.) If an organization takes on an executive for a project, it pays a finder’s fee to BoomersWork.

BoomersWork was founded with a total investment of more than $500,000 from five individuals – four in Nova Scotia and one in Newfoundland and Labrador. Emberley said the company will probably need to top up that investment to about $850,000 as it moves forward.

The company launched May 1 with no executives in its portfolio and has now built up to 150. It is hiring a representative in Toronto in order to grow the organization in Canada’s business capital. And it is working on price structures for two key markets: private businesses that need succession plans; and startups, in which young entrepreneurs could benefit from the mentorship of former C-level business people.

The company offers a different pricing structure for not-for-profit organizations, and even gives executives a chance to work for free if they simply want to help a group.

“When we did our research and met with these people, we found that money is the third or fourth reason that these people want to work,” said Emberley. “What we found was a strong sense of wanting to give back and to mentor.”