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HrTech startup: Speak_

  1. Can you tell us about yourself and your role?

Hello, I am Andrea Guendelman, CEO of Speak_.

  1. When was Speak_ founded?

Speak_ was founded on December 21, 2021.

  1. Give us a brief introduction to your company and its mission

Speak_ is an AI-powered recruiting platform that evaluates resumes against job descriptions and custom-tuned AI signals to produce precise alignment scores.

These signals include the candidate’s ability to adapt to new technologies, leadership skills, and more. Integrated with ATS systems like Greenhouse, Ashby, Lever, and Workable, Speak_ enhances candidate evaluation and interview experiences.

Our mission is to streamline high-volume candidate screening, improving both the efficiency and quality of hires by saving 30 hours of work for every 1,000 applications and matching candidates with their most suited place of work.

  1. What is your company's North Star metric?

Our North Star metric is conversions. Which reflects the core of our mission: to streamline and enhance the hiring process for our clients. By focusing on conversions, we're not just measuring the number of candidates who make it through the hiring funnel; we're ensuring that our platform effectively matches the right candidates with the right roles.

This metric drives every decision we make, from refining our AI algorithms to improving user experience, ultimately aiming to deliver the most qualified candidates to our clients and maximize their recruitment success.

  1. How did your company get started, and what inspired its creation?

I started Speak_ to address a diversity issue in recruitment, but it has evolved into a broader mission of helping recruiters hire better and faster.

  1. What HR solutions does your company offer, and how do you AI-power these solutions?

Our platform offers solutions that streamline high-volume candidate screening, improving efficiency and quality of hires.

We achieve this by using custom-tuned AI signals to produce precise alignment scores for candidates. Our integration with ATS systems like Greenhouse, Ashby, Lever, and Workable further enhances candidate evaluation and interview experiences.

  1. Please provide key dates in your company's journey (e.g., founding date, product launches, major milestones).
  • December, 2021: Founded
  • December, 2023: Pivoted to new product
  • February, 2024: Launched new product
  1. What is your vision for the future of HR tech and AI? What are your company's upcoming goals? Our vision for the future of HR tech and AI is to create more equitable and transparent hiring processes that level the playing field and remove guesswork.

Our upcoming goals include hitting £500K ARR by the end of 2024, further building out our talent pathway features, and enhancing our AI recommendation engine to help employers scale their campus recruitment efforts to reach unconnected communities.

  1. What is your strategic approach to AI technology? Developing proprietary models in-house versus integrating external AI solutions?

We use a mix of internal proprietary models and open AI solutions.

  1. What were the biggest challenges in integrating AI into your products, and how did you address them? Buy vs Build?

We faced several challenges in integrating AI into our products, including the decision of whether to buy or build solutions.

We addressed these challenges by adopting both approaches—developing some AI solutions in-house while also integrating external AI technologies.

  1. How does your company ensure its AI systems are unbiased and ethical?

We ensure our AI systems are unbiased and ethical through human supervision, anonymity in candidate evaluation, and consensus-based decision-making processes.

  1. What feedback have you received from clients about your solution(s), and how has it shaped your product going forward?

Clients have provided feedback that has significantly shaped our product development. They expressed a desire to see impact data from their recruitment activities, leading us to build impact reporting metrics into the platform.

Additionally, clients wanted seamless integration with their ATS systems, prompting us to invest in a unified API platform for multi-ATS integration.

They also highlighted the need to understand which users have completed training programs, so we added features allowing users to upload certifications to validate their skills.

  1. Can you share a success story or case study that highlights the impact of your technology on a client?

Certainly! Here are two success stories:

  • "What's interesting is that this candidate was our first choice (we made them an offer, they declined). But as you can see, Speak_ identified them as a 95% match." - Kali, Evidence Action
  • "For this role, we received over 500 applicants. Out of the top 10 candidates I personally went through, three were also among the top 10 identified by Speak_. Of this group, three candidates were identified as the top choice by our team, and we're currently in the final rounds of the hiring process with them, and are likely to extend an offer. For us, we see the value!" - Heidi, Skidmore Studios
  1. What key milestones has your company achieved so far? (e.g., funding rounds, partnerships, customer acquisition)
  • Closed a £1.5M pre-seed funding round
  • Announced an exciting partnership with IBM SkillsBuild
  • Secured great customers and developed an amazing product
  1. Please provide relevant financial data and KPIs (e.g. growth rate, ROI)

We aim to reach £500K ARR by the end of 2024 and continue to build our customer base and product capabilities.

17. Can you show us your product demo?

Speak - product demo

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