As the CEO of a startup in Costa Rica, Irene Rosich faced many challenges. Not only was the country's market small, but raising capital had proven to be a challenge. So she knew that it was time to venture outside the country.
Her startup, EntreVideo, managed to raise capital thanks to Slidebean's help. Along the way, the startup learned valuable lessons for the future.
EntreVideo is a startup that uses AI to revolutionize the HR recruiting process. The tool aims to update methods that have gone unchanged for years.
"Most HR departments are very traditional. They have a payroll system, and that's about it. When it comes to recruiting, it's still as archaic as can be", Rosich explained.
Companies tend to rely on job openings through forms or email, whether big or small. They can get thousands of applications which the staff has to filter. Then, it becomes a long process of setting up interviews with managers and candidates. More often than not, it's only to conclude, within minutes, that the candidate is not good.
"This entire process is too inefficient. That's why we created Entrevideo", she added. "Our goal is to replace this process. When we perform an interview, our AI can ask questions that are specific to the job opening and measure other parameters. This way, the HR staff can see almost immediately, with a pair of clicks, who fulfills the requirements."
After narrowing the candidate list, AI can also help determine emotional tone and language. These traits further help confirm if they are an ideal match for the company.
"We needed to have a financial forecast to raise capital," Rosich explained. The CEO had to run her company and finetune all the financial model details. There were errors within the formula, which led to wrong results, but solving them took too much time.
"Slidebean guided us and told us what made sense and what didn't," Rosich explained. However, in her search for guidance before Slidebean, this aspect had been lacking.
She spoke with many consultants, but none could achieve the results that EntreVideo needed. However, when she reached Slidebean, it was a different story. The company's experience shone through, especially the expert, Pete Bewsher.
"Pete had a lot of experience in HR, having been in a recruiting agency, and knew about financial services. So, it was the perfect fit to make it easy to understand what we did"
EntreVideo was able to sort out questions that went beyond what the package offered. In addition, Pete provided feedback specific to the HR market, thanks to his expertise. This back and forth wasn't only about having a finetuned financial model.
"Having the validation of our financial model, plus all the tips, was super cool. Slidebean opened up our minds a lot", she added.
EntreVideo raised $200,000 in funding, with Slidebean’s help, to continue its goal to revolutionize the HR recruiting process. This was a necessary step for the startup, but it also meant overcoming a significant barrier.
In Costa Rica, looking for investment can put a lot of pressure on startups. Access to funds is challenging, given the approach some investors can have. Frequently, they want to have as much control as possible but dish out minute funds. So, for startups, it's too risky.
With about five million people, Costa Rica is a small market. Therefore, scalability is a must if the startup wants to survive. So, to expand past the borders of this challenging market, Entrevideo needed to be on top of its game. This included the hidden details behind the fundraising.
"The tips that Slidebean gave us to approach investors were valuable. For example, Churn Rate is a difficult topic to address. The Slidebean experts explained to us the value of having it in our pitch. Slidebean helped us put what's essential for investors and for us to operate in our financial model.".
"The most important goal is to generate revenue within ten months," Rosich asserted. Also, EntreVideo has expansion plans. "We want to establish operations in Mexico, where we have more than 300 clients."
EntreVideo is also looking to raise its subsequent funding round. The startup hopes to introduce more artificial intelligence into its system with this capital. This way, the platform can improve other aspects of the HR process, such as CVs and application forms.
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