Shantel
Key Takeaways
- UK-based inploi, a trendsetter in talent attraction technology, successfully secures £1.35m in a funding round, fostering its growth team and powering its SaaS offering’s GTM strategy.
- The company, founded in 2016, pivoted from a labour marketplace to a SaaS platform in response to the pandemic, making it freely accessible at a crucial period for front-line workers.
- Notable enterprises, including wagamama, Haven, Butlin’s, Compass Group UK & Ireland, and A.S. Watson Group, are among inploi’s esteemed clients.
- inploi’s commitment to inclusivity is evident in its platform design, aimed to cater to neuro-divergent audiences and a broad spectrum of educational and professional backgrounds.
About inploi: Changing the HR Tech Landscape
In the face of an increasingly competitive recruitment environment, inploi rose from the ashes of sub-optimal legacy HR tech. Founded in 2016, the company was sparked by its founders’ shared dissatisfaction with the experience of using conventional HR technology to find and apply for jobs. They aimed to fill the void left by outdated systems with a model that prioritized user experience and efficiency, thus inploi was born.
Transforming from a labour marketplace to a powerful SaaS platform, inploi provides an innovative “Software with a Service” approach to aid employers in sourcing and recruiting staff. Their aim to revamp the candidate’s journey and make it as intuitive and frictionless as possible sets them apart in the HR tech landscape.
From Pandemic Response to Market Evolution
During the pandemic, when frontline workers were acknowledged as indispensable, inploi exemplified adaptability by making its platform free. It transitioned from a traditional marketplace to a robust enterprise SaaS model, demonstrating its capacity for agile response in challenging times.
Ziyaad Aboobaker, a partner at 10x Value Partners, lauds the team’s strategic pivot. He says, “The inploi team exhibited amazing agility in pivoting their model to providing software as a service, and is now partnered with a growing number of major blue-chip brands. inploi’s solution is perfectly positioned to address one of the biggest challenges facing companies today – attracting the people they need to operate effectively in an historically tight labour market – bringing the latest technology to an outdated market ripe for innovation.”
Impressive Client Portfolio and Expansion Ambitions
Amongst its customers, inploi counts several high-profile companies including wagamama, Haven, Butlin’s, and the FTSE-listed Compass Group UK & Ireland, alongside the recently joined A.S. Watson Group, a Hong Kong-based health and beauty retailer of international repute.
Described as constructing the “Shopify for hiring”, inploi seeks to dominate the platform controlling the front-end hiring journey. The CEO, Matt de le Hey, reinforces this vision: “We’re grateful to new and existing investors who have backed us as we switch gears from finding product-market fit to scaling. Our unique approach of augmenting and modernising existing systems rather than replacing them – in addition to the close relationships we develop with customers as an innovation partner – has yielded extraordinary results, leading to 100% of our customers renewing across multi-year agreements.”
A Commitment to Diversity, Inclusivity, and Technological Innovation
Inploi prides itself on its unwavering commitment to inclusivity, particularly for neuro-divergent audiences. It champions diversity, accommodating a wide array of educational and professional backgrounds, and ensuring their platform remains accessible to all potential candidates.
This commitment is encapsulated by Alex Hanson-Smith, inploi’s CTPO and co-founder: “We’re increasingly using AI to empower humans to focus on the human aspects of hiring, with machines handling the rest. We also have a deep commitment to accessibility and fairness: it goes without saying that nobody should be barred from opportunities by recruitment processes that are inaccessible.”
U.S. Expansion: The Next Big Move
With a successful seed round raising £1.35m, inploi is accelerating its GTM strategy and priming its growth team for an ambitious venture – expanding operations into the U.S. market. The funding not only propels their U.S. venture but also consolidates their position as a leading player in the talent attraction technology sphere.
As inploi prepares to conquer American shores, the HR tech landscape eagerly anticipates the revolutionary transformation this trailblazer will bring to talent attraction and recruitment processes across the globe.
