We only take on 4 clients per month. Join our October cohort. 1 spot left.
Conversation
Highlights
Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech’s most innovative B2B founders. In today’s episode, we’re speaking with Mike Fitzsimmons, CEO & Co-Founder at Crosschq, an AI-driven hiring intelligence platform that has raised over $35 Million in funding.
Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:
- Origins of Crosschq: Mike was inspired to start Crosschq after experiencing crucial hiring mistakes in his previous company. This led him to explore solutions in the HR tech space, despite not having a background in talent acquisition.
- Defining Hiring Intelligence: Crosschq aims to transform the hiring process by providing a data-driven platform that helps companies make better hiring decisions, reducing the traditionally high fail rate of new hires.
- Challenges of Industry Entry: Entering an unfamiliar industry posed significant challenges in understanding the ecosystem and building the necessary networks to effectively market and sell the new platform.
- Product Market Fit: Mike emphasizes the difficulty and importance of achieving product-market fit, particularly in a field as complex as HR tech, where understanding customer needs is paramount.
- Impact of Previous Ventures: Drawing from his experience in building businesses, Mike discusses how past ventures influence his approach at Crosschq, particularly in terms of scaling and dealing with investors.
- Future Vision for Crosschq: Looking ahead, Mike envisions Crosschq playing a critical role in standardizing hiring intelligence, much like how Salesforce standardized CRM systems, ultimately reducing the failure rate in hiring decisions across industries.
Actionable
Takeaways
Leverage Personal Experience to Identify Market Gaps:
Mike's decision to start Crosschq was heavily influenced by his personal experiences with hiring failures in previous ventures. Founders should consider how their unique experiences can reveal underserved needs or inefficiencies in the market that a new product could address.
Understand the Ecosystem Before Entering a New Industry:
Entering a new industry without prior experience, as Mike did with HR tech, requires a steep learning curve. Founders should invest time in understanding the industry's ecosystem, including key players, customer pain points, and the sales process.
Focus on Product-Market Fit from Day One:
The early stages of a startup should heavily focus on achieving product-market fit. This involves continuous iterations based on customer feedback and being adaptable to changing needs, which are crucial for long-term success.
Prioritize Building Relationships in Go-to-Market Strategies:
Mike's strategy includes hosting intimate, high-value events with industry analysts and potential clients. This approach not only builds deeper relationships but also positions the company as a thought leader in the industry.
Adapt Marketing Strategies to Current Realities:
As digital marketing becomes increasingly costly and less effective, Mike suggests focusing on more traditional, relationship-driven marketing methods. This includes live events and personal engagements, which can provide higher ROI and better customer insights.
Recommended Founder
Interviews
Virgile Raingeard
CEO of Figures
Virgile Raingeard, CEO of Figures: €8.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Compensation Intelligence
Sam Naficy
CEO of Prodoscore
Sam Naficy, CEO of Prodoscore: $4 Million Raised to Build the Future of Employee Productivity Measurement
Matt Watson
CEO and Founder of Origin
Matt Watson, CEO and Founder of Origin: Over $70 Million Raised to Make Financial Wellness the Next Big Employee Perk
Amit Bhatia
CEO & Co-Founder of Data People
Amit Bhatia, Co-Founder and CEO of Data People: $21 Million Raised to Build the Future of Recruiting Intelligence
Tom Griffiths
CEO and Co-founder of Hone
Tom Griffiths, CEO of Hone: $50 Million Raised to Build the Future of Corporate Training
Fraser Patterson
CEO and Founder of Skillit
Fraser Patterson, CEO and Founder of Skillit: $13 Million Raised to Tackle the Skilled Labor Crisis in Construction
Rob Whalen
CEO of PTO Exchange
Rob Whalen, CEO of PTO Exchange: $5M Raised to Empower Companies to Rethink Paid Time Off
John Kim
Co-Founder & CEO of Paraform
John Kim, Co-Founder & CEO of Paraform: $5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Recruiting with a Marketplace for Specialized Talent
Nicole Fuselier
VP of Marketing of Bonusly
Revenue-Driven Marketing: Insights from Nicole Fuselier of Bonusly
Barbra Gago
CEO and Founder of Pando
Barbra Gago, CEO and Founder of Pando: $7 Million Raised to Build the Future of Career Advancement
Laura McGee
Founder and CEO of Diversio
Laura McGee, CEO of Diversio: $6 Million Raised to Help Organizations Measure and Improve DEI
Matt Pierce
CEO of Immediate
Matt Pierce, CEO of Immediate: $15 Million Raised to Eliminate the Costly Price of Financial Stress in the Workforce
Matthew Sydney
CEO & Founder of Beanstalk Benefits
Matthew Sydney, CEO & Founder of Beanstalk Benefits: $7.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of On-Demand Employee Benefits
Barb Hyman
CEO & Founder of Sapia AI
Barb Hyman, CEO & Founder of Sapia AI: $21 Million Raised to Build the Future of AI-Powered Recruiting
Marcelo Lebre
President of Remote
Marcelo Lebre, Co-founder & COO of Remote: Nearly $500 Million Raised to Power the Distributed Workforce of the Future
Mousa Yassin
CEO and Founder of Pixaera
Mousa Yassin, CEO and Founder of Pixaera: $5.7 Million Raised to Build the Future of VR Safety Training
Warren Lebovics
Co-Founder of Pequity
Warren Lebovics, Co-Founder of Pequity: $19 Million Raised to Build the Future of Employee Compensation
Josh Merrill
CEO of Confirm
Josh Merrill, CEO of Confirm: Over $11 Million Raised to End the Performance Review Nightmare
René Janssen
CEO and Founder of Lepaya
René Janssen, CEO & Founder of Lepaya: $85 Million Raised to Build the Future of Employee Training
Achuthanand Ravi
Founder & CEO of Kula
Achuthanand Ravi, CEO of Kula: $14 Million Raised to Build the Future of Recruiting
Andy Berman
CEO and Founder of Vowel
Andy Berman, CEO and Founder of Vowel: $13 Million Raised to Power the Future of Meetings
Karoli Hindriks
Founder of Jobbatical
Karoli Hindriks, Founder of Jobbatical: $23 Million Raised to Build the Future of Global Mobility with AI-Powered Relocation Solutions
Prem Kumar
CEO | Co-founder of Humanly
Prem Kumar, CEO of Humanly.io: $5.5 Million Raised to Build the Conversational Hiring Category
Jared Pope
CEO and Co-Founder of Work Shield
Jared Pope, CEO and Co-Founder of Work Shield: $12 Million Raised to Eliminate Workplace Misconduct
Tony Jamous
CEO of Oyster
Tony Jamous, CEO of Oyster: $220+ Million Raised to Build the Global Employment Platform (GEP) Category
Kevin Busque
CEO and Founder of Guideline
Kevin Busque, CEO and Founder of Guideline: $339 Million Raised to Help More Small Businesses Offer Retirement Plans
Sid Upadhyay
Co-Founder & CEO of WizeHire
Sid Upadhyay, Co-Founder & CEO at WizeHire: Over $30 Million Raised to Help SMBs Hire Great Talent
Will Sealy
CEO and Co-Founder of Summer
Will Sealy, CEO and Co-Founder of Summer: Over $18 Million Raised to Help Organizations Provide Student Loan Benefits
Agapitos Diakogiannis
Co-founder & CEO of Seafair
Agapitos Diakogiannis, CEO of Seafair: $6.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Maritime Recruitment
Mike Adams
Co-Founder & CEO of Grain
Mike Adams, Co-Founder & CEO of Grain: $22 Million Raised to Power the Future of Meetings
Tuck Hauptfuhrer
CEO & Co-Founder of EarnBetter
Tuck Hauptfuhrer, CEO & Co-Founder of EarnBetter: $4.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of AI-Powered Job Search
Jason Radisson
CEO and Founder of Movo
Jason Radisson, CEO and Founder of Movo: Over $9 Million Raised to Build the Future of HR Automation
Omer Glass
Co-Founder and CEO of GrowthSpace
Omer Glass, Co-Founder and CEO of GrowthSpace: $44 Million Raised to Build the Future of Employee Development
Andres Blank
Co-founder & CEO of Fetcher
Andres Blank, CEO of Fetcher: $40 Million+ Raised to Build the Future of Recruiting Automation
Nicholas Rudder
Co-Founder & CEO of Sphere
Nicholas Rudder, Co-Founder & CEO of Sphere: $5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Corporate Learning
Albert Owusu-Asare
CEO & Co-Founder of Cadana
Albert Owusu-Asare, CEO & Co-Founder of Cadana: $7 Million Raised to Build the Future of Global Payroll Infrastructure
Daniel Birkholm
Founder & CEO of TalentHub
Daniel Birkholm, TalentHub: $6 Million Raised to Transform How Organizations Measure and Improve Their Hiring Experience
Allen Narcisse
Founder & CEO of Gigs
Allen Narcisse, Founder & CEO of Gigs: $5.7 Million Raised to Build the Future of Blue Collar Hiring
Anthony Mironov
CEO and Co-Founder of Wingspan
Anthony Mironov, CEO and Co-Founder of Wingspan: $30 Million Raised to Power the Contractor Experience of the Future
Nancy Xu
CEO & Founder of Moonhub
Nancy Xu, CEO & Founder of Moonhub: $10 Million Raised to Power the Future of AI-Driven Recruiting
Chandler Malone
Founder of Bootup
Chandler Malone, Founder of Bootup: $2 Million Raised to Solve the Tech Talent Crisis
Kelsey Bishop
Founder and CEO of Candor
Kelsey Bishop, Founder and CEO of Candor: $5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Professional Relationship-Building
Jennifer Dulski
CEO & Founder of Rising Team
Jennifer Dulski, CEO & Founder of Rising Team: $11 Million Raised to Build the Future of Team Performance
Peter Briffett
CEO and Co-Founder of Wagestream
Peter Briffett, CEO and Co-Founder of Wagestream: $370 Million Raised to Provide Financial Wellbeing for Every Frontline Employee
Sammy Singh
CEO and Co-Founder of WurkNow
Sammy Singh, CEO and Co-Founder of WurkNow: $15 Million Raised to Power the Future of Staffing
Stephen Johnston
CEO and Founder of GoodJob
Stephen Johnston, CEO and Founder of GoodJob: $9 Million Raised to Power the Future of Human Capital Management
Carlos Gonzalez
Founder & CEO of Product School
Carlos Gonzalez de Villaumbrosia, Founder & CEO of Product School: $25 Million Raised to Power the Future of Product Management Education
Wes Winham Winler
Founder/CEO of Woven
Wes Winham Winler, CEO of Woven: $11 Million Raised to Transform How Companies Recruit and Hire Developers
Kian Katanforoosh
CEO & Founder of Workera
Kian Katanforoosh, CEO of Workera: $21 Million Raised to Build the Skills Intelligence Category
Chris Johnson
Growth Marketing Lead of Gun.IO
Chris Johnson, Growth Marketing Lead at Gun.IO: Competing in the Future of Freelance Developer Marketplaces
Nishika de Rosairo
CEO and Founder of HumanQ
Nishika de Rosairo, CEO and Founder of HumanQ: $3.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Human Development
Siadhal Magos
CEO & Co-Founder of Metaview
Siadhal Magos, CEO & Co-Founder of Metaview: $14 Million Raised to Power the Future of AI-Driven Hiring
Michael Ioffe
CEO & Co-Founder of Arist
Michael Ioffe, CEO & Co-Founder of Arist: $16 Million Raised to Build the Future of Autonomous L&D
Ian White
Founder of ChartHop
Ian White, Founder, CEO and CTO of ChartHop: $74 Million Raised to Build the Future of PeopleOps
Joseph Fung
CEO of Uvaro
Joseph Fung, CEO of Uvaro: $15 Million Raised to Build the Career Success Platform Category
Ville Herva
CEO of BOLT.works
Ville Herva, CEO of BOLT.works: $7 Million Raised to Build the Future of Staffing
Sebastian Schüller
Co-founder of HiPeople
Sebastian Schüller, Co-founder of HiPeople: $7 Million Raised to Develop Data-Driven Augmentation for Hiring Teams
Brett Martin
President and Co-Founder of Kumospace
Brett Martin, President and Co-Founder of Kumospace: $25 Million Raised to Power the Future of Virtual Offices
Daniel Liebeskind
CEO and Co-Founder of Topia
Daniel Liebeskind, CEO and Co-Founder of Topia: $6 Million Raised to Help Organizations Build Their Own Metaverse
Ben Zweig
CEO of Revelio Labs
Ben Zweig, CEO of Revelio Labs: $19 Million Raised to Build the Future of Workforce Intelligence
Hanns Aderhold
Founder and CEO of Cobrainer
Hanns Aderhold, Founder and CEO of Cobrainer: $21 Million Raised to Build the Future of Skills Data Platforms
Ben Sesser
CEO & Founder of BrightHire
Ben Sesser, CEO & Founder of BrightHire: $36 Million Raised to Build the Interview Intelligence Category
Jason Lavender
CEO of Electives
Jason Lavender, CEO of Electives: $10M Raised to Redefine Corporate Training
Hanna Asmussen
CEO and Co-Founder of Localyze
Hanna Asmussen, CEO and Co-Founder of Localyze: Over $48 Million Raised to Build the Leading Global Mobility Platform for Companies and Employees
Avi Singer
CEO & Founder of Showd.me
Avi Singer, CEO & Founder of Showd.me: $4.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Compliance Training
Raghu Gollamudi
CEO and Co-Founder of Included
Raghu Gollamudi, CEO and Co-Founder of Included: $5.4 Million Raised to Build the Future of HR Analytics
Jaclyn Chen
CEO of Benepass
Jaclyn Chen, CEO of Benepass: $14 Million Raised to Build the Future of Employee Benefits Management