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 Barb Hyman, CEO & Founder of Sapia AI, a recruiting technology platform that’s raised over $21 Million in funding.
Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:
- Revolutionizing Hiring: Sapia AI leverages natural language processing (NLP) to create an engaging, efficient, and bias-free hiring process, replacing traditional resumes with AI-driven candidate assessments.
- Impact of AI Adoption: The rise of AI, particularly after November 2022, has significantly accelerated interest in Sapia’s technology, although the company has been pioneering AI-driven hiring since 2018.
- Navigating Category Creation: Sapia AI is a new category called “Smart Interviewer,” but the challenge has been in positioning it within existing HR tech categories. The focus is now on customer storytelling to convey its unique value.
- Empathy in Enterprise Sales: Barb emphasizes the importance of “enterprise empathy” when selling AI into HR, recognizing the significant change management required and celebrating success only when the customer does.
- Candidate Experience as a Marketing Tool: The virality of Sapia AI’s candidate experience has led to organic growth, with candidates often referring the product to key decision-makers within organizations.
- Global Expansion Strategy: Sapia AI has strategically focused on the EMEA market due to its sophisticated approach to AI regulation and the high demand for inclusive, bias-free hiring processes.
Actionable
Takeaways
Embrace Enterprise Empathy:
When selling disruptive technology, especially AI, understand the buyer’s perspective and concerns. Celebrate successes only when your customers do, ensuring you’re aligned with their milestones.
Capitalize on Candidate Experience:
A stellar candidate experience can drive organic growth. Encourage candidates to share their positive experiences, turning them into advocates within their professional networks.
Focus on the Right ICP:
Be disciplined about targeting your ideal customer profile (ICP). Avoid wasting resources on prospects who may not have the leadership or readiness to embrace significant change.
Leverage Dark Social:
Utilize non-traditional marketing channels like dark social, where customer referrals and word-of-mouth drive new business, rather than relying solely on paid or large-scale marketing events.
Anchor on Pain Before Demos:
In sales, ensure you deeply understand the customer's pain points before jumping into product demos. This approach leads to more meaningful conversations and higher conversion rates.
Recommended Founder
Interviews
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
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
Mike Adams
Co-Founder & CEO of Grain
Mike Adams, Co-Founder & CEO of Grain: $22 Million Raised to Power the Future of Meetings
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
Chandler Malone
Founder of Bootup
Chandler Malone, Founder of Bootup: $2 Million Raised to Solve the Tech Talent Crisis
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
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
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
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
Joseph Fung
CEO of Uvaro
Joseph Fung, CEO of Uvaro: $15 Million Raised to Build the Career Success Platform Category
Nancy Xu
CEO & Founder of Moonhub
Nancy Xu, CEO & Founder of Moonhub: $10 Million Raised to Power the Future of AI-Driven Recruiting
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
Ben Sesser
CEO & Founder of BrightHire
Ben Sesser, CEO & Founder of BrightHire: $36 Million Raised to Build the Interview Intelligence Category
Ben Zweig
CEO of Revelio Labs
Ben Zweig, CEO of Revelio Labs: $19 Million Raised to Build the Future of Workforce Intelligence
Daniel Birkholm
Founder & CEO of TalentHub
Daniel Birkholm, TalentHub: $6 Million Raised to Transform How Organizations Measure and Improve Their Hiring Experience
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
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
Sebastian Schüller
Co-founder of HiPeople
Sebastian Schüller, Co-founder of HiPeople: $7 Million Raised to Develop Data-Driven Augmentation for Hiring Teams
Andres Blank
Co-founder & CEO of Fetcher
Andres Blank, CEO of Fetcher: $40 Million+ Raised to Build the Future of Recruiting Automation
Laura McGee
Founder and CEO of Diversio
Laura McGee, CEO of Diversio: $6 Million Raised to Help Organizations Measure and Improve DEI
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
Jason Lavender
CEO of Electives
Jason Lavender, CEO of Electives: $10M Raised to Redefine Corporate Training
Nicholas Rudder
Co-Founder & CEO of Sphere
Nicholas Rudder, Co-Founder & CEO of Sphere: $5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Corporate Learning
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
Jaclyn Chen
CEO of Benepass
Jaclyn Chen, CEO of Benepass: $14 Million Raised to Build the Future of Employee Benefits Management
Chris Johnson
Growth Marketing Lead of Gun.IO
Chris Johnson, Growth Marketing Lead at Gun.IO: Competing in the Future of Freelance Developer Marketplaces
Wes Winham Winler
Founder/CEO of Woven
Wes Winham Winler, CEO of Woven: $11 Million Raised to Transform How Companies Recruit and Hire Developers
Rob Whalen
CEO of PTO Exchange
Rob Whalen, CEO of PTO Exchange: $5M Raised to Empower Companies to Rethink Paid Time Off
Andy Berman
CEO and Founder of Vowel
Andy Berman, CEO and Founder of Vowel: $13 Million Raised to Power the Future of Meetings
Josh Merrill
CEO of Confirm
Josh Merrill, CEO of Confirm: Over $11 Million Raised to End the Performance Review Nightmare
Marcelo Lebre
President of Remote
Marcelo Lebre, Co-founder & COO of Remote: Nearly $500 Million Raised to Power the Distributed Workforce of the Future
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
Prem Kumar
CEO | Co-founder of Humanly
Prem Kumar, CEO of Humanly.io: $5.5 Million Raised to Build the Conversational Hiring Category
Achuthanand Ravi
Founder & CEO of Kula
Achuthanand Ravi, CEO of Kula: $14 Million Raised to Build the Future of Recruiting
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
Tom Griffiths
CEO and Co-founder of Hone
Tom Griffiths, CEO of Hone: $50 Million Raised to Build the Future of Corporate Training
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
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
Mike Fitzsimmons
CEO and Co-Founder of Crosschq
Mike Fitzsimmons, CEO & Co-Founder of Crosschq: $35 Million Raised to Power the Future of AI-Driven Hiring Intelligence
Sam Naficy
CEO of Prodoscore
Sam Naficy, CEO of Prodoscore: $4 Million Raised to Build the Future of Employee Productivity Measurement
René Janssen
CEO and Founder of Lepaya
René Janssen, CEO & Founder of Lepaya: $85 Million Raised to Build the Future of Employee Training
Agapitos Diakogiannis
Co-founder & CEO of Seafair
Agapitos Diakogiannis, CEO of Seafair: $6.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Maritime Recruitment
Ville Herva
CEO of BOLT.works
Ville Herva, CEO of BOLT.works: $7 Million Raised to Build the Future of Staffing
Virgile Raingeard
CEO of Figures
Virgile Raingeard, CEO of Figures: €8.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Compensation Intelligence
Nicole Fuselier
VP of Marketing of Bonusly
Revenue-Driven Marketing: Insights from Nicole Fuselier of Bonusly
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
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
Kian Katanforoosh
CEO & Founder of Workera
Kian Katanforoosh, CEO of Workera: $21 Million Raised to Build the Skills Intelligence Category
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
Sid Upadhyay
Co-Founder & CEO of WizeHire
Sid Upadhyay, Co-Founder & CEO at WizeHire: Over $30 Million Raised to Help SMBs Hire Great Talent
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
Matt Pierce
CEO of Immediate
Matt Pierce, CEO of Immediate: $15 Million Raised to Eliminate the Costly Price of Financial Stress in the Workforce
Ian White
Founder of ChartHop
Ian White, Founder, CEO and CTO of ChartHop: $74 Million Raised to Build the Future of PeopleOps
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
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
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
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
Barbra Gago
CEO and Founder of Pando
Barbra Gago, CEO and Founder of Pando: $7 Million Raised to Build the Future of Career Advancement
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
Tony Jamous
CEO of Oyster
Tony Jamous, CEO of Oyster: $220+ Million Raised to Build the Global Employment Platform (GEP) Category
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
Warren Lebovics
Co-Founder of Pequity
Warren Lebovics, Co-Founder of Pequity: $19 Million Raised to Build the Future of Employee Compensation