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Highlights
From DEI Tech to HR Analytics: How Included AI Discovered Their True Market Opportunity
Building a successful B2B startup often requires founders to challenge their initial assumptions and pivot based on market realities. In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, Raghu Gollamudi, CEO of Included AI, shared how his company’s path to product-market fit involved fundamentally rethinking their approach to both product and go-to-market strategy.
The company’s origin story begins with the George Floyd tragedy in 2020. “When I sold my previous company to one trust and I was thinking of what I need to do next. That coincided with George Floyd’s murder. And I saw how the nation stepped up against it,” Raghu shared. This moment sparked his mission to make a difference in the DEI space, though the exact form wasn’t yet clear.
What caught Raghu’s attention was a striking parallel to his previous startup experience in privacy tech. “This was like a deja vu moment for me because at Integra Software, which is a data privacy company, when we started off, the fastest growing role that time was the chief privacy officers. Because GDPR came in, every company was scrambling.” He noticed the same pattern emerging with Chief Diversity Officers following George Floyd’s death.
However, the journey to product-market fit wasn’t straightforward. Initially launching as a DEI recruitment platform, Included AI built technology to increase diverse hiring. “Our customers saw a 30% increase in offers per woman within like 1st 90 days of using our product,” Raghu noted. But then the economic downturn hit, and their customers stopped hiring.
This could have been a devastating blow, but it instead led to a crucial insight. Their customers came back with a different request: “Can you do the same thing that you did for recruitment, for retention and calibration for employees?” This feedback pushed them to expand beyond recruitment into broader HR analytics.
The pivot proved transformative. “I’m super happy to say that the MVP that we built is resonating for our existing customers and also is resonating for all the leads that we’re getting in,” Raghu shared. Since crystallizing their MVP, they’ve achieved 150% quarter-over-quarter growth.
A key insight from their journey was that DEI technology shouldn’t exist in isolation. “DI tech by itself does not make sense because DI tech needs to be embedded into the HR analytics aspect,” Raghu explained. This realization helped them tap into larger budgets under CHROs and VPs of Talent, while still delivering on their original mission of improving diversity and inclusion.
Their go-to-market strategy evolved alongside their product. Rather than relying on traditional marketing channels, they found success through two primary channels: rostered introductions through existing customers and, surprisingly, cold calling. “The thing that is working out for us is our SDR being tactful in figuring out when to reach out to these ICPs that we’re targeting,” Raghu noted.
The company’s vision extends beyond just providing data. As Raghu explains, “We will eventually transition into a people experience space… The goal is that we’ll end up providing equitable experiences for every employee in an organization so that they can realize their full potential.”
Their approach to AI also sets them apart in an increasingly crowded market. Rather than building black-box solutions, they focus on explainability and augmentation rather than automation. “What we do is it’s more like a complementary feature as opposed to automatic decision making feature,” Raghu emphasized, noting how this builds trust with their customers.
For other founders, Included AI’s journey offers valuable lessons about the importance of staying close to customer needs and being willing to evolve your vision. As Raghu advises, “Don’t get overexcited. When something you feel is good, validate it. Make sure that customers are resonating with it.”
The story of Included AI demonstrates how successful startups often emerge not from perfectly executed initial plans, but from the ability to learn and adapt while staying true to their core mission of making a meaningful impact.
Actionable
Takeaways
Identify Trends in Organizational Structures to Spot Opportunities:
Raghu drew a parallel between the rapid emergence of Chief Diversity Officers post-George Floyd and the rise of Chief Privacy Officers after GDPR. By recognizing patterns in how companies react to social and regulatory shifts, founders can anticipate where new roles and responsibilities will create demand for innovative solutions. Stay attuned to the zeitgeist and adapt your offering to the evolving needs of key stakeholders.
Leverage Warm Intros and Tactful Cold Outreach to Cut Through Noise:
Despite churning out content and email campaigns, Included AI found that busy HR leaders simply didn't have the bandwidth to engage with marketing materials. Instead, two channels proved most effective for booking meetings: warm introductions from happy customers and well-timed cold calls from SDRs. Founders should thoughtfully combine network leverage with persistent, segmented cold outreach to get on prospects' radar.
Prioritize Explainability in AI-Driven Decision Support:
Raghu emphasizes Included AI's commitment to making its ML models transparent and auditable, empowering users to understand the reasoning behind recommendations. By positioning AI as a complement to human judgment rather than a replacement for it, the company builds trust and adoption. Founders implementing AI should prioritize explainability, giving users the context to confidently act on insights.
Relentlessly Validate Product-Market Fit Before Scaling:
Having experienced the pain of premature scaling, Raghu cautions founders against getting overexcited by early signs of PMF. His advice is to rigorously validate customer resonance through founder-led sales, watching for patterns of consistent traction before investing in growth. Staying close to customers and iterating based on their feedback is essential to avoiding false starts and wasted cash.
Design People Analytics to Drive Equitable Experiences:
Included AI's long-term vision is to enable organizations to provide uniquely tailored support to each employee, recognizing that individuals have diverse needs and potential. By using data to personalize the employee experience, companies can boost morale, productivity, and ultimately profitability. Founders building people analytics tools should ground their roadmaps in the goal of fostering equitable outcomes for all.
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