The Included AI Playbook: Converting Economic Headwinds into Product Innovation

When the economic downturn hit and companies stopped hiring, most HR tech companies hunkered down and waited for the storm to pass. Included AI took a different approach. In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, CEO Raghu Gollamudi revealed how they turned a potential crisis into their biggest opportunity for growth.

The Initial Success

Included AI had started strong with their DEI recruitment platform. “Our customers saw a 30% increase in offers per woman within like 1st 90 days of using our product,” Raghu shared. They seemed to have found their market fit – until the hiring freeze changed everything.

The Moment of Crisis

When their customers stopped hiring, Included AI’s core product suddenly became less relevant. But instead of seeing this as a setback, they listened closely to what their customers were asking for: “Can you do the same thing that you did for recruitment, for retention and calibration for employees?”

The Strategic Pivot

This customer request led to a profound insight about their market: “DI tech by itself does not make sense because DI tech needs to be embedded into the HR analytics aspect,” Raghu explained. The hiring freeze had revealed a larger truth about their market opportunity.

Expanding the Vision

The pivot wasn’t just about adding features – it represented a fundamental shift in how they approached the market. By embedding DEI into broader HR analytics, they could:

1. Access larger budgets: “DI leaders are able to now piggyback on the budget that is available under CHROs and VP of talent”
2. Deliver more value: They went from analyzing one dimension to “like 300 different dimensions”
3. Create deeper customer relationships

The Technology Evolution

Their expansion into HR analytics led to innovative applications of their technology. For instance, in employee calibrations, they discovered they could analyze “8000 different dimensionality that you need to slice through to understand where the hotspots are. And now with ML, we are able to do that.”

Building During the Downturn

While other companies were cutting back, Included AI invested in building their new capabilities. This required careful cash management. As Raghu advised, “Cash is king. So hold on to the cash.” This discipline allowed them to innovate while maintaining runway.

The Results

The expansion has paid off dramatically. “Since we crystallized on an MVP, we are seeing a 150% growth quarter over quarter,” Raghu revealed. They’re now “on track to essentially close our first quarter million dollar deal.”

Lessons for Founders

Included AI’s response to the downturn offers several key lessons:

1. Listen to customer problems, not just feature requests
2. Look for larger market opportunities hidden within challenges
3. Use economic constraints to force strategic thinking
4. Maintain cash discipline while pivoting

The Future Vision

The pivot has positioned them for an even bigger opportunity. “We will eventually transition into a people experience space,” Raghu shared, with the goal of “providing equitable experiences for every employee in an organization so that they can realize their full potential.”

For founders facing their own market challenges, Included AI’s story demonstrates how economic headwinds can actually clarify product strategy. Sometimes it takes a crisis to reveal your true market opportunity. The key is having the discipline to listen to customers and the courage to expand your vision when the market signals demand it.

The best part about their story? It wasn’t about pivoting away from their mission – it was about finding a better way to achieve it. As Raghu’s experience shows, sometimes the path to achieving your mission involves taking a broader view of how to serve your market.