HOUSTON — WizeHire, a leading hiring platform helping Main Street businesses grow with a better way to find and hire skilled workers, has raised $30 million in Series B funding led by Tiger Global with participation from prior investors Amplo and Mercury. This round brings WizeHire’s total funding to $37.5 million and its valuation to $250 million, to carry out its vision of a world where every business on Main Street succeeds.
Small businesses are facing a hiring crisis. According to the latest NFIB Jobs Report, ninety-two percent of SMBs reported that having trouble finding qualified talent was their number one challenge. This is a glaring example that, when it comes to the war for talent, the cards are stacked against small businesses. Staffing firms are expensive, applicant tracking systems are built for HR experts, and job boards are time-consuming to manage for a busy business owner.
That’s why, since 2014, WizeHire has been focused on a future where small businesses can attract and win the same high level of talent as big companies. The hiring platform gives business owners an applicant tracking system, expert advice from dedicated hiring coaches, and recruiting resources like job ad templates and personality assessments to pre-screen candidates that save them time and money to hire the right candidates.
Becoming Main Street’s trusted advisor
In March 2020, when many small businesses stopped hiring and faced tough choices, WizeHire’s clients called on the platform for advice to navigate uncertainty. WizeHire had already earned the trust of small businesses by helping them with their hardest decisions to date—hiring.
Now WizeHire was being called on for much more. At the height of COVID-19, the platform:
- Helped businesses find and apply for refundable tax credits worth thousands of dollars that kept their doors open.
- Partnered with lenders to help small businesses easily apply for forgivable Payment Protection Program (PPP) loans at a time when big banks were turning people away in droves.
- Launched a free version of its service so owners could reach out to past candidates when they could hire again.
“The pandemic was an incredibly tough time for Main Street, and we were right there with them. We’re constantly amazed by the depth of our clients’ trust in us and in response, have stepped up to serve them as a trusted advisor in their business growth. We plan to build a marketplace for small businesses to have access to the resources they need to succeed.” – Sid Upadhyay, WizeHire CEO
Investing in the future of small businesses
WizeHire is investing more resources into becoming the trusted advisor Main Street needs to grow. The platform plans to introduce new offerings like tax, payroll, and insurance advice. WizeHire has also recently launched a mobile app for iOS and Android that allows business owners to easily manage their hiring process on the go, connect them to the services they need to scale and put valuable hiring advice at their fingertips.
“WizeHire has created a solution that serves and anticipates the most important needs of Main Street businesses with a focus on hiring skilled workers. Rapid adoption of the WizeHire platform by small businesses illustrates the market’s potential, and we are excited to partner with Sid and the WizeHire team.” – Sam Harland, Partner, Tiger Global.
The platform delivers a personalized hiring experience made for the needs of industries hit the hardest by labor shortages. They provide industry-specific resources and their expert hiring coaches leverage industry data to offer advice that will help businesses hire talent with the right skillset. The team plans to further expand hiring resources into industries like automotive, hospitality, insurance, and home services as well as add features like recommended background checks, and legally-approved offer letters.
WizeHire incorporates data-driven insights into every stage of the hiring process to help small business owners make more informed decisions about when to hire, what compensation to set for jobs, and who to interview based on the unique needs for the role.
Today more than 15,000 employers trust the platform with their hiring needs, and 90% of those businesses plan to return for future hiring needs. In 2021, WizeHire doubled its customer base and internally tripled its headcount. The company plans to grow their team two-fold by the end of 2022. Most recently, WizeHire was named to Inc.’s 2022 Best Workplaces list, reflective of the company’s commitment to transforming the hiring process for small businesses.
To learn more, please visit WizeHire.com.
