Layoffs often draw attention and empathy toward affected employees, but the plight of recruiters who may also lose their jobs in such situations is often overlooked. Tech firms notably downsized their recruitment teams by up to half during widespread layoffs in 2022 and 2023.
Paraform, a recruitment platform targeting startups, sees an opportunity in leveraging the talent pool of laid-off recruiters who have ventured into entrepreneurship. They aim to assist startups in sourcing talent and accessing a broader network of skilled professionals. To support this endeavor, the company recently secured a $3.6 million seed round led by A*, a venture capital firm founded by Kevin Hartz, known for his roles in Eventbrite, Xoom, and as Airbnb’s initial investor.
John Kim, CEO of Paraform, highlighted in an exclusive interview with TechCrunch, “During the 2022 and 2023 wave of tech layoffs, we saw 100,000 recruiters laid off, driving many recruiters to go independent and start their own recruiting business. This has left many independent recruiters with valuable skill sets and high-quality networks available and open to new ways of working.” He further mentioned, “To date, we have thousands of recruiters on the platform and have supported more than 200 companies in hiring for roles.”
The startup implements a listing fee, akin to a subscription fee, for posting jobs on the platform, alongside a success fee upon hiring. “The listing fee ensures commitment from startups to our two-way marketplace and to the recruiters they engage with,” noted Kim.
Beyond catering to early- and late-stage startups, Kim highlighted that the platform collaborates with larger in-house talent teams to address challenging roles. “Over 50% of our clients boast strong in-house talent teams, yet they opt to post roles on Paraform. This enables them to tap into recruiter networks without the need for full-time hires, offering flexible scalability in their hiring endeavors,” explained the CEO.
The recent funding, elevating Paraform’s total capital raised to $5 million, follows a year after the company’s pre-seed raise in March 2023. Kim reported a remarkable growth trajectory since the pre-seed round, with a tenfold revenue increase, over 100 new customers onboarded, and team expansion. He highlighted that the company achieved over $1 million in revenue within its inaugural year of operation, with just a three-person team.
