Cintrifuse Startup Members and repeat founders are making innovative job matches in a transforming market.
Cincinnati, Ohio / April 20, 2021. Hearty today announces the launch and funding of a new Professional Recommendation Network, where great people help each other find opportunities. Hearty is the next act for executive leaders from Ahalogy, a Cincinnati-based startup that was acquired for $50 million last year. Co-founders Bob Gilbreath, Ryan Watson and Ross Lewellyn have leveraged their success model team building into a new software platform, helping hiring managers and candidates connect through real relationships and endorsements. Liz Engel of The Cincinnati Business Courier covered the story here.
Studies show that more than 80% of job placements come via networking, yet it’s difficult for candidates to make real connections. Meanwhile, companies struggle to find high-quality, diverse candidates from traditional job posting and referral programs. The rise of COVID-19 and remote work have magnified these challenges. Hearty solves this with Leaderboards, pulling together lists of top talent, as recommended by fellow members who know and trust them.
Leaderboards allow hiring managers and recruiters to easily identify pre-vetted talent and leverage real relationships for introductions. Each Leaderboard lists individuals based on the number of recommendations received, and shows the profiles of those who recommended them. There are 125 Leaderboards so far, including specific roles (e.g. Social Media Buyers), community resources (e.g. Women in Tech), and personal recognition (e.g. Dream Managers and Mentors).
Hearty has proven success in testing with a small group of individuals and companies, using an invitation-based growth model to keep its talent level high. “We’re excited to have made several hiring matches by making it much easier for great people to build and share their reputations and trusted relationships,” said Bob Gilbreath, co-founder and CEO. “Perhaps most importantly, we’re surfacing diverse candidates.” Among the community’s first 10,000 recommendations, more than 50% bring diverse backgrounds and perspectives.
Hearty also announces it has closed a $1.1 million pre-seed funding round, with participation from institutional investors Hyde Park Venture Partners and North Coast Ventures, along with individual angels from the founders’ own trusted networks. The funding allows the team to continue expansion and hire a founding team, which includes Head of Product, Jake Boyles.
Hearty has focused on Cincinnati as the proving ground for its model, and just moved into its first office space in Blue Ash—a discovery that itself was a product of the Hearty app and community. “We love it when successful founders double down and our team and Board were early Hearty testers,” said Pete Blackshaw, CEO of Cintrifuse. “Clearly we need new solutions in the talent market, and I think this team is onto something huge.”
About Hearty
Hearty is the Professional Recommendation Network where great people help each other find opportunities. Hearty Leaderboards are crowdsourced lists of top performers in a skill, role or interest. Hearty is free to access for both individuals and companies, who must be recommended and invited by current members. Learn more about Hearty and request an invitation at http://behearty.co.
Contact
Bob Gilbreath: 513-214-9134. Bob@behearty.co
