Tech
We got an exclusive look at the pitch deck Y Combinator alum Howdy, a workplace hiring startup, used to raise $18 million
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- Howdy is a workplace staffing startup that matches developers in Latin America with jobs in the US.
- Founded in 2018 in Austin, Texas, Howdy was part of Y Combinator’s Winter 2021 cohort.
- Now, the company has raised a total of $18 million for its Series A round and extension.
Howdy (formerly Astro) is a hybrid workplace staffing startup that helps software developers and engineers in Latin America get matched with jobs from US-based employers, and automates the sourcing, vetting, payroll, benefits and logistics for these employees.
Founded in 2018, the Austin, Texas-based company is the brainchild of Jacqueline Samira and Frank Licea, who saw a growing need for technical talent at both large and small businesses that was outpacing the supply of software developers in the US.
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“A lot of companies were going overseas and looking for talent in Eastern Europe and Africa,” Samira told Insider, “but the time zones give it a bad rap, because things fall apart in communication.”
By focusing on the talent market in Latin America, Howdy helps companies hire developers in the same time zone as a company’s headquarters, saving time and communication headaches, Samira said.
And unlike staffing startups that focus exclusively on independent contractor work, Howdy prioritizes the preferences of the developers first, and requires its partner employers to offer full benefits parity on things like technology stipends and more, Samira said. Howdy also offers mentorship services for its developers to help bridge any cultural gap they may have at their new workplace.
The startup landed a spot in Y Combinator’s Winter 2021 accelerator, and the coaching received helped the team hone in on their pitch and meet investors, Samira said. The startup’s lead investor, Greycroft, first invested in Howdy’s seed round post-Demo Day, leading the startup’s Series A round which closed in August 2022. Four months later, Obvious Ventures, who had participated in the Series A round, led Howdy’s extension round which closed in December 2022, Samira told Insider.
But instead of just sending over a copy of Howdy’s pitch deck, Samira personalized her pitch by recording a video of her actively presenting the deck, to which she received glowing feedback from her investors. She advises other founders to do the same, because “it forces them to listen to your message — because you have a captive audience, it’s not something for them to breeze through,” she said.
Check out the 31-slide pitch deck that Howdy used to raise $18 million:
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