HireVue Secures $22 Million to Modernize and Reinvent the Recruiting Process

SALT LAKE CITY, Aug. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading on-demand digital interviewing platform provider, HireVue, Inc. announced the close of $22 million in funding including a $17 million Series C equity round, led by Investor Growth Capital, and an expansion of the company's debt facility. Granite Ventures, who led HireVue's previous round, Peterson Ventures, who led HireVue's A-round, new investors Rose Park Advisors, and the law firm of Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich and Rosati also supported this round.

Fueled by the emergence of social and mobile recruiting, many companies now receive more than 100 applicants for a given position, and 68 percent of employers report that more than half of those candidates are not qualified for the position, according to the Talent Board's Candidate Experience Report. What's more, employers are confined by age-old means of screening and interviewing those candidates to narrow the field and find the right talent.

To streamline their hiring processes, more than 10 percent of Fortune 100 companies currently use the HireVue on-demand digital interview platform, and have reported a vastly improved and more convenient experience for their candidates while being able to screen exponentially more people in less time. The HireVue cloud-based platform takes recruiting into the 21^st century, making interviews available on-demand. Qualified candidates simply respond to interview questions at their own convenience from a computer, tablet or smartphone, and employers can then watch interview responses anytime, anywhere. Since responses are captured digitally, they can be objectively compared, rated and shared with other members of the hiring team.

"HireVue's on-demand digital interviews are a game-changer for anyone who's hiring. Already being used by hundreds of global companies and small businesses, HireVue's quickly becoming the new digital standard for making interviewing a consistent, data-driven process," said Phil Dur, Managing Director at Investor Growth Capital "Leading this round of funding is an incredible opportunity for us to be an integral part of a company with tremendous growth potential."

"HireVue is effectively changing the way that people around the world are getting hired," said David Bradford, chief executive officer at HireVue, Inc. "Bringing in this diverse, world-class group of funding partners further validates the need for a solution like HireVue's and solidly fuels the company's aggressive plans to modernize recruiting and expand our services to a global job market. With the U.S. unemployment rate at more than 8 percent, despite millions of open jobs, I cannot think of a better time to address this critical problem."

In previous rounds, the company raised a total of $6 million and has built its management team along with sales and support organizations to take the company to a new level of growth and expansion of its services. HireVue currently employs more than 60 professionals, and provides its services to more than 300 companies, including: Walmart, Nike, Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, eBay, Nestle, GEICO, Dow Jones and more. The influx of investment capital will be focused on strategic investments in research and development (R&D), sales and marketing, client services, and global expansion.

As the series leader, Investor Growth Capital is a global venture capital firm backed by Investor AB, with offices in Menlo Park, New York, Beijing, and Stockholm. The firm manages an evergreen fund with more than 100 portfolio companies worldwide and assets exceeding $1.5 billion.  Founded in 1916, Investor AB, the sole limited partner in IGC, is the largest listed industrial holding company in Northern Europe whose investments include AstraZeneca, Ericsson and NASDAQ OMX, amongst others.

Rose Park Advisors, a new investment partner for HireVue, is a specialized investment firm focused on identifying investment opportunities by applying the concept of disruptive innovation. Harvard Business School's Clayton Christensen, The New York Times best-selling author of The Innovator's Dilemma, and architect of the disruptive innovation framework founded the firm in 2007, along with his son Matt Christensen.

"HireVue has effectively digitized and modernized the way that people around the world will vie for and secure their next job," said Matt Christensen, CEO and Portfolio Manager of Rose Park Advisors. "We saw an opportunity to be a part of something we believe has enormous potential as a 'disruptive innovation' and we jumped at the chance to take HireVue to the next level."

Granite Ventures and Peterson Ventures both participated in HireVue's previous funding rounds. Granite Ventures is largely focused on funding early-stage technology companies in sectors where they believe partners have deep domain expertise, broad industry knowledge and significant investment experience. Peterson Ventures partners with entrepreneurs and founders of great companies, providing strategic input, operational assistance, and access to an influential and expert network of partners. Based in Salt Lake City, Peterson Ventures has invested in many successful companies including JetBlue, Asurion, and Instashred. Also contributing to this round is Robin Ferracone, CEO of Farient Advisors, a leading independent executive compensation and performance consulting firm. Ferracone is a veteran HR executive and the former president of Mercer Consulting's HR practice.

About HireVue

HireVue is an amazing new way to interview – on demand! Users simply browse, watch, rate and share the interviews they want, on their own time – just like streaming their favorite movies – even from a smart phone. Recognized by HR Executive Magazine as a Top HR Product of 2011, HireVue's Digital Interview Platform™ also helps improve interviews of all types, including in person, phone and video interviews. Digital question, feedback and collaboration tools remove hassle and make interviewing up to ten times faster and nine times cheaper. Join HireVue customers like Starbucks, Nike and Walmart who are making interviewing awesome. http://www.hirevue.com

Keep a pulse on emerging trends in digital interviewing by following HireVue's social channels: http://www.twitter.com/hirevue, http://www.facebook.com/hirevue, http://www.youtube.com/hirevue

SOURCE HireVue