Dan Bowyer explains why SuperSeed backed Popp, an AI co-pilot for enterprise recruitment that automates candidate selection and initial screening, despite the firm's earlier vow never to work in HR tech again.
- Popp automates candidate selection and initial screening, which make up 70% of the effort in enterprise recruitment.
- Popp says this makes the process 25 times faster and 80% cheaper, with more strong-fit candidates added automatically to an enhanced CRM.
- The founding team (Sam, James and Ilyes) built on the insight that large organisations often already have their next best hire in their CRM.
- Popp aims to be an invisible co-pilot that integrates with any hiring platform, rather than becoming the platform itself.
By pure accident Mads and I started SuperSeed six years ago with the ghost of a #rectech startup dragging around my heels. A team I had been working with prior to starting our VC firm, helping a friend, messing around. Looking back I should have immediately cut ties, moved on swiftly – but I felt a sense of commitment, and it just refused to die. A messy moment in time and we pretty much vowed never to work in HR tech again.
And then came Popp – a new kind of co-pilot recruitment platform enabling faster and smarter hiring for larger organisations using AI. Or rather. Then came along Sam, James and Ilyes, a perception shifting team which is all too often needed in VC. A challenge many investors feel is staying fresh faced and open-minded when the nth pitchdeck lands on your desk with all the latest buzzwords. Especially at the wrong end of the hype-cycle.
The team tested a hypothesis very early on based on a glaringly obvious fact that in our hyperconnected world, we probably already know our next best-fit team member. 6 degrees of separation is pretty much 2 thanks to the internet, now accelerated by AI. Not only are we closer, more connected, but all too often in larger organisations the next hire is already in the CRM. It’s just too hard for recruiting teams to keep track of all people across all team members and platforms, which is where Popp works best;
They help internal and agency recruitment teams get the right people on the rocket ship in rocket-ship-time.
Popp’s SaaS platform enables enterprises to automate the candidate selection and initial screening elements of the recruitment workflow. 70% of the effort in the enterprise recruitment process is reviewing applications, connecting with potential candidates and arranging the first round of interviews. It is this time-consuming, low-leverage part of the recruitment workflow that Popp automates. Meaning 25x faster, 80% cheaper, with more strong-fit candidates entered automatically into an enhanced CRM.
They are not trying to do what everyone else is and become *the* platform. Their end-game is to be an invisible co-pilot that integrates with any hiring platform to find the best, the fastest. No lengthy sales or integration cycles, just immediate provable value out of the box.
Rectech is still relatively unsexy to investors but zigging while others zag is our strategy on this occasion – all within the macro backdrop of Gen AI, reshoring, and general market disruption. The world is changing at an accelerated pace right now, and how we recruit must too.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Popp do?
Popp is an AI co-pilot recruitment platform that helps internal and agency recruitment teams in larger organisations hire faster and more smartly. It automates reviewing applications, connecting with candidates and arranging first-round interviews.
Why did SuperSeed invest in recruitment tech after avoiding it?
The Popp team changed SuperSeed's perception. Their clear focus on automating the most time-consuming, low-leverage part of hiring fitted SuperSeed's strategy of zigging while others zag, at a time when generative AI and market disruption are changing how companies recruit.