Let’s be honest, jobs are being taken away by technology. In the grand scheme, is this a bad thing? Not really. Is it making life easier? Definitely. And with PeopleDoc, it is becoming a lot easier for HR representatives. With companies growing, any given HR department can get overworked and no matter how organized you are, can always use some help. PeopleDoc Delivers this help with their document organizer, case management and more. If you are in the HR business you are gonna want to check this out.
CEO and Cofounder Jonathan Benhamou joins us to tell us more about the company and the fresh funding it just received.
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
PeopleDoc received $28 million in Series C funding led by Eurazeo, one of the leading investment companies in Europe. Our existing investors – Accel Partners, Alven Capital and Kernel Investissements – also participated in the round. PeopleDoc has raised a total of $53.5 million to date.
Tell us about your product or service.
PeopleDoc’s cloud-based technology automates all stages of the employee lifecycle, from hire to retire. Our solutions include: HR Document Management, which allows secure storage of HR documents in the cloud, transforming and centralizing the way HR documents are managed; Employee Portal and Case Management, which enables companies to automate the HR process, ensure consistency and regulatory compliance as well as employee satisfaction; HR Shared Services delivery, which empowers employee self-service for common HR processes, improving operational efficiency; and employee onboarding through a branded portal, with all critical information accessible online and across multiple devices.
What inspired you to start the company?
I am pretty convinced that you either have what it takes to become an entrepreneur or you don’t. You can’t learn to become an entrepreneur – so I guess I’ve always had this within me, and I just needed the spark.
During my last year of college, I met with a very successful entrepreneur who became my mentor and my first investor. He inspired me to dive into this venture. I started first with a more consumer-oriented idea, which failed quickly. I looked into the HR space and realized its potential, so I pivoted, and here we are today!
How are you differentiating yourself in the market?
We are focused on HR. We believe that to best serve our customers we need to understand them, so we only hire people who have previous experience in the HR space. Our product is designed to address the unique challenges that HR organizations face, such as rising employee expectations and complex compliance regulations.
We are global. With offices in France, the UK and the U.S., we have the agility to work with multinational companies and deploy our solutions around the world.
We have a comprehensive platform. Our solutions range from case management to document management to employee onboarding, which is unique in the market and completely disrupts the way HR supports their employees today.
What market you are targeting and how big is it?
We are focused on the Human Resources Management System (HRMS) applications market for enterprise clients, including business process improvement and service delivery. The business process improvement market is projected to grow 64 percent over the next three years, while service delivery is projected to grow over 40 percent.
What’s your business model?
We have a software-as-a-service (SaaS) business model. We work hand-in-hand with our client-partners to ensure the solution rollout is successful, from kick-off and process design to configuration and integration, information upload, training and support for when the platform goes live.
You raised in June of last year. How was the process different this time around?
The main difference is that this time we were actually not looking for money. Eurazeo came to us, so I didn’t have to step back from the business for too long and pitch 100 VCs around the world.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
Stepping back from the day-to-day business! Raising capital is really time consuming and can disturb you from running your company. It’s important to have a great team that you trust to keep things going while you’re focusing on the investment opportunity. Furthermore, making mistakes picking investors. It is a very important choice, and sometimes it’s challenging to remember to take a step back when making this decision. And finally, realizing that every legal detail counts. Negotiating seemingly small legal details in your shareholder’s agreement is key. I learned that you have to think not only of the effects on your company in the near-term, but the impact that these will have as your company scales.
What’s the best piece of startup advice for entrepreneurs that you never received?
I have two pieces of advice:
- Shoot for the moon, so even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.
- Cash is king!
With the incredible growth of the tech ecosystem in New York over the last year, how has the landscape for startups changed?
New York City is really starting to become THE place for startups to grow in the U.S. There is incredible energy and excitement that is evidenced by the increasing number of technology-focused VCs, entrepreneurs, and events. There is such an interesting dynamic between established companies and startups that doesn’t exist anywhere else. New York City is the place where startups can validate their ideas every day with the people that consume their products. I would strongly advise every entrepreneur to consider New York City.
Where is your favorite place to enjoy the fall weather in the area?
Riverside Park
