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There’s a stubborn line of thinking that it’s hard to get talent from underrepresented groups, or worse, that you’re lowering the bar by trying to build a diverse workforce.
Joonko, an early-stage startup, came up with a way to help companies find candidates who have made the final stage of the interview process with another technology company. Today, the company raised $25 million in Series B.
“We help companies find high-quality, verified, unrepresented candidates with a zero-touch solution. So you, as a company, don’t have to do anything to flood your pipeline with high-quality candidates. We’re silver medal winners, unrepresented people.”
The idea behind attracting silver medalists from the recruitment system is that people who have gone through the entire interview process at another company have proven that they have the skills.
“Junko’s focus on silver medals puts us in a position where we can say that everyone in Junco’s talent pool, who make it to the final stage of the recruitment process at another company, is offered an opportunity at a second company. Not only does it come from an underrepresented group, but they are of the highest quality.” Raz said.
For example, at a company like Atlassian, if someone makes a strong case and comes second, she says, it’s reasonable to assume that person is a quality candidate. The startup can access recruiting systems, and get permission from the competitors themselves to be included in Jonco. Most job seekers are happy to participate.
Image Credits: Are you sure?
The product today helps companies find employees from three groups: women, people of color and veterans, some of which cross multiple groups. The company It started in 2017, but In 2020, a lot has changed since George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police and companies began to take a closer look at their diversity efforts. VP of Strategy Albrey Brown was Head of Diversity at Airtable at the time, and says he saw a big shift in the way businesses think about diversity.
“Many of the CEOs and C-suite people I’ve talked to say it’s given them a visual insight into what’s going on in their companies,” Brown said. “So this kind of ignorance became a higher awareness. And that turned into, ‘Well, what can I do?’
And one thing you can do is turn to companies like Junco for help in recruiting more underrepresented people and getting more diverse people in the interview pipeline.
“Jonko, it’s amazing that we’re just going to focus on finding you and referring you to underrepresented candidates. And the conversation is, what I like to call, a movement from the moment. And thankfully, we’re going to continue to see that movement move forward rather than fall by the wayside.”
Joonko group. Image Credits: Are you sure?
While the company is focused on bringing people from these groups to the mainstream, it has big plans for the future.
Raz says the next step will be to focus on retention, which is often a problem if people feel isolated in organizations. She says her company currently has about 35 employees. She’s definitely practicing what she preaches when it comes to diversity, though she knows it’s challenging like any company.
“I understand why companies struggle, but at the same time, we’re very proud to say that the entire workforce in the New York office is underrepresented. We’re 60% women, and about a third or maybe a little more people of color. So we’re really focused on getting that right.” But I think the sooner you do it and the earlier you do it, the easier it will be for you,” she said.
Today’s $25 million investment was led by Insight Partners, with participation from Target Global and existing investors Capor Capital and Vertex Ventures Israel. A prominent group of DEI angel investors also participated.
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