We only take on 4 clients per month. Join our January 2025 cohort. 1 spot left.
Frontlines.io | Where B2B Founders Talk GTM.
Strategic Communications Advisory For Visionary Founders
From Recruiter to Founder: How Kula is Transforming Recruiting Into a Team Sport
Sometimes the most compelling startups emerge when founders deeply understand their industry’s pain points from hands-on experience. In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, Achuthanand Tanjore Ravi shared how his decade of recruiting experience at companies like Stripe and Uber led him to build Kula, a recruitment automation platform that’s raised $14 million to transform how companies approach outbound recruiting.
The Evolution of Recruitment Technology
The recruitment industry has historically lagged behind other business functions in technology adoption. As Achuthanand explains, “If you look at Martech, if you look at sales tech, those businesses are very far ahead in terms of the adoption of technology in their day to day use cases.”
This technology gap stems from recruitment’s historical evolution. “Recruiting actually started in World War Two, where they were just posting ads on papers to recruit folks to fight,” Achuthanand notes. “It moved from paper ads to online ads. Like job boats came. And what the next evolution after job boats? There was literally nothing much.”
The Market Shift That Created an Opportunity
A fundamental shift in the recruitment landscape created the opportunity for Kula. “Earlier organization post jobs and we as a candidate will probably go and apply and pray that they respond to us,” Achuthanand explains. “But now candidates are not actively going and applying for opportunities, and opportunities basically being seized by the talent folks within the organization and they’ve been head ended.”
This transition from an employer-driven to a candidate-driven market demands more sophisticated tools. Traditional applicant tracking systems focus on organizational workflows – moving candidates through stages, managing interviews, and handling onboarding. But they miss a crucial element: the recruiter’s workflow.
Building a System of Action for Recruiters
Kula differentiates itself by focusing specifically on recruiter workflows. “We are the only system of action tool which solves for recruiter workflows,” Achuthanand emphasizes. The platform concentrates on two critical channels for building top-of-funnel recruiting:
The company’s mission is ambitious but focused: “Our mission at Kula is to sort of make every single one a recruiter within the organization,” says Achuthanand. “Recruiting is a team sport, not an individual sport.”
Finding Product-Market Fit
Since launching their alpha product in February 2022, Kula has gained significant traction, particularly among tech-forward companies. Achuthanand notes their sweet spot: “We generally focus on organization less than 1500… organizations between one to 50 or one to 60, generally the founders are the decision makers.”
The company’s go-to-market strategy varies based on company size. For smaller organizations, they sell directly to founders. For companies with more than 50 employees, they target “the head of recruiting or their first recruiter or their sourcing organizations.”
The Road Ahead
Looking forward, Kula is expanding beyond top-funnel activities. “The next path forward for us is mostly around concentrating on the midfunnel,” Achuthanand shares. “That is mostly around how do I bring all those comms in one centralized place, how do I get in touch with the candidate, how do I call directly on the platform.”
For Achuthanand, who started as an engineer at Microsoft before accidentally discovering his passion for recruiting through a chance meeting with a startup founder, the vision is clear: transform recruiting from an individual pursuit into a true team sport, empowering everyone in an organization to contribute to the hiring process.
The impact of design thinking on product development, as influenced by the book "Creative Selection," illustrates the importance of user-centric approaches in building SaaS products. Even for founders without a background in product design, adopting a design thinking mindset can lead to more innovative and user-friendly solutions.
Kula's success in addressing recruiter workflow challenges demonstrates the effectiveness of developing solutions tailored to the specific needs of a target user base, rather than broad organizational needs. This strategy can be a differentiator in crowded markets, providing clear value to users.
Kula's approach of being a global company from day one is a testament to the advantages of thinking beyond local markets and considering a diverse customer base early in the product development process. Tech founders should consider a global perspective to maximize their potential market and address universal pain points.
One of the primary GTM challenges Achuthanand mentioned was identifying scalable distribution channels for Kula. The process involves continuous experimentation to determine whether inbound or outbound strategies are more effective. For B2B tech founders, this emphasizes the importance of agility and willingness to test different approaches to find what works best for reaching their target customers.
Kula's mission to make every individual within an organization a recruiter speaks to a broader GTM philosophy of embedding their tool into the fabric of the company's operations. For tech founders, considering how your product can become indispensable to an organization's workflow and culture could be a pivotal aspect of your GTM strategy.
CEO and Founder of HumanQ
Nishika de Rosairo, CEO and Founder of HumanQ: $3.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Human Development
CEO & Founder of Beanstalk Benefits
Matthew Sydney, CEO & Founder of Beanstalk Benefits: $7.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of On-Demand Employee Benefits
CEO and Founder of Movo
Jason Radisson, CEO and Founder of Movo: Over $9 Million Raised to Build the Future of HR Automation
CEO of Figures
Virgile Raingeard, CEO of Figures: €8.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Compensation Intelligence
Co-founder & CEO of Seafair
Agapitos Diakogiannis, CEO of Seafair: $6.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Maritime Recruitment
Co-Founder of Pequity
Warren Lebovics, Co-Founder of Pequity: $19 Million Raised to Build the Future of Employee Compensation
CEO & Co-Founder of EarnBetter
Tuck Hauptfuhrer, CEO & Co-Founder of EarnBetter: $4.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of AI-Powered Job Search
CEO and Founder of Origin
Matt Watson, CEO and Founder of Origin: Over $70 Million Raised to Make Financial Wellness the Next Big Employee Perk
CEO and Co-Founder of Topia
Daniel Liebeskind, CEO and Co-Founder of Topia: $6 Million Raised to Help Organizations Build Their Own Metaverse
CEO and Founder of Skillit
Fraser Patterson, CEO and Founder of Skillit: $13 Million Raised to Tackle the Skilled Labor Crisis in Construction
CEO of Confirm
Josh Merrill, CEO of Confirm: Over $11 Million Raised to End the Performance Review Nightmare
CEO of Uvaro
Joseph Fung, CEO of Uvaro: $15 Million Raised to Build the Career Success Platform Category
CEO of PTO Exchange
Rob Whalen, CEO of PTO Exchange: $5M Raised to Empower Companies to Rethink Paid Time Off
CEO and Co-Founder of Wagestream
Peter Briffett, CEO and Co-Founder of Wagestream: $370 Million Raised to Provide Financial Wellbeing for Every Frontline Employee
CEO & Founder of Showd.me
Avi Singer, CEO & Founder of Showd.me: $4.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Compliance Training
CEO & Founder of Moonhub
Nancy Xu, CEO & Founder of Moonhub: $10 Million Raised to Power the Future of AI-Driven Recruiting
Co-founder of HiPeople
Sebastian Schüller, Co-founder of HiPeople: $7 Million Raised to Develop Data-Driven Augmentation for Hiring Teams
CEO and Co-Founder of Crosschq
Mike Fitzsimmons, CEO & Co-Founder of Crosschq: $35 Million Raised to Power the Future of AI-Driven Hiring Intelligence
Founder/CEO of Woven
Wes Winham Winler, CEO of Woven: $11 Million Raised to Transform How Companies Recruit and Hire Developers
CEO and Founder of Pando
Barbra Gago, CEO and Founder of Pando: $7 Million Raised to Build the Future of Career Advancement
President of Remote
Marcelo Lebre, Co-founder & COO of Remote: Nearly $500 Million Raised to Power the Distributed Workforce of the Future
Co-Founder and CEO of GrowthSpace
Omer Glass, Co-Founder and CEO of GrowthSpace: $44 Million Raised to Build the Future of Employee Development
CEO & Co-Founder of Metaview
Siadhal Magos, CEO & Co-Founder of Metaview: $14 Million Raised to Power the Future of AI-Driven Hiring
CEO of Immediate
Matt Pierce, CEO of Immediate: $15 Million Raised to Eliminate the Costly Price of Financial Stress in the Workforce
CEO of Prodoscore
Sam Naficy, CEO of Prodoscore: $4 Million Raised to Build the Future of Employee Productivity Measurement
Founder of Bootup
Chandler Malone, Founder of Bootup: $2 Million Raised to Solve the Tech Talent Crisis
CEO & Founder of BrightHire
Ben Sesser, CEO & Founder of BrightHire: $36 Million Raised to Build the Interview Intelligence Category
Co-Founder & CEO of Grain
Mike Adams, Co-Founder & CEO of Grain: $22 Million Raised to Power the Future of Meetings
CEO and Co-Founder of Summer
Will Sealy, CEO and Co-Founder of Summer: Over $18 Million Raised to Help Organizations Provide Student Loan Benefits
CEO & Founder of Rising Team
Jennifer Dulski, CEO & Founder of Rising Team: $11 Million Raised to Build the Future of Team Performance
Founder and CEO of Diversio
Laura McGee, CEO of Diversio: $6 Million Raised to Help Organizations Measure and Improve DEI
CEO and Co-Founder of Included
Raghu Gollamudi, CEO and Co-Founder of Included: $5.4 Million Raised to Build the Future of HR Analytics
CEO and Founder of Guideline
Kevin Busque, CEO and Founder of Guideline: $339 Million Raised to Help More Small Businesses Offer Retirement Plans
Founder & CEO of TalentHub
Daniel Birkholm, TalentHub: $6 Million Raised to Transform How Organizations Measure and Improve Their Hiring Experience
Founder and CEO of Candor
Kelsey Bishop, Founder and CEO of Candor: $5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Professional Relationship-Building
Co-founder & CEO of Fetcher
Andres Blank, CEO of Fetcher: $40 Million+ Raised to Build the Future of Recruiting Automation
Founder & CEO of Product School
Carlos Gonzalez de Villaumbrosia, Founder & CEO of Product School: $25 Million Raised to Power the Future of Product Management Education
CEO and Founder of GoodJob
Stephen Johnston, CEO and Founder of GoodJob: $9 Million Raised to Power the Future of Human Capital Management
Founder & CEO of Gigs
Allen Narcisse, Founder & CEO of Gigs: $5.7 Million Raised to Build the Future of Blue Collar Hiring
Co-Founder & CEO of Paraform
John Kim, Co-Founder & CEO of Paraform: $5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Recruiting with a Marketplace for Specialized Talent
President and Co-Founder of Kumospace
Brett Martin, President and Co-Founder of Kumospace: $25 Million Raised to Power the Future of Virtual Offices
CEO & Co-Founder of Cadana
Albert Owusu-Asare, CEO & Co-Founder of Cadana: $7 Million Raised to Build the Future of Global Payroll Infrastructure
CEO & Founder of Sapia AI
Barb Hyman, CEO & Founder of Sapia AI: $21 Million Raised to Build the Future of AI-Powered Recruiting
Co-Founder & CEO of Sphere
Nicholas Rudder, Co-Founder & CEO of Sphere: $5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Corporate Learning
CEO and Co-Founder of WurkNow
Sammy Singh, CEO and Co-Founder of WurkNow: $15 Million Raised to Power the Future of Staffing
CEO of Electives
Jason Lavender, CEO of Electives: $10M Raised to Redefine Corporate Training
CEO | Co-founder of Humanly
Prem Kumar, CEO of Humanly.io: $5.5 Million Raised to Build the Conversational Hiring Category
CEO of Revelio Labs
Ben Zweig, CEO of Revelio Labs: $19 Million Raised to Build the Future of Workforce Intelligence
Founder of ChartHop
Ian White, Founder, CEO and CTO of ChartHop: $74 Million Raised to Build the Future of PeopleOps
CEO of BOLT.works
Ville Herva, CEO of BOLT.works: $7 Million Raised to Build the Future of Staffing
CEO and Co-Founder of Wingspan
Anthony Mironov, CEO and Co-Founder of Wingspan: $30 Million Raised to Power the Contractor Experience of the Future
CEO and Founder of Lepaya
René Janssen, CEO & Founder of Lepaya: $85 Million Raised to Build the Future of Employee Training
CEO of Benepass
Jaclyn Chen, CEO of Benepass: $14 Million Raised to Build the Future of Employee Benefits Management
CEO and Founder of Vowel
Andy Berman, CEO and Founder of Vowel: $13 Million Raised to Power the Future of Meetings
CEO and Co-Founder of Work Shield
Jared Pope, CEO and Co-Founder of Work Shield: $12 Million Raised to Eliminate Workplace Misconduct
CEO and Founder of Pixaera
Mousa Yassin, CEO and Founder of Pixaera: $5.7 Million Raised to Build the Future of VR Safety Training
Growth Marketing Lead of Gun.IO
Chris Johnson, Growth Marketing Lead at Gun.IO: Competing in the Future of Freelance Developer Marketplaces
CEO & Founder of Workera
Kian Katanforoosh, CEO of Workera: $21 Million Raised to Build the Skills Intelligence Category
CEO and Co-founder of Hone
Tom Griffiths, CEO of Hone: $50 Million Raised to Build the Future of Corporate Training
Co-Founder & CEO of WizeHire
Sid Upadhyay, Co-Founder & CEO at WizeHire: Over $30 Million Raised to Help SMBs Hire Great Talent
CEO & Co-Founder of Data People
Amit Bhatia, Co-Founder and CEO of Data People: $21 Million Raised to Build the Future of Recruiting Intelligence
CEO and Co-Founder of Localyze
Hanna Asmussen, CEO and Co-Founder of Localyze: Over $48 Million Raised to Build the Leading Global Mobility Platform for Companies and Employees
CEO & Co-Founder of Arist
Michael Ioffe, CEO & Co-Founder of Arist: $16 Million Raised to Build the Future of Autonomous L&D
Founder and CEO of Cobrainer
Hanns Aderhold, Founder and CEO of Cobrainer: $21 Million Raised to Build the Future of Skills Data Platforms
VP of Marketing of Bonusly
Revenue-Driven Marketing: Insights from Nicole Fuselier of Bonusly
CEO of Oyster
Tony Jamous, CEO of Oyster: $220+ Million Raised to Build the Global Employment Platform (GEP) Category
Founder of Jobbatical
Karoli Hindriks, Founder of Jobbatical: $23 Million Raised to Build the Future of Global Mobility with AI-Powered Relocation Solutions