Talentropy.ai

Alumni Q&A

How did your company get started? (i.e., How did the founders meet? How did you come up with the idea? How did you decide to be a founder?)

The founders started HoyTrabajas after experiencing frustration with traditional job boards, including a lack of feedback when applying for a first job. They focused on the estimated 100 million low-skilled workers in Latin America who face difficulty finding employment.

How did you decide to apply to Y Combinator? What was your experience applying, going through the batch, and fundraising at demo day?

The founders applied to Y Combinator four times, receiving no interview on the first two attempts, an unsuccessful interview on the third, and acceptance on the fourth. They report that the batch emphasized focusing on the product and that the network made subsequent fundraising with U.S. funds easier.

How have you kept in touch with the YC community and continued to use YC resources & programs since the batch ended?

The founders travel to Silicon Valley twice a year to meet investors and other YC founders, and hold quarterly office hours to discuss business progress and challenges.

What's the history of your company from getting started until the present day? What were the big inflection points?

The company launched in August 2019 with three founders and two employees, initially connecting candidates and clients via WhatsApp, and signed its first B2B customers in March 2020. It raised a 500,000 USD pre-seed round, expanded across Bogotá, Medellín, and Cali, joined Y Combinator in November 2021, and raised a 5 million USD seed round in 2022. The company expanded to Mexico in 2023 and added AI tools; it currently has 290 clients (Mexico is over 40% of sales) and a team of 64 people, 70% in product development.

What is the core problem you are solving? Why is this a big problem? What made you decide to work on it?

The founders address problems in the Latin American job market for lower-skilled roles, including limited growth opportunities, high turnover and job insecurity, a hiring success rate often below 7%, an 8-to-10-day hiring process, lack of training support, and mismatches between job seeker skills and employer needs.

What is your long-term vision? If you truly succeed, what will be different about the world?

The founders aim to become the leading platform connecting workers in low-skilled roles with quality jobs, growth opportunities, and benefits.