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HR Startup Models — STEAL THIS.
STEAL THIS.
DRILLS
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VERTICAL · 125 DRILLS
HR
125 startup drills in HR
RISING
Archer
$500K
Why Every Incentive System Fails – and the Fix Is Simple
HR/Benefits · build adjacent
RISING
Saile
$2M
Skilled Professionals Need Side Income – Just Not at Gig-Economy Rates
HR/Recruiting · build adjacent
PROVEN
Windmill
$12M
The Org Chart Is a Lie. This Tool Maps How Work Actually Flows.
HR/Learning · build adjacent
RISING
Brev
$4M
Everyone Is Working Hard. Nobody Is Working in the Same Direction.
AI/Agents · build competitor
RISING
Ontora
$500K
You Survey Customers. Why Not Your Employees the Same Way?
HR/Learning · build adjacent
RISING
Humwork
$500K
The Org Chart Is About to Flip Upside Down
AI/Agents · build tooling
SEEDLING
Pensieve
undisclosed
AI Agents Need Onboarding. Nobody Knows How to Do That Yet.
AI/Agents · build tooling
RISING
Perfectly
$500K
Twice the Pass Rate in a Quarter of the Time – AI-First Recruiting
HR/Recruiting · build competitor
PROVEN
Juicebox
$116M
Flip the Pareto Rule and Watch the Funding Roll In
HR/Recruiting · adapt model
RISING
NextWork
$7M
Skills Get You Qualified – Placement Gets You Hired
Education/EdTech · build adjacent
RISING
Ivee
$4M
The Best Hires Aren't Looking – Target Life Transitions Instead
HR/Recruiting · build adjacent
RISING
Outship
$500K
Less Competition Lives in the Non-Obvious Problems
AI/Agents · build adjacent
RISING
Grade
$500K
The End of Paying for Time – AI Is Making Outcome-Based Pay Inevitable
HR/Benefits · build tooling
RISING
Arbor
$6M
Frontline Workers Know What's Wrong – They Just Need Someone to Ask
HR/Learning · build adjacent
PROVEN
Groopit
$11M
Your Best Competitive Intelligence Is Already Inside Your Company
HR/Recruiting · adapt model
RISING
Boomband
$4M
What If Recruiting Started With Who You Are, Not What You've Done
HR/Recruiting · build competitor
PROVEN
Compa
$49M
The Right Salary Is a Number – Most Companies Are Just Guessing It
HR/Recruiting · build adjacent
SEEDLING
Knoa
undisclosed
90% of Corporate Knowledge Lives in Heads – and Leaves With Them
AI/Agents · build adjacent
RISING
Your360.ai
$200K
The Relationship Layer Is the Next Big AI Infrastructure
HR/Learning · build adjacent
SEEDLING
GitHired
undisclosed
Resumes Lie – the Code Repository Doesn't
HR/Recruiting · build competitor
RISING
Donna
$6M
The Less They Stare at Screens, the More They Sell
SaaS/Productivity · build adjacent
RISING
Sensay
$3M
Knowledge Walks Out With Every Resignation – and It Gets Worse
HR/Learning · build adjacent
PROVEN
Jack & Jill
$20M
Build the Marketplace Where Nobody Has to Search
HR/Recruiting · adapt model
PROVEN
Viven
$35M
AI Digital Twins: The Billion-Dollar Category Nobody Has Claimed Yet
AI/Agents · build competitor
RISING
Ms.Engineer
$4M
The Tech Talent Gap Has an Obvious Fix
Education/EdTech · adapt model
RISING
Fufild
$685K
Companies Run Loyalty Programs for Customers. Why Not for Employees?
HR/Benefits · build adjacent
SEEDLING
Taro
undisclosed
This Job Platform Pays You $15,000 When You Get Hired
HR/Recruiting · adapt model
PROVEN
Juicebox
$37M
The Fastest-Growing AI Category Right Now Has 10-Person Teams
HR/Recruiting · build adjacent
RISING
RefAssured
$3M
People Lie in Interviews – One Startup Built a Billion on That
HR/Recruiting · build competitor
RISING
Laborup
$8M
The Skilled Trades Hiring Gap Job Boards Were Never Built to Close
HR/Recruiting · build adjacent
RISING
Vaave
$782K
Your Alumni Network Is an Untapped Business Asset
HR/Recruiting · build tooling
RISING
Fluint
$4M
150-Day Sales Cycles Need More Than a Coach – They Need AI
AI/Agents · adapt model
PROVEN
Indy AI
$45M
Surfaces Jobs From Your Network Before They Hit Job Boards
HR/Recruiting · build adjacent
PROVEN
Connectd
$15M
Fractional Experts for Startups – the Model That's Finally Working
HR/Recruiting · build competitor
RISING
Oki
$500K
The Founder's Blind Spot – Solved Before Problems Get Loud
AI/Agents · build adjacent
RISING
r.Potential
$6M
Two Executives for Human and AI Workers Is Already Obsolete
HR/Remote · build tooling
PLAYBOOK
Clado
$500K
How Do You Hire Someone Who Isn't Looking?
HR/Recruiting · build adjacent
PLAYBOOK
Mesmer
$500K
Everyone's Replacing Engineers With AI – No One's Replacing CTOs
AI/Agents · build tooling
PLAYBOOK
HelloSky
$8M
AI Won't Kill Hiring – It Will Make It Far More Rigorous
HR/Recruiting · build tooling
PLAYBOOK
Scoutt
undisclosed
How Do You Hire a Developer If You Don't Speak Developer?
HR/Recruiting · build adjacent
PLAYBOOK
Agent.ai
undisclosed
If Companies Hire AI Agents, Someone Needs to Build the Job Board
AI/Agents · build adjacent
PLAYBOOK
Lanceboard
undisclosed
Companies Don't Need Freelance Marketplaces – They Need Management
HR/Remote · build adjacent
PLAYBOOK
NextByte
$500K
Stop Hiring Coders. Start Hiring AI Collaborators.
AI/Agents · build adjacent
PROVEN
Mercor
$136M
21-Year-Old Founders. $2B Valuation. 51% Monthly Revenue Growth.
AI/Agents · build competitor
PLAYBOOK
Silo Team
$1M
Engineers Stay 1–2 Years. That's a Crisis.
HR/Learning · build adjacent
PLAYBOOK
Reelist
$3M
Young People Are Job-Hunting Differently – The Old Platforms Missed It
HR/Recruiting · build competitor
PLAYBOOK
Spott
$500K
You Can't Run a $95B Market on Spreadsheets and Gut Feel
HR/Recruiting · build adjacent
PLAYBOOK
GitQuest
undisclosed
Code Commits as a Leaderboard Sport
HR/Recruiting · build adjacent
PROVEN
Stepful
$68M
To Make Real Money in Education, Teach Simple Skills at Scale
Education/EdTech · adapt model
PLAYBOOK
The Nursing Beat
$1M
The $1M Newsletter Targeting 4 Million Nurses Nobody Else Bothered to Serve
HR/Recruiting · build adjacent
PLAYBOOK
SocialCrowd
$5M
Same Staff, Same Menu, Same Specials – Sales Up 6x
HR/Recruiting · build adjacent
PLAYBOOK
Protiv
$2M
78 Million Hourly Workers Have No Path to a Performance Bonus
HR/Benefits · build competitor
PROVEN
Jump
$17M
Freelance Freedom With Employment-Grade Stability – Not a Contradiction
HR/Remote · build adjacent
PLAYBOOK
Letterloop
undisclosed
Consumer Flop, B2B Gold Mine – Same Product
SaaS/Collaboration · build adjacent
PROVEN
TeamBridge
$42M
The 80 Million Hourly Workers Most HR Startups Ignore
HR/Recruiting · build competitor
PLAYBOOK
Champion
$3M
Your Happiest Customers Are Your Best Salespeople
HR/Recruiting · adapt model
PLAYBOOK
Allesgood
$4M
Gen Z Picks Employers by Values – Not Job Boards
HR/Recruiting · build adjacent
PLAYBOOK
Wethos
$8M
Why Your Team Underperforms – Despite Hiring Great People
HR/Recruiting · build adjacent
PLAYBOOK
Folio
$5M
The Internship Model That Actually Works for Everyone
HR/Recruiting · build competitor
PLAYBOOK
FlexiBees
undisclosed
Experienced Talent on Flexible Terms – The Arbitrage Nobody Talks About
HR/Recruiting · adapt model
PLAYBOOK
Skillfully
$3M
Skip the Resume, Skip the Interview – Simulate the Job
HR/Recruiting · build adjacent
PROVEN
Bolster
$22M
A Marketplace of Executives Who Have Actually Done It
HR/Recruiting · build competitor
PLAYBOOK
Flexa
$5M
Work-Life Balance Is Now the Top Hiring Factor – Here's Who Profits
HR/Recruiting · build adjacent
PROVEN
Emissary
$35M
Former C-Suite Executives Are Freelancing – and Enterprise Sales Teams Want In
HR/Recruiting · build adjacent
PLAYBOOK
Making Space
$2M
Equal Opportunity as a B2B Product – Making Space's Unusual Bet
HR/Recruiting · build adjacent
PLAYBOOK
Ferretly
$5M
Hiring Is Shifting from Skills to Personality – Here's Why
HR/Recruiting · build adjacent
PROVEN
TechWolf
$56M
Enterprise Doesn't Want AI to Screen Resumes – It Wants AI to Redeploy People
HR/Recruiting · build adjacent
PLAYBOOK
Alpaca
$2M
The Best Recruiting Strategy Is Not Recruiting
HR/Recruiting · build adjacent
PROVEN
Rising Team
$11M
Management Training Ships as a Product, Not a Workshop
HR/Learning · adapt model
PLAYBOOK
FrontRace
$4M
Promote or Fire? AI Now Has an Opinion.
HR/Recruiting · build adjacent
PROVEN
Confirm
$18M
64% of Employees Say Performance Reviews Are a Waste of Time
HR/Learning · build adjacent
PROVEN
ChangeEngine
$16M
Recognition Without Communication Is Dead Weight
HR/Remote · build competitor
PROVEN
Applause
$10M
Turn Frontline Employees Into a Revenue Growth Engine
HR/Benefits · build competitor
PLAYBOOK
Tangent
$1M
Referred Candidates Are 9x More Likely to Get Hired
HR/Recruiting · adapt model
PLAYBOOK
Take2
$3M
Sales Interviews Test Interview Skills, Not Selling Skills
HR/Recruiting · build adjacent
PLAYBOOK
Paraform
$5M
The Best Candidates Aren't on LinkedIn – Paraform Knows Where They Are
HR/Recruiting · build adjacent
PROVEN
Cariloop
$43M
73% of Employees Are Caregivers – and It's Costing Employers
Health/Wellness · build adjacent
PLAYBOOK
Home From College
$7M
20 Million College Students Need Work. Companies Need Flexible Talent.
HR/Recruiting · adapt model
PLAYBOOK
The New Club
$3M
Belonging Is a Retention Strategy – and Most Tech Companies Miss It
HR/Recruiting · build adjacent
PLAYBOOK
Raising Superstars
$2M
Screen-Free Development Sells – If You Have a Daily Activity Plan
Education/Kids · build competitor
PLAYBOOK
Vitrue Health
$7M
Back Pain Costs Companies More Than the Common Cold
Health/Wellness · build adjacent
PLAYBOOK
SocialCrowd
$2M
Annual Reviews Kill Motivation. Real-Time Incentives Don't.
HR/Benefits · build adjacent
PROVEN
Cloverleaf
$15M
Train More, Spend Less – Corporate L&D Has a Math Problem
HR/Learning · build adjacent
PROVEN
Upstock
$13M
Equity Incentives Done Right Are a Startup Superpower
HR/Benefits · build tooling
PLAYBOOK
TeamOut
$3M
For Remote-First Companies, the Annual Offsite Isn't a Perk
HR/Remote · enter market
PLAYBOOK
Hyperbound
$500K
5.7M Sales Reps in the US – and Most Practice on Real Prospects
AI/Agents · build adjacent
PROVEN
CookUnity
$122M
CookUnity Built the Spotify of Chef-Made Meal Delivery
E-commerce/Marketplace · adapt model
PROVEN
Salt Labs
$18M
Salt Labs Builds a Loyalty Program for Hourly Workers
HR/Benefits · build adjacent
PLAYBOOK
Prosal
$1M
Prosal Replaces Agency Cold Outreach With a Structured RFP Feed
E-commerce/Marketplace · build adjacent
PLAYBOOK
Collective
$8M
Collective Matches Companies With Pre-Formed Freelance Teams
E-commerce/Marketplace · build adjacent
PLAYBOOK
Rflect
$629K
Rflect Teaches University Students to Reflect, Not Just Acquire Skills
Education/EdTech · build adjacent
PROVEN
Wellthy
$78M
Wellthy Manages Caregiving Logistics as an Employer-Sponsored Benefit
HR/Benefits · adapt model
PLAYBOOK
Artisan AI
$2M
Artisan AI Builds Pre-Trained Digital Employees for Sales and Marketing
AI/Agents · build adjacent
PLAYBOOK
Abyssale
$2M
Abyssale Auto-Adapts One Ad Creative to Every Standard Banner Format
HR/Learning · build adjacent
PROVEN
Mozaic
$31M
Mozaic Automates Revenue Splits for the Creator Economy
SaaS/Productivity · build tooling
PLAYBOOK
OnlyDust
$3M
OnlyDust Builds Developer Reputations Through Open-Source Contributions
HR/Recruiting · build adjacent
PLAYBOOK
Gizmo
$4M
Gizmo Uses AI Flashcards to Fix Online Learning's Retention Problem
Education/EdTech · build adjacent
PLAYBOOK
Storimake
$1M
Storimake Turns Smartphone Footage Into Finished Video Content
HR/Recruiting · build adjacent
PROVEN
Harbour
$17M
Harbour Streamlines Contract Negotiation, Approval, and Signing
HR/Recruiting · build adjacent
PROVEN
Tilt
$10M
Tilt Turns Employee Offboarding Into a Structured Workflow
HR/Benefits · build adjacent
PROVEN
Skillit
$14M
Skillit Gives Construction Firms a Searchable Database of Tradespeople
HR/Recruiting · build adjacent
PLAYBOOK
Gigaroo
$5M
Gigaroo Builds Shift-Work Schedules Around an Income Target
HR/Recruiting · build competitor
PROVEN
Tulip
$79M
Tulip Gives Retail Associates CRM-Style Customer Profiles on the Floor
SaaS/Productivity · adapt model
PLAYBOOK
Bitewell
$6M
Bitewell Ties Corporate Nutrition Programs to Healthcare Cost Reduction
Health/Wellness · adapt model
PLAYBOOK
Segue
$300K
Segue Lets Construction Companies Share Idle Workers Between Projects
HR/Recruiting · adapt model
PROVEN
Paro
$69M
Paro Matches Companies With Freelance Finance and Accounting Specialists
HR · build adjacent
PLAYBOOK
Assemble
$1M
Assemble Combines Career Coaching and Community for Nurses
HR/Learning · enter market
PROVEN
Zaptic
$16M
Zaptic Delivers Step-by-Step Guidance to 700 Million Industrial Workers
SaaS/Industry-Specific · build adjacent
PLAYBOOK
Vamoz
$244K
Vamoz Handles Compliance and Payroll for Employees Working Abroad Temporarily
HR/Remote · build adjacent
PLAYBOOK
GoJoe
$1M
GoJoe Runs Competitive Fitness Challenges That Improve Employee Sentiment by 84%
HR/Benefits · build adjacent
PROVEN
Zerocater
$39M
Zerocater's Cloud Cafeteria Bet on Return-to-Office
HR/Benefits · adapt model
PLAYBOOK
Uplancer
$2M
Uplancer Matches Students With Paid Freelance Projects
Education/EdTech · build competitor
PROVEN
Contra
$15M
Contra Replaces the Resume With a Portfolio of Actual Work
HR/Recruiting · build adjacent
PLAYBOOK
Stoovo
$2M
Stoovo Optimizes Shift Earnings Across 6,000 Gig Platforms
E-commerce/Logistics · build adjacent
PLAYBOOK
Pangea
$3M
Pangea Is Building Freelancing as the New Entry-Level Career Path
HR/Recruiting · build adjacent
PROVEN
Expertlead
$17M
Expertlead Vets Tech Freelancers Through Peer Review
Creator Economy · build adjacent
PROVEN
Graphite
$20M
Graphite Fields 7,500 Ex-McKinsey Consultants for Freelance Strategy Work
HR/Recruiting · build competitor
PLAYBOOK
Breef
$4M
Breef Applies the Upwork Model to Small Agency Hiring
SaaS/Marketplace · build competitor
PROVEN
A.Team
$60M
A.Team Assembles Complete Product Teams on Demand
HR/Recruiting · build adjacent
PLAYBOOK
Lawclerk
$7M
Lawclerk Lets Lawyers Hire Freelance Attorneys by the Project
E-commerce/Marketplace · build competitor
PLAYBOOK
MVP Match
$5M
MVP Match Matches Companies With Vetted European Freelance Developers
HR/Recruiting · build competitor
PLAYBOOK
Stoovo
$7M
Stoovo's AI Tells Gig Workers Where to Earn the Most
HR/Remote · build competitor
PLAYBOOK
CareerFairy
$2M
CareerFairy Moves the Campus Career Fair Online and Year-Round
Education/EdTech · adapt model
PROVEN
Bark Social
$11M
Bark Social: A Membership Club for Dogs and Remote Workers
HR/Remote · build adjacent
PLAYBOOK
Weet
undisclosed
Weet Replaces Synchronous Calls With Timestamped Async Video Messages
SaaS/Collaboration · build adjacent
MORE VERTICALS
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