Amsterdam-based The Selection Lab, a startup that offers validated assessments to select the best possible candidates for a job, has secured €300K in a fresh round of funding from Arches Capital.
“In the upcoming 18 months we expect to grow by 30 per cent a month, mainly within The Netherlands. After these 18 months, we will focus on entering different countries,” says Lotte Welten, the co-founder and CEO of The Selection Lab in an exclusive conversation with Silicon Canals.
The raised capital will help the startup to further develop its assessments and platform, invest in marketing automation, and expand the sales team.
In addition, the funds will also enable the startup to further speed up the pace in which they can service a wide variety of customers.
Arches Capital is a fast-growing group of business angels that invests in startup and scaleup companies with large growth potential. It invests in early-stage companies that are ready to scale fast.
Making hiring objective and stimulating diversity
The Selection Lab was founded in 2018 by Welten and her fiancé Joeri Everaers to make hiring more objective and thereby stimulate diversity.
After studying and working on 4 different continents for a variety of NGO’s to stimulate the emancipation of minorities, Welten co-founded The Selection Lab in Amsterdam. With The Selection Lab, Welten aims to structurally improve the diversity within companies as she firmly believes that the only real way to combat biases is to let people work together.
Everaers, on the other hand, has a background as a strategy consultant and marketing manager of Westwing (a rocket internet venture) and has always been fascinated by the mix of data and intuition. He is the co-founder and COO of The Selection Lab.
“The biggest initial challenge was that a lot of data was needed for the product to work and to gather that data, we needed to start working for large firms. But many large firms are not very innovative and are hesitant to work with young start-ups. In the end, we convinced one of the largest law firms in the Netherlands to use our product,” says Welten.
About the startup
According to the startup, current companies have little knowledge about the predictors for employee success and biased intuition, which willingly or unwillingly, still plays a large role within the hiring process.
The Selection Lab aims to increase the quality and diversity within firms by making the selection process more objective. By quantifying the real predictors of success and measuring those objectively, the startup believes that these biases can be combated, as well as increase diversity.
Welten explains, “Current assessment solutions are often expensive, complex and inaccessible or they lack a thorough scientific foundation. We offer companies of all sizes scientifically validated assessments at a reasonable price and without additional fees. This enables companies of all sizes to objectify their hiring and thus boost quality and diversity.”
Co-founder Everaers, while further explaining how The Selection Lab is different from its competitors, says, “next to the low threshold for use, the biggest difference with our competitors is that our software can track the performance of people who get hired, and then uses machine learning models to determine on a company level what combination of character traits are actual predictors for success. With this knowledge, companies can hire based on data instead of their gut thus increasing quality and diversity.”
The Selection Lab started in the legal industry and managed to get several top law firms on board. With its software, the startup helps organisations to determine which combination of characteristics – from personality and cultural preferences to types of intelligence – are important for success for their specific company.
After the product was validated in the legal industry, The Selection Lab moved on to different industries, ranging from recruitment agencies to security firms. In the past 6 months, the number of clients has gone tenfold.
Talking about the revenue streams, Welten says, “We sell subscriptions to our assessment software and single assessments. Companies can send out 1 assessment for only €65 and get steep discounts when they take a subscription.”
The company has a team of 12 employees and is actively hiring currently – looking for B2B sales roles (junior and senior).
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