Kieran Snyder of Textio at the Seattle Female Founders Conference

TL;DR

Textio, a language analysis company, has experienced impressive growth by focusing on job postings, rebranding, and changing the narrative surrounding their product.

Transcript

to our next speaker Sharon Schneider who is the founder and CEO of texty oh so I actually started hearing about text EO last year from a number of YC alumni who used and loved text EO so they use text you to analyze their job postings so so text EO is used not only by startups but also by large companies like Johnson & Johnson and CVS and basically... Read More

Key Insights

• 🔍 Textio is a company that analyzes job postings to determine which ones will be more successful in attracting candidates. They have been around for three years and have raised $29.5 million in funding.
• 💼 About 50% of Textio's team is female or non-binary, and over half of their board is female.
• 📈 Textio's platform has been successful in helping companies fill their job openings faster and increase diversity in their candidate pool.
• 🎯 Textio started by focusing on job postings because they had unique relationships and data in the HR and talent space. This allowed them to deliver value to their customers and prove that their platform works.
• 🏭 Textio rebranded in 2016 to better align their messaging with the value they provide to customers. They shifted from pitching ease-of-use to highlighting the outcomes and benefits their platform can deliver.
• 💰 Originally, Textio had a per-seat licensing model, but they realized that this wasn't scalable. They changed their pricing to a flat fee based on the number of job openings, which was more appealing to customers.
• 📰 Textio has received press coverage, but they realized that they needed to change the narrative to align with their broader vision. They started talking about augmented writing and the future of digital writing, which has helped them gain recognition as a category leader.
• 💪 Textio's co-founder relationship with Jensen Harris, who has a complementary skillset, has been a crucial part of their success. They trust each other and have different strengths that have helped accelerate their growth.
• 🌱 Textio started small with a Kickstarter predictor, but they have expanded their offerings and are aiming to revolutionize the way people write in the future. They have big aspirations and are not letting anyone limit their potential.

Questions & Answers

Q: How did starting with job postings contribute to Textio's growth as a company?

Starting with job postings allowed Textio to deliver value to companies and gain unique insights into writing patterns, which attracted customers and formed valuable partnerships.

Q: How did rebranding and changing the narrative help Textio accelerate their growth?

Rebranding helped Textio position itself as more than just a tool for improving bias in writing. By focusing on the broader concept of augmented writing, they were able to attract a wider audience and gain more recognition and press coverage.

Q: How did Textio's decision to license their product based on the number of job postings impact their revenue and customer satisfaction?

By shifting from individual licenses to a flat fee based on the number of job postings, Textio created a more scalable and cost-effective model for their customers. This pricing structure also incentivized customers to share more data, contributing to the improvement and value of Textio's platform.

Q: Why is it important for startups to make strategic decisions about their product and licensing?

Making strategic decisions about product features, pricing, and licensing can significantly impact a startup's growth and success. It allows them to better align their product with customer needs, create a sustainable business model, and differentiate themselves from competitors.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Textio, a language analysis company, started with a clear vision of using data to improve writing and communication in various domains.

• They started by analyzing job postings to provide insights on success rates and improve diversity and inclusion in the hiring process.

• Through strategic decisions, such as rebranding and changing the narrative, Textio has seen significant growth and is now aiming to revolutionize writing in all domains.