Cariana Morales
Welcome to the Atlanta Startup Podcast. I’m Cariana Morales and I’m an associate with Valor Ventures. Today, I’m happy to have Bryan Hobbs with me from Pruuvn. He was one of our finalists from Startup Runway this past week, and he actually was a winner of one of the $10,000 grants. So congratulations, Bryan!
Bryan Hobbs
Thank you, thank you! Glad to be here. I really appreciate y’all having me in. I really appreciate being able to go to Startup Runway.
Cariana Morales
Yeah, absolutely. Could you tell us a little bit about what you’re doing with Pruuvn?
Bryan Hobbs
So, at Pruuvn, we empower organizations and individuals to establish trusted relationships through the sharing of verified credentials. Something we like to say is that, if you think of someone who usually works for Uber, that typically works for Lyft, Doordash, or any of the other on-demand type jobs, and they typically go through the same process of onboarding. With our platform, essentially, you do that one time, we verify everything, and allow you to send that to each of those organizations then hire instantly. And that saves those companies money and your time, which is money.
Cariana Morales
I see. And how do you see the future of that, given the current ecosystem, I can imagine it to be a great enabler for the big amounts of people that are now unemployed and gonna be looking for jobs such as the ones you mentioned?
Bryan Hobbs
Yes, yeah. So, I think it’s gonna have a major impact. If you know, with 30 million Americans recently found for unemployment, which is something our platform is designed to really excel in times like this, like many people are looking for jobs. So, utilizing our platform, you have that ability to really own your career, and be able to look for those jobs pretty quickly and be onboarded pretty quickly. That’s- that’s not just the tax-based jobs that we’re discussing now. Even in your traditional jobs, the platform can handle those as well. So, I think it’s really, at this point, something that could be beneficial to everyone who was looking for employment at this time.
Cariana Morales
Yeah, absolutely. And what drove you to build this product?
Bryan Hobbs
Yeah, so what drove me to build this product is that I was helping my wife one day. She’s an educator and she was filling out paperwork for a new job at a new school. We had just moved and what I’ve noticed is she’s had to do this every time and this is all manual. So, this is a manual process and I didn’t understand why [they] have continued to do the same thing; the same paperwork, get verifications from previous employers to prove that they worked somewhere, or any of the other credentials that are static. And it’s just inefficient and it actually affected their salaries. So, I figured there had to be a better way, a new process you can put in place, you can build a platform that can do all of this and you can save time and money on both sides. So, that kind of drove me to build this platform which has really evolved into this. It can be expanded across every industry.
Cariana Morales
Yeah, it’s so important when you’re, you know, firsthand next to the problem and then you’re able to find a solution. So, I think that’s really awesome. Well, great. So as I said earlier, you just competed in Startup Runway. Can you tell us a little bit about your experience with that?
Bryan Hobbs
Yeah, it was an amazing experience. And it’s actually, I think, the first virtual pitch for Startup Runway. And it was amazing to be quite honest, very well set up. Being able to actually interact with the VCs, even through zoom was amazing. I think, you know, a lot of times when you’re in person, a lot of times you kind of freeze up on things, but it was actually a lot more like free flowing to be able to interact. The board meeting that we had, very beneficial. We’re actually making changes based on the information we received from the VCs and members of the board, the mock board that was given. And as well as all of the actual presenters who had actual rooms that we went to and talked with them and got their perspective on things and their advice, that was excellent as well. So, I really liked the format and how it was set up. I think it’s really going to help our company. It was very beneficial, especially the advice in information rooms.
Cariana Morales
Yeah, we’ll break that down and get a little bit more information about each of those. So let’s start with the board meeting that you mentioned. You said you’re going to make a few changes accordingly. What were some of your biggest takeaways from there?
Bryan Hobbs
Yeah, so some of my biggest takeaways was what side of the market we should focus on first because we’re a two sided marketplace. The board really drilled down into which side of that marketplace do you want to attack first to grow as fast as you can. You know, we’ve been looking to attack both sides, but they say we’ll focus on the B2B side first, and then you’ll get your B2C side and kind of laid out how that will work for this platform and they all saw the value in doing that. So, I think that is how we’re now kind of looking to approach our platform and approach our customers is that we approach our B2B customers. First, we’ll bring us B2C but B2B is the main focus, which will eventually help us bring on that B2C. But that was a very good conversation we had with the board, board members, and it was excellent.
Cariana Morales
Great, great to hear they’re able to provide you with some perspective, which is awesome. And then you mentioned some of the speakers. So, for those of you that didn’t attend Startup Runway, there were two breakout sessions, four speakers total and each time you’re assigned to one of the speakers. So, first, tell us which speakers you listened to and then some of your takeaways from there.
Bryan Hobbs
Yeah, so the speakers were Sheena Allen, and then there was Burunda Prince. So, the first session which was with Sheena she talked about her experiences with Capway and how she’s gotten funding and the VC aspect and what to do and what not to do. I think that was very helpful. And she gave some very good insight on some of the things that you should do with regards to when you’re trying to pursue VC funding and it made a lot of sense in the elements and the people you bring on your team, as well as the material that you have to have ready to present and just focus on basically, “Is your company ready at this time?”, “Are you sure you need to go and talk to VC?” So, it was a very interesting conversation that she had and the information she provided I think helped everyone who listened in as there were a lot of questions during the session. So, I really appreciated the information she provided and look forward to gathering more from her as I move forward. The other speaker was Burunda Prince. I know Burunda from a previous engagement. Burunda talked about making sure that you as yourself and your team are staying in touch with yourself because you can kind of lose yourself in this entrepreneurial world and you basically lose your way and what you’re actually trying to achieve as a goal. So, she talked about your inner circle, the people you confide in. So that was a very, very interesting conversation as everyone talked about the people who they confide in to help them move along, and help them keep themselves grounded as they deal with the startup world and entrepreneurship. So, that conversation as well was great, helped put perspective on things that help you think a lot like a lot of other people who you actually get advice.
Cariana Morales
Yeah, definitely. I also attended both of those sessions and for Sheena’s, I really liked her perspective because she has two sides of the coin. Her previous company, she bootstrapped and then her current company she’s raising for us. I think she has a great perspective on how to go about with either and she’s able to provide the perspective of, you know, “Is this right for you?” Because everyone thinks that, you know, “raise money, raise money, raise money”, but you know, that might not always be best, as you said. So awesome. I also appreciated the speakers as well. And then so like you said earlier, this was our first digital Startup Runway, which is obviously a big difference from the in person ones in the past. So, how was that virtual pitching aspect for you? Had you ever done anything like that before?
Bryan Hobbs
Um, I actually had a quick virtual pitch. I think it was last month. I did that which was interesting. It was the first one. So, this one I still considered being the first but these are new, but in a sense that it was burned very well. I actually like it a lot better than the in person pitching? Yeah, I feel a little more comfortable. I’m comfortable either way, but I think this made it almost a little more- I don’t know the word [to be] quite honest. But it was better in a sense [that] I felt more comfortable and able to convey things. Doing it virtually, I’m a lot better. But in my mind, it was beneficial to be quite honest.
Cariana Morales
Good, good. And what’s your opinion of pitch events in the future? Do you think that virtual is the way to go? Do you hope to see some in person options as well? Is this a path you think you’ll continue on?
Bryan Hobbs
You know, I think with options, it should be for both. I think there should be a mixture. I really believe that for the future this virtual pitching makes a lot of sense. Because when people all over the world, essentially, who have potential and are building great companies, they just can’t get to an in person pitch. And the way this one was set up with Startup Runway, I think it needs to be similar to the future. At least it should look similar because again, I really liked the format and think that it is the way of pitching. But I do think that there needs to be a mixture of some sort.
Cariana Morales
That makes sense. Do you have any advice for founders that will be in that virtual pitch environment in the next couple months? I know it’s definitely different. So, what were some things that you feel like helped make you successful?
Bryan Hobbs
So, I will say, still prepare the same way. Still prepare as this was in person because again, it’s still a pitch. You still have to convey your message and what you’re trying to do and your product, your services. And the listener still has to understand it. So, I still prepared the same way I would with regards to an in person pitch. Essentially, the way you would dress, you still would dress for an in person pitch. But the difference here is that make sure, technical-wise, make sure you’re in a place where you can actually have uninterrupted streams and things of that nature because now you’re doing it technical. That was probably the only difference for me, so be prepared technically with the computers and internet connections and things of that nature.
Cariana Morales
Which is always hard. Technology is not always our best friend. Which can be extremely frustrating, but it worked out at the time which is awesome. To your point earlier about, I think, the option for both pitches, virtually and not. This was the first year that we were able to get some really big investors from the East Coast or West coast, they wouldn’t have been there otherwise. So, you know, we had a few judges from KKR and these bigger firms that, you know, would have no opportunity to fly across the country for this pitch event. So, I think that it definitely can attract and bring down some geographical barriers so I think that that’s definitely a good point. Awesome. I’d love to pivot a little bit and talk a little bit about some of the future customers you’re looking for both on your B2B and B2C side for any listeners that might be those customers?
Bryan Hobbs
Yeah, no, great. So, I’m not a B2B side right now. You know, we’ve basically started focusing on companies that have not high turnover, but have happened before a lot of employees to actually provide their services. So, customers, delivery companies, rideshare companies, which are not very active now, but they are part of this sector that we want to approach early on. As well as companies such as Home Depot, Lowe’s, they have those seasonal trends that they like to implement with bringing on tons of workers at one time. Those are the type of companies we’re looking for right now in this first set of approaching customers because they are the ones that we can, from the masses of applications, push to those employers. And they can be brought on pretty quickly once we verify everything about their background and information. On the B2C side, it’s similar. So, if you’re, you’re really looking to work for yourself. You’re not really trying to be tied down at the moment. I met with one employer which you can still be on the platform, but you’re looking to also either supplement your income or work for multiple organizations to create your own schedule. Basically, that’s the type of customer we’re looking for at this time. But again, this is all evolved but those are the two segments or personas that we’re approaching at this point.
Cariana Morales
Awesome. And, for any listeners that feel like they would like to use Pruuvn or you know any investors as well, how can they get in touch with you?
Bryan Hobbs
Yeah, so it’s pretty, pretty simple here, you can go to our website at www.Pruuvn.com and you can actually either get one of our content link button, or you can send an email to support@pruuvn.com which will come to our system and disperse it to where it needs to be.
Cariana Morales
Awesome. Sounds good. And then one last question for you. I guess the $10,000 question that we’ve all been wondering since startup runway, as I mentioned, you were one of the winners. Congratulations once again. What do you plan to do with the money? What are your next big steps with that?
Bryan Hobbs
Yeah, so our next big step. So, we’ll finish out some of the last few elements of application that gives us more runway essentially. But we have some marketing. Our marketing is what we are looking to focus on here, bring people on the platform. As we bring more companies on, we’re going to use that to help us with our major marketing push.
Cariana Morales
Sounds good. Well, congratulations once again and it was great talking with you. And I wish you the best of luck in the future with Pruuvn.
Bryan Hobbs
Thank you! Great talking with you as well.
Cariana Morales
Me too. Thank you!
Lisa
The Atlanta Startup Podcast is produced by Valor Ventures as a service to the startup and investor community. We couldn’t do it without the support of our sponsors–Atlanta Tech Park, the global innovation center, and Write2Market, Atlanta’s favorite tech, and healthcare marketing firm. If you’d like to get your information on the Atlanta Startup Podcast, our share a message with our listeners, visit us online and check out our affordable rate card. All advertisements here are tax-deductible donations to the Startup Runway Foundation, a nonprofit whose mission is connecting underrepresented founders to their first investor.
