Rodney Morris
We have Sarah Rodehorst with us today with ePerkz. First of all, we just want to say congratulations because Sarah was a finalist in the Startup Runway cohort that we just had in Atlanta. So, first of all, Sarah congratulations.
Sarah Rodehorst
Well, thank you. Thank you for having me.
Rodney Morris
Absolutely. My name is Rodney Morris. I’m an Associate at Valor Ventures. We want to speak upon your experience at Startup Runway and also learn more about the ePerkz in which you’re building and the milestones that you’re achieving. Because becoming a finalist in the eighth cohort is no small feat. There are hundreds of startups that were recognized in that way, but you beat them out and you became one of those eight. So, please tell us what you’re building and tell us about some of the milestones you’ve achieved thus far.
Sarah Rodehorst
Sure, I’d be happy to. So ePerkz is a severance automation solution. We focus solely on terminations specifically reductions in force furloughs as well as recalls, and what we do is we help companies make sure that they do them smarter, faster, and in compliance with employment laws. Now, a lot of people are like, “Okay, you focus on termination. How did you end up in that area?” Well, my background is actually in a lot of benefits, and my partner and I started out in building a benefits automation solution. And when we were outselling it, companies were like, “Hey, great! I have a benefit automation solution. But what I really need is a severance automation solution.”
We’re faced with some really tough workforce decisions, and there’s not a solution out there on the market that helps us with this process and it’s a delicate process, right? It’s cumbersome. There’s justification you need to do. You need to make sure that documentation is just right. There are decisions you need to make. You need to look at the workforce that’s being considered and make decisions on who’s being considered versus impact. And you need to do all of that while staying in compliance with employment law. It’s kind of crazy to think that that happens in every business. Terminations happen in every business, but nobody’s doing it. Nobody’s helping them and so we jumped in. We said, “Yes, we’d love to work with you.” We had conversations and learning more about the process, it ends up that open enrollment and, reductions in force are managed very similarly. They’re managed as an event. You got to look holistically at it. You need to analyze the population and make decisions. So, we partnered with our clients, our pilot clients, and developed ePerkz. So, we’re very excited to be able to bring that to the market. We have patented those solutions. Again, it goes back to the fact that nobody else has done it before. So, we have a patent pending on it, what we’ve done for our current clients is really to help them reduce administrative costs. Just give them peace of mind that they are making the right decisions. They’re not discriminating and they’re staying in compliance with the Warn Act, which is another regulation out there that is related to terminations. We’ve had traction, there’s interest. We are continuing to evolve the solution. Right now, what’s so critically important out there is about bringing the workforce back to work. So, one of the elements that we’re working on is, how do you recall all these employees? So, it’s exciting times to be able to provide such value to businesses when they need it the most. And, we’re just excited.
Rodney Morris
Sounds great, that was a lot. I’m glad that you were able to explain exactly the origin story and go through exactly what you guys are working on and what you plan to do right here in the near future. Shifting gears a little bit. And we want to actually talk about your Startup Runway experience and how did it help you? Would you recommend it when other founders apply to future programs? And why or why not?
Sarah Rodehorst
It was one of the most fabulous experiences. Just hats off to Lisa and Jean-Luc, for the program that they’ve put together. Not only was it just an honor to be selected, they just helped us along the way.
This is my first company, it’s not my first, rodeo in launching products.
I’ve launched products for the last 20 years, all fast B2B products.
But this is my first startup company and so it was really helpful for me to be able to get their expertise. What’s expected as part of the pitch program and Jean-Luc van Hulst at Write2Market really went out of his way to provide feedback and help us cultivate all of that, so the process leading up to the pitch event was amazing. And then the pitch event itself was like, “oh, my goodness, it was professionally put on. It was a zoom meeting and you kind of think of zoom meetings as one-directional. Almost like a presentation, but it wasn’t. It was very collaborative. It felt like we’re in a room. It actually almost was more personal. We were given a board of directors, [I] just want to recognize them briefly; Tim Howe from Cox Communications, Joe Beverly from Corporate Payroll Services, Chevenry Arnold from EY, Flash Poehler from Solemn and Alison Caruso from TechCXO.
Rodney Morris
My goodness, thank you so much for your feedback.
Sarah Rodehorst
One of the things that we had heard from them is that we need to really focus because like I said, when I was describing it first, we can help everyone.
Every business has had, at some point, to terminate someone.
So, we really could help everyone but for us to be successful, we really do need to focus on our target market because of their help, we are targeting the mid-market. And they provided great feedback on our revenue model, so on and so forth. And then there [were] excellent speakers as well along the way, and just can’t say enough about the program. Highly recommend it to anybody out there.
Rodney Morris
Got it. And speaking to the virtual pitch experience. So, in order for you to actually be a finalist in Startup Runway this year, because of COVID, and everything that’s going on, you had to send in a virtual pitch. We would like to get your opinion and your feedback on that. Was that a better or worse experience for you?
Sarah Rodehorst
It was a different experience, I’ll put it that way. It’s always good to have both experiences. I typically am more comfortable presenting in front of people but that’s not to say that the world’s not changing. So, if we’re going to continue to survive, communicate, to sell in this world we’re in right now, we need to be able to effectively communicate online. And so it was very helpful to be able to go through that process. It was my first video I’ve ever done and broadcast. So, it was a little bit of a learning experience, but it’s very valuable and being able to get our message across in five minutes, and being able to have an opportunity to refine it on our own and before submitting it was wonderful. So, I thought it was a great experience.
Rodney Morris
Got it, sounds great. I like the way you answered that. It is a changing world and we’ll see that a lot of companies will remain remote or a lot of employees will never go back to the office. So, we have to adapt to those environments and things of that nature. But we definitely wanted to get your opinion on that being as though, you were a finalist. Speaking to your border a little more, I know you shared that they suggested that you go mid-market for the mid-market customers and things of that nature. What did the VCs on that board specifically share with you that landed, that you didn’t already elaborate on? And maybe you already elaborated on it, but I just definitely wanted to ask.
Sarah Rodehorst
Right now, just give you a little background. We serve large businesses. We actually have designed our products for the most complicated scenarios. To give you an idea, we are actively supporting a reduction in force and unfortunately due to COVID, that’s where a lot of these businesses that are involving five different ways of layoffs. You can only imagine the size, there’s a unique form that goes out that you have to disclose all the employees that are included as part of any layoff and we have actually generated those disclosures that are upwards of 170 pages long. So, to give you an idea of how long that list of people impacted is, we’ve had to start at the most difficult, and we were going to sell was to the largest companies. Because right now, we could drop in our application and serve them.
But their advice was good, and it kind of took me a while to come around to it but I feel like it is where we need to focus and it’s because of the number of companies in the mid-market that need this. The expertise that they need this. They need best practices. They need consistency across the board and they need some assistance in the compliance area to have that peace of mind. Because they may not be able to afford the same legal services that those large corporations can. We can bring the best practices of how to conduct this process to them at a fraction of the cost of what they may have to get if they went outside for outside counsel. They really just kind of help drill down the fact that that’s really where the need is, that’s where the customers are, and that we need to zero in and focus on really helping those organizations.
A lot of it is about M&A. A lot of these companies grow from M&A situations and they have to kind of take a look at their workforce and make some tough decisions as they merge multiple companies. So, it’s where we’re focusing, and we’ve set milestones to kind of gain traction in that area. One another thing that you may end up hearing about is that we are named ePerkz and some people are like, “Okay, your name is ePerkz and you focus on terminations?” Well, I will fully admit, our name is a leftover of being a benefits enrollment platform. So, we may end up having to rebrand here sometime soon to really kind of make sure that people understand what we do. Our corporate name reflects what we do a little bit more than where we are right now. So, it was really great feedback.
The other thing I want to just call out is the board. Not only the advice that they gave during the meeting, but they have been so welcoming and open to listening to me and having conversations with me outside of the event. So, I’ve actually followed up with every single one on our board and they have been so kind and willing to give not only their time. But Tim, for example, is actually helping us connect with some additional pilot clients for the mid-market so that we can really tailor our solution and just really work closely with those organizations to make sure it’s perfect, it’s spot on and it’s what they need and providing the value we want to provide. And, as well as Chevenry Arnold shared , Women Entrepreneur of the Year as well as Launchapd2x. She’s very involved in that. She was able to provide additional input. She’s like, “You need to get involved in these organizations.” I was like, “Okay, which one? When?”
And because the NY Entrepreneur of the Year is larger scale, she said, “call me when you make your first million and we’ll talk about that program.” But Launchpad2x is a wonderful place for women founders, to be able to engage and get additional support as they grow. So, everyone’s just been so kind, and I can’t believe it, because these are high profile people that have busy, busy schedules, and they’ve been so generous with their time, and I just couldn’t be more thankful.
Rodney Morris
That’s so great to hear. And that is exactly what Startup Runway is about. Connecting the finalists with your potential first investor or connections that could help you grow your business and give you invaluable advice and connection. I am speaking to the fact of you being able to have that hustle and that ability to maintain those connections and actually, that’s what Startup Runway is about connecting you with investors and connections that could potentially help you grow and scale your business. That is very great to hear for us. That still remains the case for you even after Startup Runway, and that you’re continuing to grow and build those connections.
Sarah Rodehorst
It’s been great and I have to make a special call-out to Jean-Luc as well from Write2Market. We’ve actually met with him several times and since one of our challenges right now is zeroing in on our target market and our marketing strategy, he has met with me, as I said multiple times to help us kind of zero in on that as well. And so, I just wanted to call out him as well and just also say, say thank you to him as well.
Rodney Morris
Got it, sounds so great. Now that we have a little context of what you’ve been able to build and things that I should we want to know what personally drives you to build your company and the product. What is that motivating factor?
Sarah Rodehorst
It’s about providing value at the end of the day. I mean, think about all of these companies, and we’re working with them right now, and we see that HR is out there on the frontlines saving these companies. They are not only getting questions about they’re having to deal with all these layoffs and terminations and furloughs, but people are coming back to work and who are they going to ask? They’re asking HR people who don’t want to go back to work or go back to the office, I should say because they’re nervous. Who are they going to? They’re going to HR. And now employees are being recalled and HR is getting pummeled.
When they only have tools to help them that are Excel, Word, and email to manage a reduction in force or furlough. Yeah, I’m excited to be able to help them and they need it. They need a little help, and we’re very glad to provide that to them. And, it’s also just about this dark corner. I mean, people don’t like to talk about terminations. There are some uncomfortable topics out there that people don’t want to talk about but it has to happen. And I feel not only is HR needing help here, but people need to talk about terminations and how to do them better. Because that is one of the most difficult things for an employee to hear and it needs to be done professionally. It needs to be done well. Businesses need to be held accountable to the laws that are out there and they want to, but they don’t have the resources to be able to do it easily. So, I’m excited to bring value, to help companies and really just bring HR some relief.
Rodney Morris
Yeah, that’s amazing. I will say that’s definitely needed, especially in the times that we’re in, with people returning to work, as you say, and the number of layoffs that have occurred. And, of course, that earnest lays upon HR to actually get everything back in motion or to actually have those tough conversations and go through the process of those actual layoffs and things of that nature, which we know are plentiful, especially in a startup ecosystem where thousands of people are getting laid off at a time and I can only imagine the amount of workflow in the amount of paperwork and the amount of stress that that kid could deal with the HR department. So, I definitely echo what you just said.
Sarah Rodehorst
Yeah, we’ve actually done over 1000 furloughs and now we’re working on all those recalls. Could you imagine all the paperwork involved and doing all that if you didn’t have just been automated?
Our current clients have said that they just don’t know how they could have ever gotten through these last several months without our application.
Rodney Morris
Which is great. What are some of the milestones you want to hit for the rest of 2020 or going into early 2021?
Sarah Rodehorst
Well, definitely, so we’re looking to secure companies. We’re actually not looking at a number of companies, but we’re looking at a number of employees to support.
So, we’re targeting around 5,000 employees in the next 90 days to secure and then by the end of this year 25,000 employees, and that can be a spread across multiple businesses. So, that’s kind of our goal from an acquisition standpoint and then we anticipate next year double that number and grow exponentially. One of our challenges is that nobody does what we do. So, we have a little bit of a hurdle to make sure that people understand what we do and the value we bring. And so, that is our goal right now is to really get that traction, get those early adopters in there to speak the message and help us communicate the value we bring. And then we’ve just really felt like it’s just going to take off.
Rodney Morris
Sounds great. And speaking to that, what would be some ideal connections that ePerkz would need at this stage or maybe in this stage to actually reach those milestones, that you just mentioned?
Sarah Rodehorst
Well, It would be several different folks. One, I’ve listened to the different podcasts and I feel like I know Lisa already just because of all of the podcasts she’s done, and they’re so educational and helpful.
I’ve listened to them, and in doing so, kind of learning more about the startup community in Atlanta, and who would be helpful for us to kind of get to know. I think one was I really liked her podcast with Alan Taetle, from Noro-Moseley Partners. In-kind of learning more about who he is, and clearly he was a mentor to Lisa. But they have a large number of corporations out there and as I was looking at the different companies that [is] in his portfolio, he actually is a customer of ours, ironically.
So, I would love to have a conversation with him to see firsthand as an owner of a company, that’s leveraged our solution, the value that we brought. So, I thought that would be someone I would love to have a conversation with. As well as the fact [that] I know several of the companies in his portfolios pretty intimately for my career, and they’re all just really compelling and feel like they could be good potential customers.
Another would be Engage, since our clients are large right now. Blake Patton would be an excellent person to get to know just to see, if what we have might be able to help serve that community in some capacity. I’ll leave the best for last. I can’t wait to meet Lisa Calhoun. I feel like I know her personally, and [we] have learned so much from Startup Runway, the Podcast, and the different posts that she puts out that I just feel a connection to her and what she’s doing and what she stands for. She is also someone that I hope to be able to meet firsthand.
Rodney Morris
Yeah, sounds great. And I’m glad that you’re a podcast listener of our Atlanta Startup Podcast. We’re actually so grateful that these episodes are beneficial to the startup ecosystem in the community. And Lisa is, of course, just great and fascinating, and definitely someone you should meet. And that is also so crazy that Alan Taetle is a customer of yours and I definitely think those customer interviews are important for a startup in their ability to grow, and get that feedback and just add valuable advice that could potentially bring you over the next level, or get that advice words like, “Yeah, I love your product. I would like to introduce you to someone else who might potentially love your products.”
Sarah Rodehorst
Yes, it would be great. I mean, what we do is difficult because from a marketing standpoint, because nobody really wants to talk about terminations. And they don’t necessarily want to broadcast that they just made the significant purchase in a termination solution. So, it’s difficult for us from a marketing standpoint, so as much as we can connect with those that have seen firsthand the value that we’ve brought, and have them help us spread the word would just be so tremendous.
Rodney Morris
Sounds great. And we spoke a little about [where] you are going after that mid-market, but could you give us more details of what kinds of customers you guys are looking for right now? Just a little bit more detail about that.
Sarah Rodehorst
Yes, definitely. So we are targeting employers, we feel like probably have at least 250 employees who are really faced with a workforce reduction or are looking to recall employees as part of a furlough action or a layoff action. They’re ready to bring people back on the board. We can help them even if they’re in the middle of the process. We can help them by automating that process. Not every company has a high turnover. So, we’re really focusing on those companies that typically have a higher turnover. And we’re thinking between 250 and 5000 employees is really our target market. One other thing, we do support the US and Canada laws. So, we would focus on really more US-based companies and Canadian.
Rodney Morris
Got it and how can people reach out to you if they want to be a customer or a connection for you that you mentioned?
Sarah Rodehorst
The email is wonderful and I’m also very active on LinkedIn, Sarah Rodehorst. My email address is sarah@eperkz.com. And we’d love to hear from you, even if you just want to have a conversation, or if you want us to take a look at some of your forms and your agreements. I have been so many times on an idea. If you want to know if your idea kind of is up to par, so reach out. [I’ll] be happy to talk with you about your current process and as many conversations as we can have and learn from people that are faced with these challenges. It helps us even if you decide not to sign up with us, please don’t hesitate to reach out just to have a conversation. We’d love to hear from you.
Rodney Morris
Sounds great. Sarah, congratulations. Once again in becoming a finalist at the eighth cohort of Startup Runway and we wish you the most success in building your company and continue to do what you’re doing. We love the hustle. And we love the fact that you’re still connected to your board and the VCs that you connected with at Startup Runway.
Sarah Rodehorst
Well, thank you, Rodney, and thank you to all of the Startup Runway for the program that you put together. It really was amazing and I recommended to everyone and just so thankful to be part of.
Rodney Morris
Thank you so much.
Sarah Rodehorst
Thank you.
Rodney Morris
Startup Runway is the largest pitch event for underrepresented founders in the US. As Sarah just mentioned, our goal is connecting underrepresented founders with their first investor and providing them with resources and connections to help them scale and grow their businesses. Please visit startuprunway.co to apply for the next Startup Runway showcase which is in Chicago or if you would like to be a part of the next year’s Startup Runway in Atlanta, please visit startuprunway.co as well to apply.
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.
