Recruitment platform Paraform has raised $3.6 million in a seed round led by an early-stage venture capital firm, A*. The fund will be used to connect recruiters with start-ups, as per a report by TechCrunch.
The other investors who participated in the seed round include leaders from companies including Affirm, Hightouch, Palantir, DoorDash co-founder Evan Moore, and Ramp. Primer Sazze Partners, a previous backer, also participated in the round.
The funding will be used to hire more engineers and operators. It will also be used to expand across the USA. The platform also eventually aims to enter new countries. While heavily focusing on software engineering, the start-up intends to expand its horizons beyond that and cater to more roles.
Paraform saw potential in recruiting laid-off recruiters from tech firms who have started their own ventures, aiming to assist start-ups in talent sourcing as well as network expansion, according to the report. In an interview with TechCrunch, John Kim, CEO of Paraform, said, “During the 2022 and 2023 wave of tech layoffs, we saw 100,000 recruiters laid off, driving many recruiters to go independent and start their own recruiting business.”
Because of this, many independent recruiters with years of experience and networks had to explore new ways of working, said Kim. Kim added that Paraform has supported over 200 firms in hiring roles and has over 1000 recruiters on the platform.
To publish jobs on the platform, the start-up charges a subscription fee. Once the recruitment is done, a success fee is charged. As per the TechCrunch interview, Kim said, “The listing fee ensures buy-in from start-ups to the two-way marketplace and a commitment to the recruiters they’re working with.”
