Lauren Glass faced a problem many fresh college graduates experience after getting their diploma. Quite simply, it is really hard to stand out with a generic one–page resume and land that important first job.
“I looked like every other person with a bachelors in business and no real work experience to speak of. It was almost impossible for me to find a job. I kept thinking “If I could just get to the interview and show them my personality I could get this job.” The fact that you can’t showcase your personality at the beginning of the application process just doesn’t make sense,” Glass told Hypepotamus.
Personality is particularly important for sales and customer facing roles. Yet the traditional job search process doesn’t allow personality traits to shine through while people apply for those roles.
Glass is looking to change that with Personality Pool, a Kingsport, Tennessee-based SaaS tool helping companies find the right candidates. Rather than using resume keywords and filters, the screening platform enables video interviewing, and virtual resume building, AI-driven speech analytics. This can be particularly helpful for entry-level positions and for organizations looking to hire for customer-facing roles.
That approach has helped Personality Pool land partnerships with staffing agencies. It has also started working with Bristol Motor Speedway, a major NASCAR track in Tennessee that hosts events throughout the year.
“If your employees interact with people, you need us!,” Glass added.
Landing A Check From InvestTN
That is a big pool of potential customers. And that opportunity caught the attention of InvestTN, a unique vertical inside of Fund Tennessee that invests directly into Tennessee-based startups.
InvestTN, which launched its $70 million fund last year to provide direct equity investments into early-stage startups, wrote its first check into Personality Pool. Personality Pool has raised $300,000 to date, including InvestTN’s $150,000 investment.
Glass has had a long-running relationship with LaunchTN and its regional partner Sync Space, a startup program and incubator serving eastern Tennessee.
“Launch has championed us through all of our iterations and growing pains. So it made perfect sense to have them be one of our first major investors,” she added.
Since investing in Personality Pool, InvestTN has put capital into three other startups in the state. Another portfolio company is Krepling. The ecommerce startup was previously highlighted in Hypepotamus’ Get To Know The CEO series last year.
Searching The State
Many states will say they support startups. But few “put their money where their mouth is” in the same way that Tennessee does.
Of its first $70 million raised, InvestTN will put $58 million directly into early-stage companies building anywhere in the state’s 95 counties. The other $12 million invests into new funds to grow the number of VC funds in the state. InvestTN can lead investments through its Technology Fund or bring additional capital to funding rounds. Applications are taken on a rolling basis and can be found here.
