Tech Innovators 2016: CharlieHR

Founded by seasoned entrepreneurs, CharlieHR is a freemium human resource management tool that streamlines admin-heavy, time consuming HR processes for SMEs

From the first round of Tech Invest four short years ago to now, 19 of the presenting companies have raised funding, two floated on AIM and two have been acquired. GrowthBusiness presents the top 13 Tech Innovators of the year.

CharlieHR – a snapshot

CharlieHR is the free HR platform for small companies, automating many of the administrative headaches and time burdens from collecting payroll details to tracking holidays and sick days. HR admin is tedious, and we should all spend more time on the stuff that really matters.

Based in: London

Founded in: 2015

No. of employees: 8

Presenting at Tech Invest: Rob O’Donovan, co-founder and CEO

Rob is the CEO of CharlieHR, having founded it alongside long time business partners Ben Gateley and Tom Carrington Smith. Their previous businesses include social media agency BORN SOCIAL, youth insight consultancy YOUTH, and design and development studio making pretty, where they discovered the opportunity to automate tedious HR admin tasks.

The inside track

In hindsight, I would do…

…everything and nothing differently! With the benefit of hindsight, there’s huge amounts I would do differently but I’m convinced I’m much richer for those mistakes and the learnings that have come from them. When you’re setting out to start a business, I really don’t believe it’s constructive to agonise over every decision. Move fast, learn quickly and look forward.

Ultimate business motto?

With the right people in the room you can do anything.

What motivates your team?

We believe that small businesses are the Genesis of the future. The tiny teams slaving away in a garage somewhere to build something awesome are the ones that will solve the world’s biggest problems in our generation. We know how hard their journey will be, and we care deeply about building tools that can shorten their odds of success. Our customers, one by one, are building companies that will change the world. We get out if bed every morning so we can play our tiny part in enabling them to achieve that, and we’re proud and humbled to do so every day.

Life post-Brexit?

I don’t know. Nobody does, and that’s the problem. The brazen uncertainty is what’s making it difficult for companies to make decisions. My overriding belief is that truly great companies win regardless of external circumstances. Brexit may present a few more challenges, but if we stick our heads down and work hard to build products that solve real problems – and so brilliantly – we’ll do well.

Products

CharlieHR, a freemium HR management software platform

Recent milestones

£1 million raised seed round closed at the beginning of 2016
Consistent 40 per cent month-on-month growth since Jan 2016
Over 2500 companies now on the platform in over 20 countries

Upcoming milestones

Build out monetisation model
Continue to scale at a 40 per cent month-on-month growth rate
Address new markets

Investors

Connect Ventures
Seedcamp
Number of angles including: Nick Hungerford (Founder of Nutmeg), James Wise (Partner at Balderton Capital), Ian Hogarth (Founder of Songkick), Ali Mitchell (Founder of Huddle).