Resumes do not tell the full story as it is and it’s almost impossible for applicants to put their potential, soft skills and work personality into a document to be reviewed, but this Houston startup has a solution. Photo via Getty Images

Confident job seekers have mostly been of the mindset that if they can just get in front of an employer, they can sell themselves into an offer for the open position. The obstacle then, is getting through the screening process to get an actual interview.

Until recently, the price of admission for starting or progressing in a desired career was a resume and cover letter stellar enough to catch the eye of the human resources and recruiting team. Outside of being buried in the immense pile of resumes recruiters do not have the bandwidth to get to, standing out in the sea of candidates can be daunting.

Resumes do not tell the full story as it is and it’s almost impossible for applicants to put their potential, soft skills and work personality into a document to be reviewed. So, what’s the solution?

It is a multi-layered problem, which requires a multi-layered solution, but one of the options gaining steam in the recruitment space is provided by SeekerPitch, a Houston-based HR technology platform utilizing generative AI to make hiring and interviewing more efficient.

“I've noticed that there's a ton of people that slip through the cracks,” says Ryan Reisner, president and founder of SeekerPitch and The Reisner Group. “And we spend all our time interviewing people to see if they have the soft skills. Resumes are hard skills. And now with AI, anybody can build the same exact resume. Everybody can say they have communication skills, leadership skills, and a lot of people say they have those.

“But when it's all said and done, you interview those people to find out if they truly have them, and many of them don't have them. So, the resume is just a door opener. The door closer is the soft skills. So, with me being an underdog and growing up in underserved communities and just hoping to be found and applying to a bunch of places, I asked, what do I need to do to stand out from the crowd?”

Creating a solution

In addition to adding value during the actual interview, SeekerPitch solves the problem of feedback for applicants. Photo via SeekerPitch

That thought sparked the idea for the SeekerPitch platform and its signature feature that enables candidates to create video cover letters and skill-specific videos, allowing them to showcase their soft skills and personality.

In short, static candidate profiles come to life via SeekerPitch’s Pitch Sessions feature, which is purpose-built for job seekers to flesh out their full self and for employers to host multiple rounds of interviews with actionable insights from the platform’s generative AI to facilitate well-informed hiring decisions.

“Our product gives the employer a 30-second elevator pitch of an individual so they can interview people that are better fits for the jobs they are trying to fill,” says Reisner. “Unlike our competitors, we are normalizing ‘speed interviewing’ to maintain a more personal, holistic approach to the virtual interview.

“While the employer is interviewing the candidate in real time, the platform is transcribing the interview so the built-in AI model can give feedback such as culture fit, other mechanisms such as specific skills for a sales position and a total summary on that candidate’s ability to succeed in the role, which is enabling employers to make better hiring decisions and is vastly increasing the quality of the talent pool.”

In addition to adding value during the actual interview, SeekerPitch solves the problem of feedback for applicants.

“After the interview is completed, the employer has three choices: interested, still deciding and not interested,” adds Reisner. “And then if the employer is still deciding, it gives them a 72-hour countdown to make a decision and once that 72-hour window is over, that candidate is automatically rejected.

“What we have found is that job seekers, whether they're in the running or not, they just want to know, if they are moving forward or not. With our platform, they’re not stranded in feedback limbo for two plus weeks, so they love that part. They also like the holistic part where they're being judged off of who they are, their authenticity, and also their personality traits.”

Benefiting both sides of the equation

Ryan Reisner is the president and founder of SeekerPitch and The Reisner Group. Photo via LinkedIn

Another prime feature for employers is the video job description, which is expanding its reach with its intended audience: job seekers.

With everyone, including those in the candidate pool, now watching short-form videos on TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube as a lifestyle, employers can reach the next generation of the workforce using video job postings via the platform.

“Statistics show that 90 percent of job seekers don't even read job descriptions,” says Reisner. ”So, employers are automatically getting a poor candidate pool because it's easy to apply for job seekers and they just apply because it’s a numbers game. But what we have found is that the video job descriptions are an engaging medium that has vastly increased the quality candidate pool, as opposed to quantity.”

Another facet of SeekerPitch’s goal to streamline hiring is the automated scheduling process, whereby the platform uses chatbots to chat in real time with job seekers to get the best availability for interview time slots.

“We’ve also implemented an AI feature that helps the interviewer prepare for the interview based on the candidate’s profile, application and resume,” says Reisner. “It will provide questions to the interviewer that they might not have otherwise thought to ask to dive deeper into the candidate’s overall fit for the role. And based on the candidate's answers, more questions will populate tailored to that candidate.

“Then, after that interview is completed, and the employer is interested in moving the candidate forward in the interview process, it queues up the next interviewer in line to schedule that second or next round interview and so on. This automatically synchs with the employer’s applicant tracking system to get the employer all the way through the hiring process.”

Leveling the playing field

SeekerPitch won the third annual CodeLaunch Houston. Photo by Natalie Harms/InnovationMap

SeekerPitch’s goal is to also raise awareness about unconscious bias in the hiring process and point it out so that an employer can review any biases their team may have and improve upon them for their process moving forward.

Thanks to the platform’s unprecedented growth and innovation, SeekerPitch won over the crowd at the third annual CodeLaunch Houston event in March. The company has now moved on to CodeLaunch “World Championship” event in Dallas latter this month. The competition brings together the 8 best and the fastest-growing startups to compete for $50,000 in deployed investments and showcase their potential to venture capitalists and angel investors from across the country.

Whether or not SeekerPitch wins the competition, they’ll continue to make strides in the hiring vertical.

“Video is powerful,” says Reisner. “It can tell a story, so our platform makes it a better experience for the job seeker, giving them a competitive edge and helps them stand out from the crowd. We’ve only been in business for six months, but we will continue to disrupt the industry with this platform, especially with the proliferation of AI.”

Blue People has named Luis Arregoces as the company’s first chief artificial intelligence officer. Photo courtesy of Blue People

Houston software shop bets on AI with new C-suite member

eyes on AI

A Houston-based software company has named its first chief artificial intelligence officer.

Blue People has named Luis Arregoces as the company’s CAIO. With 20 years of experience, Arregoces has led AI projects for global Fortune 100 companies in various industries.

He has a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of New Mexico and is an adjunct professor in Statistics and Data Science at the University of Houston. He previously led the Applied Intelligence and Data Science at Accenture's Innovation Hub.

“We are beyond excited to have Luis on board,” Alfredo Arvide, chief innovation officer of Blue People, says in a news release. “His leadership and vision will allow Blue People to help clients and C-level executives develop AI roadmaps and solutions for real-time analytics, secure data sharing, and technology-agnostic ecosystems that will shape the future of innovation across all industries in Houston and throughout the region.”

Blue People has offices in Houston, Austin, Texas, and Monterrey, México. Blue People was named People’s Choice: Startup of the Year at the 2023 Houston Innovation Awards. The company also recently participated in CodeLaunch Houston, where its startup partner won the judges' pick in the competition.

“I am honored to join Blue People and be a part of this historic moment,” Arregoces says in a news release. ”Together, we have the opportunity to shape the future of AI in Houston and beyond. AI’s versatility and transformative potential make it indispensable across all industries to drive innovations, efficiency, and competitiveness.”

SeekerPitch won the third annual CodeLaunch Houston. Photo by Natalie Harms/InnovationMap

2 Houston workforce solutions startups win at annual software pitch competition

winner, winner

The third annual CodeLaunch Houston event resulted in two winners — one chosen by the audience, the other by judges — both tackling separate issues in the future of work.

SeekerPitch, a next-generation hiring platform that provides artificial intelligence-enhanced and video technology tools to both job hunters and hiring teams, took the grant prize, which was voted on by the audience of the February 28 event. The team was supported by Honeycomb Software, which won last year's competition too with its startup partner, E360.

"In Gen Z right now, landing an interview is like winning the lottery," Ryan Reisner, president and founder of SeekerPitch, says in his pitch at the event. "And employers have their own set of problems — they're having a hard time connecting with the next generation."

iShiftX, supported by Houston-based Blue People, secured the judges' award with a tie-breaking vote. The company, founded by Landi Spearman, uses digital twin technology to provide 24/7 leadership coaching at a scalable level.

"Leaders have the biggest impact on our teams, our children, on the future, and on the next generation," Spearman says in her final appeal to judges and the audience. She called out the burnout and stress of leadership and coaching, and she pitched her tech enabled solution.

In addition to SeekerPitch and iShiftX, four other startups with their development support partners pitched, including:

The competition consisted of three rounds where two startups went head-to-head, and attendees were asked to vote for their favorite pitch. SeekerPitch, iShiftX, and Allonge Financial made it to the final round before the two winners were announced based on a final round of voting.
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Houston femtech co. debuts new lactation and wellness pods

mom pod

Houston-based femtech company Work&, previously known as Work&Mother, has introduced new products in recent months aimed at supporting working mothers and the overall health of all employees.

The company's new Lactation Pod and Hybrid Pod serve as dual-use lactation and wellness spaces to meet employer demand, the company shared in a news release. The compact pods offer flexible design options that can serve permanent offices and nearly all commercial spaces.

They feature a fully compliant lactation station while also offering wellness functionalities that can support meditation, mental health, telehealth and prayer. In line with Work&'s other spaces, the pods utilize the Work& scheduling platform, which prioritizes lactation bookings to help employers comply with the PUMP Act.

“This isn’t about perks,” Jules Lairson, Work& co-founder and COO, said in the release. “It’s about meeting people where they are—with dignity and intentional design. That includes the mother returning to work, the employee managing anxiety, and everyone in between.”

According to the company, several Fortune 500 companies are already using the pods, and Work& has plans to grow the products' reach.

Earlier this year, Work& introduced its first employee wellness space at MetroNational’s Memorial City Plazas, representing Work&'s shift to offer an array of holistic health and wellness solutions for landlords and tenants.

The company, founded in 2017 by Lairson and CEO Abbey Donnell, was initially focused on outfitting commercial buildings with lactation accommodations for working parents. While Work& still offers these services through its Work&Mother branch, the addition of its Work&Wellbeing arm allowed the company to also address the broader wellness needs of all employees.

The company rebranded as Work& earlier this year.

Rice biotech studio secures investment from Modi Ventures, adds founder to board

fresh funding

RBL LLC, which supports commercialization for ventures formed at the Rice University Biotech Launch Pad, has secured an investment from Houston-based Modi Ventures.

Additionally, RBL announced that it has named Sahir Ali, founder and general partner of Modi Ventures, to its board of directors.

Modi Ventures invests in biotech companies that are working to advance diagnostics, engineered therapeutics and AI-driven drug discovery. The firm has $134 million under management after closing an oversubscribed round this summer.

RBL launched in 2024 and is based out of Houston’s Texas Medical Center Helix Park. William McKeon, president and CEO of the TMC, previously called the launch of RBL a “critical step forward” for Houston’s life sciences ecosystem.

“RBL is dedicated to building companies focused on pioneering and intelligent bioelectronic therapeutics,” Ali said in a LinkedIn post. “This partnership strengthens the Houston biotech ecosystem and accelerates the transition of groundbreaking lab discoveries into impactful therapies.”

Ali will join board members like managing partner Paul Wotton, Rice bioengineering professor Omid Veiseh, scientist and partner at KdT Ventures Rima Chakrabarti, Rice alum John Jaggers, CEO of Arbor Biotechnologies Devyn Smith, and veteran executive in the life sciences sector James Watson.

Ali has led transformative work and built companies across AI, cloud computing and precision medicine. Ali also serves on the board of directors of the Drug Information Association, which helps to collaborate in drug, device and diagnostics developments.

“This investment by Modi Ventures will be instrumental to RBL’s growth as it reinforces confidence in our venture creation model and accelerates our ability to develop successful biotech startups,” Wotton said in the announcement. "Sahir’s addition to the board will also amplify this collaboration with Modi. His strategic counsel and deep understanding of field-defining technologies will be invaluable as we continue to grow and deliver on our mission.”