While tensions over diversity have long been an undercurrent of American society, this summer’s protests underscored the need for institutions to genuinely commit to elevating all voices. True diversity encompasses more than representation of all races: women, members of the LGBTQ+ community, veterans, and many other groups have been systematically excluded from privilege for hundreds of years. One of the most urgent areas to improve diversity is at work: members of marginalized groups struggle with reduced economic power due to bias, conscious and unconscious, in the hiring process. 

An influential study on bias in hiring found that resumes with Black-sounding names were 50% less likely to generate job interviews than those with white-sounding names, though the resume content (experience, etc.) was identical. This hiring bias has pernicious effects: Black and Latinx populations are underrepresented at every level of the professional hierarchy above support staff. The Black unemployment rate is consistently double that of white workers.  

Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic has only worsened economic inequality. In the thick of the pandemic, in May 2020, white workers’ unemployment rate actually declined despite the worsening economy; for Black workers, though, unemployment went up. Women, particularly women of color, have lost the majority of jobs in the last six months; the industries hardest hit by COVID were those that employ disproportionately female and non-white workers. 

As the world recovers from the COVID pandemic over the next several years, there will be a larger and more diverse pool of job candidates than ever. As recruiters struggle to manage increasingly full pipelines, unconscious biases may creep into the hiring process more and more. An efficient, unbiased hiring solution has never been more needed. 

ThisWay Global is an artificially-intelligent hiring program matching job candidates with job openings without bias: candidates are matched to positions based on their work experience and skills alone, not their name, image, school, previous companies, or other information that spurs conscious and unconscious biases. 

Recruiters connect ThisWay to their existing applicant tracking systems in Salesforce, LinkedIn, or countless other tools: ThisWay has developed over 400 API integrations. After uploading resumes into ThisWay, whether by integration or by manual upload, recruiters click a few buttons and watch as resumes are sorted into a match score for each role (Excellent, Good, etc.), without bias. Therefore, ThisWay saves recruiters hours of manual resume screening time, and does so without prejudice against minority candidates or unconventional backgrounds. 

ThisWay was developed out of years of research and development conducted by the company’s founder, Angela Hood, at the University of Cambridge’s ideaSpace. After five years of research, Hood developed an unbiased algorithm to match candidates with jobs. After cementing the core AI technology, Hood formed ThisWay and raised a pre-seed round to develop a front-end user interface. 

ThisWay launched commercially in 2019, and generated quick traction after being named “Innovation of the Year” at the HR Tech conference in Las Vegas. That visibility pulled in a hefty pipeline of sales leads; ThisWay began closing deals and continued developing its software, securing a Salesforce Accelerator Partnership in March 2020 to launch a Salesforce app reaching the majority of Fortune 500 companies. 

Since COVID hit, ThisWay has continued to scale at a rapid pace. The company reports growth of 489% since the spring of 2020 (though it is unclear exactly what this metric is capturing). ThisWay has $18 million of deals in its sales pipeline, with a close rate of 23%. In Q2 of 2020, the company posted $1.86 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR); it projects hitting $15 million in ARR by 2022. 

ThisWay was founded by CEO Angela Hood, an artificial intelligence and workplace diversity thought leader. Hood previously served as a business consultant and advocate for securing post-military jobs for veterans. She spent over five years researching artificial intelligence to develop the ThisWay algorithm, and is now a speaker on workforce diversity and artificial intelligence. 

The ThisWay team also includes Alex Shemelev, CTO, and Justin Hood, COO (Angela’s husband). Shemelev previously served as a software developer at the Walt Disney Company, and also served in senior engineering roles at NerdWallet and a healthcare company exited to Walgreens. Hood is a former Marine passionate about helping veterans transition to the workforce; after ten years of active duty, he transitioned into a variety of military-adjacent business roles before joining the ThisWay team. 

ThisWay is growing rapidly as more and more employers struggle to manage a high volume of job applications during pandemic unemployment and are devoting more dollars toward ensuring diversity in their workforce. By 2022, ThisWay projects $15 million in annual recurring revenue. Beyond those projections, ThisWay does not offer specific milestones in a growth plan. The bulk of capital raised on WeFunder will be directed toward digital marketing, operations, and research. 

• Significant traction with a full sales pipeline: ThisWay won significant prestige with the “Innovation of the Year” award from HR Tech, and continues to snowball its reach by closing more and more significant deals. The company’s current $18 million sales pipeline includes a number of recognizable Fortune 500 companies; ThisWay hints at the possibility of a few “jumbo deals” that could significantly improve revenue projects above the already-impressive $15 million mark in the next two years. ThisWay is an established company with significant potential for growth. 

• Solving a timely problem: Diversity is top of mind for many leaders, and the business world is just beginning to realize the damaging effect of bias on hiring efforts: ThisWay presents a direct solution to that problem. Beyond the diversity imperative, ThisWay is an efficient solution for companies inundated by more job applications than ever: the ThisWay tool sorts through hundreds of applicants in a few clicks. Therefore, ThisWay is well-positioned as a “must-buy” tool for businesses ranging from mid-sized corporations to Fortune 500s. 

ThisWay Global has potential to make a significant dent in workplace homogeneity, a social good mission that is a worthy investment in and of itself. However, the company also has the potential to scale to a valuable B2B SaaS player, with projected $15 million in ARR after just three years of operation. Opportunities to invest in established companies with high value potential that are also benefiting marginalized groups are rare on crowdfunding platforms. 

Potential investors should account for two risks that may damage ThisWay’s prospects. Firstly, the company is involved in a lawsuit brought by a “purported competitor”; ThisWay has filed a motion to dismiss and notes that potential damages are minimal. Secondly, ThisWay does face stiff competition from a number of existing and potential competitors interested in applying artificial intelligence to hiring. CognitIOn, HiringSolved, and other smaller startups are also developing algorithms to match candidates; established AI leaders like IBM or Google may spontaneously develop a hiring platform of their own. In general, artificial intelligence and hiring is a hot topic generating numerous articles and investments; ThisWay is not the sole company providing this service, and will always face some risk of losing market share to a competitor.

If ThisWay can navigate these obstacles, the company has good exit potential. Human resources tech is a hot space for both investment and acquisition: Indeed.com’s parent company paid $1.2 billion to buy Glassdoor in 2018, and ADP acquired Workmarket that same year. Several international HR tech companies also launched initial public offerings over the last several years. ThisWay has several potential pathways to exit, and will be making good progress toward a lucrative valuation if ARR can indeed hit $15 million in the next two years. 

In sum, ThisWay Global is solving a socially-important and timely problem with cutting-edge technology. The market seems to agree, and ThisWay has impressive traction to show for just over a year in operation. While the company is competing with several other players aiming to apply AI to hiring, ThisWay has carved out a niche with simple and time-saving technology. Therefore, ThisWay Global is a Deal to Watch.