Recruitment technology platform Willo has secured £1.8 million investment in its latest round including backing from the founder of global email security giant Mimecast.
American investor Peter Bauer has committed £1.5m to the Glasgow-founded video interview scaleup, which he believes has ‘massive’ growth potential in international markets thanks to its technology.
The pioneering platform, founded by Euan Cameron and Andrew Wood in 2018, is already used by public and private organisations in more than 180 countries around the world to make hiring processes faster, more efficient, and more accessible, including The NHS, The Very Group, Prada, Samsung and Hitachi.
The latest investment – which brings Willo’s total funding to £4.2m – follows a raft of impressive new client wins in the first half of 2024, including car maker Toyota, global energy firm Wood Mackenzie, US government organisation City of Long Beach, global restaurant group Din Tai Fung, logistics firm DPD Group and EDF Energy.
It will be used to fund further research and development, particularly in candidate experience and employee journey, as well as the evolution of its integrated verification and certification software, viewed as a key point of difference for the software.
Willo recently achieved coveted ISO 27001 certification –the international standard for information security management.
The money will also fund further expansion in the US, where the firm has a New York base and is a market already responsible for more than 60% of Willo’s revenue, as well as growing the firm’s global headcount to 25.
Willo had initially set out to raise £800,000 in the investment round, but secured more than double thanks to Bauer’s additional investment, which CEO Cameron described as a ‘major accomplishment and significant milestone’ for the scaleup.
Former chief digital officer of Visa Europe, Freeserve pioneer Mark Danby and 1818 Venture Capital were among the other investors in this round.
“This is a significant moment for the team at Willo, and also for the UK tech startup scene,” said Cameron. “It’s no secret that the investment landscape has been challenging of late, so to receive this level of backing from investors like Peter Bauer is a massive statement of faith in what we have achieved and where we’re going.
“This funding enables even greater levels of operational focus. It puts us in a position where we don’t need to fundraise next year, and we can prioritise scale and growth in 2025. As a company we can now experiment, invest in R&D – developing new technologies for our customers, and then go all-in on growth with a world leading interviewing platform.
“The market is tough out there at the moment, particularly in SaaS, which makes this investment exciting. It provides a phenomenal opportunity to push ahead.
“There is significant momentum behind the business, and we are on the cusp of being not just a Scottish tech success story, but a global one.
“There is real momentum behind us now, we have recorded another strong growth year, established Willo as a G2 Reviews Leader, and are interviewing millions of happy candidates everywhere. We are at the cutting edge of a movement in replacing the CV, and can’t wait for the next stage.”
Bauer founded Mimecast with Neil Murray in 2003, and it has since grown into one of the world’s biggest email security platforms, supporting over 42,000 organisations and working with the likes of Google and Microsoft.
He stepped down as CEO this year and now invests in some of the most prominent tech startups in the world.
“I’m excited to support Willo’s mission,” he said. “The platform’s capability to simplify hiring not only enhances the candidate experience but makes life better for hiring managers. It also helps to improve accessibility, enabling candidates to find better opportunities anywhere in the world, levelling the playing field, while giving companies a better understanding of who is actually best suited for any role.”
Willo, which has active customers and candidates in all 195 countries around the world, remains on target to grow a further 300% by end of 2025, an ambition that will include interviewing millions of candidates whilst becoming a carbon neutral organisation.