Whereas engaged on their MBAs at Harvard Enterprise Faculty, Colombian immigrants Stephanie Murra and Lorenza Vélez observed that many of the employees within the cafeteria had been Hispanic. In conversations with them, a typical theme saved developing: how tough it was for individuals who legally moved to the U.S. from Spanish-speaking nations to search out their first jobs in the USA. Not talking English nicely or in any respect, unsurprisingly, was the largest problem.
“However then we’re trying on the information and seeing that the U.S. is definitely dealing with an unprecedented labor scarcity, particularly for these kinds of positions the place you’d often see low-skilled immigrant employees,” Murra advised TechCrunch in an interview. “So we had been like, ‘Okay, there’s undoubtedly a problem right here.’”
The roommates started doing analysis and realized that many potential employers would use conventional job boards like Certainly, which is “not meant for Hispanic immigrants,” Murra mentioned.
“These employees, lots of whom don’t communicate English and are usually not actually good with know-how, are used to discovering jobs by pals,” she defined. Additional, they’re typically confused by on-line functions and get intimidated by the thought of somebody interviewing them in English.
The concept for Ponte Labor was born. The duo — who had beforehand labored collectively for 2 years at Colombian fintech Addi — based the Miami-based firm in April 2023, throughout their last semester at Harvard.
“Employers in hospitality, development, retail, and different blue-collar industries actually wrestle to fill hourly roles whereas tens of millions of work-authorized Hispanic immigrants wrestle to search out secure jobs on account of language and cultural limitations,” mentioned Vélez.
“We all know the place to search out the employees, communicate their language and talk with them by way of their most popular channel, WhatsApp. So we constructed Ponte to bridge this hole,” Vélez added.
The founders declare that their hiring platform pre-vets, matches, and onboards legally licensed hourly employees “quicker and extra effectively than conventional strategies.”
Employees are employed immediately by employers somewhat than by staffing businesses, which they are saying not solely saves employers cash, however provides them a bigger pool of potential workers to select from. On the flip facet, “employees acquire entry to unimaginable job alternatives which might be tough for them to entry in any other case,” Vélez added.
Ponte solely works with documented immigrants: each candidate is pre-vetted for authorized work authorization earlier than reaching an employer.
The startup has constructed an in-house AI recruiter which pre-vets candidates by WhatsApp and voice-based AI interviews. For now, it is just targeted on the hospitality trade however plans to increase into different sectors corresponding to development or elder care sooner or later.
Quick development
Ponte has been steadily rising since Murra and Vélez formally launched the platform in November 2023, onboarding over 60,000 candidates and putting practically 800 employees in hospitality roles. Its annualized internet income has grown from $70,000 in February of 2024 to $550,000 at the moment. It’s not but worthwhile, however the pair say they function with excessive contribution margins, so their mannequin is extra scalable. Up to now, they are saying they’ve burned lower than $1 million.
Right now, Ponte is working with 14 employers utilizing its platform to rent employees, like Omni Motels & Resorts, in addition to giant lodge administration firms corresponding to Pyramid World, Peachtree Resort Group, and Atrium Hospitality.
The startup just lately raised a $3 million seed spherical led by Harlem Capital at a $15 million valuation, it advised TechCrunch solely. Higher Tomorrow Ventures, The 81 Assortment, and Wischoff Ventures additionally participated within the financing. Ponte beforehand raised one other $1.5 million mixed from Higher Tomorrow Ventures’ The Mint accelerator, NFX’s FAST Competitors and The 81 Assortment.
The corporate’s income mannequin is success-based. Ponte prices a month-to-month charge equal to 10% of a employee’s month-to-month wage for as much as 12 months. As a result of it’s a excessive turnover trade, if the employee leaves inside the first month, the lodge pays nothing.
Presently, the startup has 15 full-time workers.
As a result of Ponte’s social media and recruiting channels are in Spanish, over 95% of its candidates are Hispanic immigrants, famous Murra. Apart from utilizing WhatsApp, it additionally locations advertisements on Fb and Instagram.
“That focus has helped us construct deep belief with the group and tailor our method to their particular wants,” she mentioned. “However we’re constructing instruments which might be language-agnostic and will simply be tailored to serve different immigrant communities, together with Portuguese-speaking Brazilians, sooner or later.”
And, she added, the startup has even supported native English audio system who discovered Ponte, which was named after the phrase in Portuguese which means “bridge.”
Wanting forward, the founders say Ponte’s objective is to “create a spot to assist Hispanic immigrants within the U.S. obtain their skilled objectives.”
“In order that’s not simply serving to them discover an entry stage job. We additionally need to assist them develop inside these jobs,” Vélez mentioned. “We see one of many greatest alternatives in serving to the candidates be taught English, as a result of that’s the place they get caught between the place they’re proper now and getting a promotion for his or her subsequent job.”
Henri Pierre-Jacques, managing accomplice of Harlem Capital, mentioned he’d been monitoring the founders from Ponte’s pre-seed days.
“I cherished that Lorenza and Stephanie had been former colleagues at Addi…after which roommates at HBS collectively earlier than beginning Ponte,” he advised TechCrunch. “We obtained very constructive references from clients who raved about their product. They’ve managed to see robust traction in little time. It was apparent that Stephanie and Lorenza might do loads with little or no.”
Pierre-Jacques additionally believes that Ponte’s concentrate on Hispanic hospitality employees is “an enormous differentiator.”
Certainly, Hispanics accounted for practically one-half, or 47.6%, of the foreign-born labor power in 2023 within the U.S., based on the U.S. Division of Labor.
“With expertise marketplaces we’re at all times fascinated about how our founders handle the availability facet,” he mentioned. “We have now seen the ability of WhatsApp inside this group and Stephanie and Lorenza understood integrating the recruiting workflow by WhatsApp was the most effective channel to search out their employees.”
