Driven by the heating up of the HR tech sector, Factorial, the Spanish startup that provides an All-in-One Human Resources platform, has just arrived in Brazil after receiving an injection of $80 million from the American private equity fund manager Tiger Global. Beyond Brazil, Factorial will also expand its operations to the United States.
Founded in Barcelona in 2016 by Jordi Romero, Pau Revilla, and Bernat Farrero, Factorial is a cloud software that brings together a set of people management tools. In 2020, the startup saw its business soar as the pandemic abruptly changed work dynamics and required companies to adapt and optimize recruitment, hiring, and team management processes, taking the Human Resources sector to a more strategic level.
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“Before [the pandemic], HR processes happened in a certain way, in-house. Now, with so many people working remotely, people are no longer together in the office every day. This has changed the way companies and teams communicate and how they manage their processes. The biggest disruption in the post-pandemic HR model has to do with internal communication,” explained Jordi Romero, CEO and founder of Factorial, in an interview with LABS.
“Factorial provides intelligence and resources for companies to be better, more efficient, to communicate better and develop their professionals, to hire the right talent for them and compensate their teams properly. In large companies or in small ones, all these processes go through People Management and Human Resources. But HR is not just about the HR people. HR is everyone’s job, right? We need all managers, especially, to be involved in HR,” he added.
The newly raised capital from Tiger Global will be used to develop new platform features, expand the current team of 250 professionals, and expand internationally. “We are a global platform that works really well locally. In each market where we are, we have a team of experts in HR, in marketing, in sales, working according to local demands and laws. So, we are going to invest a lot more in building up this network of local experts,” said Romero.
Factorial’s bet on Brazil is high, so much so that the startup will have an office here, in São Paulo city. The country is one of the main markets for the company next year.
After the successful experience in Mexico, we started considering the Brazilian market. Brazil has a very rich small and midsize business ecosystem and a lot of local technology adoption, but we didn’t see a strong player serving this market. Also, technology adoption in Brazil is faster than in any other country in Latin America. It’s a huge potential.
Jordi rOMERO, ceo and founder at Factorial
All-in-One HR processes platform
The startup‘s thesis came about when the founders realized a bottleneck in the supply of more technological, simple and customized HR solutions. Factorial’s platform centralizes all Human Resources and People Management processes: from recruitment and selection processes, hiring, time tracking, vacation and absence management, performance evaluation, feedback, payroll variables – everything can be monitored and managed in a single dashboard.
According to Romero, the solution also automates workflows and generates intelligence about the company, allowing HR leaders to direct their efforts to other activities besides the operational ones, such as attracting new talents, developing and retaining employees, and improving the company culture, today three key pillars for a healthy organizational structure.
Factorial works with a subscription-based model. There are three plans available, according to the size and needs of each client – the startup serves companies with 10 employees to companies with more than 1,000 employees.
The most basic plan, called Essential, has a monthly price of $3 per employee and offers a set of features for managing basic processes, such as time management, employee portal, legal and financial, among others. The Business plan costs $4 per employee/month and includes advanced and customized processes, such as digital and legal document signature, multi-office and legal entity support, and integration with other internal systems, among others. The Enterprise plan, with custom price, is the most customizable plan and encompasses complex processes and data analysis, including custom workflows and automation and API documentation, among others.
The company currently has offices in Barcelona and Mexico City and is present in 65 countries, including France, Portugal, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, and now also the United States and Brazil. Factorial does not disclose absolute numbers of its operation but states that more than 60,000 companies have already used its solution. According to Romero, the startup has tripled its growth year by year.
