A Googler who quit amid mass layoffs says hiring is ‘broken.’ Check out the pitch deck he used to secure $1.3 million for his startup Candidate.fyi.

• Recruiting is broken, according to a Googler-turned-entrepreneur.
• Chris Connors quit Google in 2022 to found HR tech startup Candidate.fyi.
• The startup has secured $1.3 million in pre-seed funding from SuperAngel.Fund.

A former Googler who left just before mass layoffs raised $1.3 million for his HR tech startup, Candidate.fyi.

Candidate.fyi, a New York-based startup, emerged from stealth mode in February with the goal of repairing the “broken candidate experience,” according to cofounder Chris Connors, who left Google in 2022 to cofound the company with his brother, company CEO Kyle Connors.

Connors left Google at the end of 2022, shortly before the tech giant announced layoffs and as layoffs hit the broader industry.

Google has laid off approximately 12,000 employees since January 2023, accounting for approximately 6% of its total workforce.

According to Connors, the larger layoffs spree influenced his and his brother’s decision to form a startup “earlier than expected.”

This was a “definitely bold move,” according to Connors. “The Candidate concept.fyi had been simmering for a while, and the experience of mass layoffs… made me realize the critical importance of addressing the broken candidate experience.”

The startup’s goal is to change the way corporate interviews are conducted. It includes tools to help the company audit and track the general content it would provide to candidates, such as FAQs and information on company benefits.

The platform also aims to relieve existing employees of the time they would otherwise spend preparing candidates for interviews. Instead, applicants are provided with access to a portal that contains all of the tools they need for the job application process, such as a progression timeline for their application and sample questions.

Candidate.fyi is a business-to-business platform with clients including AI unicorn Synthesia and Madhive.

Connors stated that Google provided him with valuable skills for becoming an entrepreneur. “I learned the importance of innovation, data-driven decision-making, and creating products that truly benefit users,” he told me.

SuperAngel.Fund led the round, which included high-net-worth individuals such as the founders of Yext. The new funding will be used to “invest in research and development to help tackle the various areas of candidate engagement,” according to Kyle Connors. “Candidate scheduling is a major issue here.” Our goal is to become the all-in-one candidate engagement solution.”