Yello Raises $31 Million in Series C Funding Round

Yello, a Chicago-based recruitment software company, announced on June 21 that it closed its series C funding round, having raised $31 million. JMI Equity, a growth equity firm that invests mainly in software companies, led this round of funding, followed by previous investor First Analysis.

During the course of the previous year’s fundraising, Yello managed to raise $4.2 million. All together, the HR tech company has attracted a total of $42 million in investments. Its web site promises companies will be able to “complete all recruitment marketing and operations activities in a single solution.”

Venture capital continues to flow into technology plays within the recruiting sector, and this latest investment only reinforces that trend. Yello is a bit more unique than most in that it promises to be a Swiss army knife of sorts, providing many services and the hopes of being a one-stop-shop for employers. When you hear “Hubspot for recruitment,” this is that kind of solution.

“The candidate experience should be at the forefront of every recruitment process,” said Yello’s CEO and co-founder Jason Weingarten in a recent press release. “Yello is pioneering change to humanize the candidate experience by enabling companies to provide unprecedented speed and transparency throughout the candidate journey. We are fortunate that preeminent companies continue to trust Yello to lead the way and partnering with JMI will only enhance or leadership position.”

“This investment is a big win for Yello clients, our incredible employees, and the city of Chicago,” Dan Bartfield, Yello’s co-founder and president said. “We will create many new jobs throughout the organization to further support and champion the success of our clients as they work to hire the best talent for their organizations.”

In addition to the latest fundraising figures, Yello announced that JMI Equity general partner Peter Arrowsmith will be joining the company’s board of directors. “We are impressed with the customer feedback on Yello’s innovative, cloud-based solution and the company’s reputation for outstanding customer service,” said Arrowsmith. “We look forward to partnering with the Yello team to help drive the next phase of growth and success.”

Similar to other solutions, Yello sits on top of a company’s existing ATS or HRIS. It’s always smart to have a product that doesn’t require a prospect to dump their current applicant tracking system, but it also creates a risk if an ATS ever wants to simply add those features to its existing service. Remember when there were mobile career sites that layered on top of a non-mobile career site? Once the applicant tracking systems went responsive to any screen size, those providers had to scramble and pivot in new directions.

Yello plans to use the funds to grow its existing business. The company was started in 2008 by Jason Weingarten and Bartfield under the name Recsolu and previously focused on campus recruitment. In 2015, it rebranded when it made the decision to extend its services past recruiting undergraduates. At the time of the name change, Yello had 30 employees. In the last two years, it has increased its size by roughly 100 workers.

According to Forbes.com, Yello’s current customer base includes Johnson & Johnson, Comcast, Aramark, and PepsiCo. The platform is typically used by companies with 5,000 or more people. Yello’s product suite includes Interview Scheduling, Talent Relationship Management, Campus Recruiting, Evaluation Management, Event Management, Mobile Apps, Video Interviewing, and Referrals. The software can be used by itself or alongside their customer’s already existing ATS or HRIS programs.

Yello’s corporate color scheme is blue, but it apparently has nothing to do with color. Weingarten answers the phone with a “yello” instead of a “hello.” According to his Twitter account, however, Weingarten is a big Cubs fan, so maybe that’s where the inspiration for blue originated. But I digress.