High Alpha Launches Interview Intelligence Startup
(image courtesy of Pillar)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA new interview intelligence startup has launched out of Indianapolis-based venture studio High Alpha. Pillar has developed a platform it says uses artificial intelligence and in-interview coaching to “provide companies with a more reliable way to assess a candidate’s fit for a role during the interview process.” Chief Executive Officer Mark Simpson says the startup’s goal is to save businesses time and money from hiring the wrong person for the job.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Simpson said the inspiration for the platform came from one of High Alpha’s investors, who was focused on coaching networks to improve interview skills.
“That actually then sort of morphed into the idea around providing more intelligence to the hiring manager, as well as improving interviewers…just making sure that people were trained in the right way, that nobody’s asking questions they shouldn’t ask anymore and that they hit the initiatives that they’re putting in place nowadays,” said Simpson. “The initial idea, I think, was very, very strong and I think it’s also sprouted other ideas of just very big ideas that we can solve in this process.”
Simpson says with hiring shifting to more of a virtual format because of the pandemic, Pillar provides assistance to employers by recording interviews and creating AI-generated interview highlight clips. The platform can be integrated with Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google, and features in-interview coaching and guidance, as well as collaboration tools for teams.
Pillar currently has 10 employees and Simpson says they are currently looking to hire six more. He says the partnership with High Alpha has been crucial to the startup’s development.
“[They] have really helped us do everything from go-to-market, from product design and management, from branding and naming,” he said. “So, High Alpha has really skilled teams that have just significantly added to the expertise within Pillar to enable us to grow much, much quicker than we would have if we had launched without them.”
Simpson says the startup already has a strong customer base that he is looking to continue to grow.
“We’ve got really strong goals on two big sides of the business,” he said. “One is to make sure that we continue to serve the customer base that we have an expand that customer base. So, we’re obviously actively signing up new customers on a daily, weekly basis. The other side is really just continuing to develop the product to be the leading interview intelligence platform in the market. We are looking at doing everything we can to make hiring more equitable, more efficient and just provide more intelligence into that whole process.”
High Alpha partner Eric Tobias says the Pillar platform will not only change how companies hire their employees, but will create more diversity, better interviewers and empower future employees in the long-term.
Simpson says the inspiration for the platform came from one of High Alpha’s investors who was focused on coaching networks to improve interview skills.