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AI, tech layoffs, the Great Resignation, and affirmative action aren’t just newspaper headlines that get attention across startup and business communities. They all ultimately boil down to be HR problems.
HR and people leaders are poised with questions like: Why are women leaving our organization at higher rates than men? Why aren’t we getting a diverse pipeline of new applicants in? And, of course, what will job descriptions and expectations look like in our Age of AI?
“Every single one of those headlines is an HR problem to solve,” says Atlanta-based entrepreneur Noelle London. “And it’s a problem that leaders have to come up with very quick solutions to address.”
HR and people leaders have been stretched thin over the last three years. Companies poured money and resources into DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) initiatives following the George Floyd Protests, and upwards of 89% of businesses have set formal DEI goals. But London saw that these HR-focused teams were being asked to do “more with less” and often were working with disparate data sets in order to find the information they needed.
London started Illoominus, an Atlanta-based turnkey analytics platform, to help those HR and people leaders. The platform helps an organization get actionable insights into their people goals, like DEI, and better understand what is working and what isn’t.
By aggregating and reporting on data across multiple HR platforms, Illoominus can help an organization understand exactly why certain demographic groups are leaving at faster rates than others or what specific benefit packages are making the biggest impact for their employees.
“We want leaders to learn and understand which investments – be it benefits programs or upskilling programs – are actually driving the most results,” she told Hypepotamus.
New Faces, New Investments
Founded in 2022, Illoominus has been growing steadily with its business-to-business model. The team was part of the 2022 Techstars Atlanta cohort (you can watch the Demo Day pitch here).
Most recently, the team brought on startup veteran Josie Kressner as Head of Data.
Kressner, a Georgia Tech graduate and founder of Transport Foundry, previously served as an advisor to London and Illoominus. She brings her background in data science, scenario planning, and forecasting to the team.
On top of new hires, Illoominus has caught the attention of investors both in and out of the region.
London recently announced Illoominus closed its $500K pre-seed round from Atlanta-based Gray Ventures, Vitalize Angels, Mailchimp’s former Chief Technology Officer Eric Muntz, Relay Payments’ Executive Vice President Meghann Erhart, and former Jamba Juice CEO James D. White.
White, who authored the book “Anti-Racist Leadership: How to Transform Corporate Culture in a Race-Conscious World,” will also join Illoominus as a senior advisor.
The funding will go towards hiring tech, data, and sales roles, London told Hypepotamus.