Equalture: Expanding a Software Business Dedicated to Unbiased Hiring

Abstract

Equalture is a recruitment software company, founded by twin sisters Charlotte and Fleur Melkert in 2018. Shocked by the lack of innovation in the recruitment branch, the two women made it their mission to revolutionise the recruitment process and change the way people think about hiring candidates. Using a sophisticated gamification software, Equalture tests the skills and knowledge of a team, and finds any possible gaps in expertise that need to be filled. Using the same gamification software, potential job candidates are then tested too, and ranked on how well they would bridge the gaps and fit within the team. Equalture’s software has proven to be less prone to bias than assessments, more fun for candidates, and most importantly: more effective. Equalture focuses on start-up and scale-up teams, and is currently serving more than 250 customers already. The strategic issue discussed in the teaching case is a recent dilemma that Melkert encountered after two years of rocket growth: how to expand? Having acquired €1 million in funding from a VC in early 2020, Melkert finally had the financial capacity to grow her product far beyond the start-up market in the Netherlands. But the big question was: in which direction? Should she expand her product to include larger companies and corporations in the Netherlands? Or should she go with what she had secretly always dreamt of, and test the waters abroad? It was a dilemma for Melkert, in which she needed to carefully decide what was in line with the milestones the VC set, and feasible for her. Melkert had to make a choice, and with the VC betting on Equalture continuing their stellar growth in 2020 too, it was now - or never.