WorkHound, a startup that allows frontline workers to speak their minds anonymously about workplace problems, received $1.5 million in seed funding this month.
The company has offices in Chattanooga and Des Moines.
It plans to use the financing to bolster the technological team at WorkHound and expand the platform to additional industries such as healthcare. The company is also eyeing a greater presence in the transportation and logistics spaces.
The startup’s platform is designed to elicit better feedback, produce actionable insights, and drive improved results through a four-part system. First, the frontline employees, such as construction workers or truck drivers, provide anonymous, honest feedback through their smartphones. Then WorkHound analyzes the feedback and translates it into useful insights upon which business owners can determine solutions. The platform provides daily insights, enabling managers to address issues that can affect employee retention.
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Andrew Kirpalani and Max Farrell founded WorkHound in 2015. They initially realized that the trucking industry had a high turnover rate of 95%; they were inspired to give those workers a voice to improve their working conditions so that they might retain jobs longer and remain at the same companies. The company saw early success and quickly expanded from the trucking industry to construction. Kirpalani, who graduated from Iowa State in 2005, is the head of the Des Moines branch, while Farrell heads up the Chattanooga office. Both hail from Des Moines.
Farrell said in a company announcement, “”To date, we’ve been fortunate to fuel WorkHound growth primarily with our revenues. But as we eye an aggressive expansion into new industries, as well as building out our transportation and supply chain presence, raising a substantial seed round became imperative for us. This capital will enable us to hire more top-notch talent who will power us into the next phase of our company.”
WorkHound began at Straight Shot, an Omaha Accelerator, in 2015. Straight Shot transitioned into the Startup Collaborative in 2017. The new incubator/accelerator merge is run by the Omaha Chamber of Commerce. The Startup Collaborative has helped accelerate companies including RETAILAWARE and LiveBy.
Visit www.workhound.com to learn more about this company.
