Ferretly

AI-powered social media screening for smarter hiringAccording to a 2018 CareerBuilder Survey, 70% of US-based employers use social media to screen candidates during the hiring process. And according to research conducted by Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, avoiding toxic hires can save companies, on average, $12,800 in turnover costs. And yet, there has been no efficient, unbiased and consistent way to perform these types of background screens until now. Ferretly makes this process fast, accurate, and effortless and, most importantly, consistent by providing an FCRA compliant report and full-featured application to manage the entire screening process.After 18 months of research and development, millions of posts and images analyzed, and thousands of background checks, we have arrived at one of the most innovative platforms on the market for smarter hiring. This application truly illustrates how big data and AI can come together in an extremely intuitive and useful way to help organizations mitigate risk.In the first six months since product launch, we have secured several major background screening companies as clients, including a company that provides social media screening for dozens of Division 1 Universities for athletic recruiting and scholarships. Over 200 clients across the US have signed up online, with more than 55% purchasing one or more background search credits. We are attracting a new class of customers in the mid-market as well as companies switching from competitor platforms at a rapid pace. As we enhance our feature-set and build out our sales and marketing organization, we anticipate a move into the enterprise with larger deal sizes that will make Ferretly the number one provider in this new and fast-growing industry.

Achieved customer traction in the first nine months from product launch with over 200 online signups with over 50% paid
Seven reseller deals from background screening companies in Atlanta, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Ohio, Los Angeles, and Washington State
Selected for HR Techology’s 2019 Pitchfest, designed to recognize innovation and contributions to the future of HR tech space
Analyzed over 1 million posts, with over 13,000 flags; average turnaround times for comprehensive reports under 1 hour
Founders are industry veterans with prior software and consulting companies and successful exits

• Marketing: 25 - 30%
• Inside Sales: 25 - 30%
• Research & Development: 20 - 25%
• General & Administrative: 10 - 15%
• Enterprise Sales: 0 - 20%

Darrin Lipscomb
CEO
Darrin Lipscomb is a 30-year veteran in the technology industry including launching several software and consulting startups with successful exits. His companies provided unique, forward-thinking solutions focused primarily on Fortune 500 companies and government organizations at the federal and state level.  Prior to launching Ferretly, a powerfully simple application that incorporates AI to mitigate employment risk, Darrin was the Global CTO for Public Safety and Smart Cities division of Hitachi Data Systems that was formed from the acquisition of his company he founded called Avrio Group in 2014 which provided city-wide IoT sensors and a platform for geospatial modeling.  Darrin has published numerous articles on smart cities, open source intelligence, and employee risk management. Mr. Lipscomb obtained his (M.S.) Master of Science degree in Systems Engineering from Virginia Tech with emphasis on decision support, system dynamics, and statistical modeling.

Craig Eddy
CTO
Craig Eddy has 30 years of experience in software engineering, development and management working for software startups and Federal Government contractors.  He currently leads Ferretly’s long-term technology vision and is responsible for the overall software architecture and engineering.  Prior to joining Ferretly, Craig was the chief architect at Empact Development where he managed the development of the Foreign Assistance Coordination and Tracking System (FACTS Info) for the US State Department.  Craig was also cofounder for a CRM software startup and worked with Darrin for 10 years including after the acquisition of his company by Remedy.  Craig has a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech.  Craig has published numerous books and articles on database and web development.

Round type: Seed Round size: US $600,000 Minimum investment: US $1,000 Target Minimum: US $200,000 Raised to date: US $24,000 US $24,000 (under Reg CF only) Security Type: Preferred Equity Share price: US $10.0 Pre-Money valuation: US $4,000,000