CAMBRIDGE, MA / ACCESSWIRE / June 12, 2023 / Did you know there are over 30,000 HR tools on the market? Neither did I.
As it turns out, companies need to pay international employees, recruit new team members, engage existing ones, and do about 100 other HR related tasks that most people take for granted.
The problem of course is that choosing which tools to use across 30,000 different vendors is tough, to say the least. And, many teams end up picking the wrong software simply because there are too many options out there. Ever use an HR tool that looks like it was designed in 1999, or one that barely functions on mobile? Now you know why.
That's why Phil Strazzulla created SelectSoftware Reviews. SSR uses a team of HR Tech analysts to understand the software landscape, and then review the various tools for their readership.
Here's Phil on his entrepreneurial journey. "I started this site 5 years ago. I was running an HR Tech startup at the time, and talking to five HR people a day. Every conversation eventually led to one issue - there were too many tools on the market, and every company had been burned by a vendor at some point."
Phil set out to change all this by writing up his thoughts on how to buy popular HR and recruiting tools such as Applicant Tracking Systems, Core HR software, and HR Chatbots. Before he knew it, people were reaching out to get help on many more types of tools.
"I knew there was something here when we started getting around 20 people a day to the site. That seems really small in retrospect, but it was kind of a light bulb moment for me. This wasn't just a side project anymore, it could actually be a business."
And, he knew a thing or two about business. Phil started his career working for famed venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners, before attending Harvard Business School for his MBA. It only seemed logical the next step would be starting something of his own.
How does this site work?
We've seen similar models in other verticals like The Points Guy, NerdWallet, and of course WireCutter. The basic idea is that a team of editors will write about their experience using a credit card, or a leaf blower, and users rely on these insights to make purchase decisions.
Most of these sites will then make money if a user clicks through and actually buys the product they are writing about. It's a good business model, but creates an obvious conflict of interest.
SSR navigates this balance through an independent editorial team that has full control over what goes on the site.
Phil elaborates, "each week we have companies email us asking to be on the site. Some will even say ‘how much is it to be #1 on this page? We have the budget.' While it's a bit painful in the short term to say no, many times the companies who are aggressive about trying to pay to be on a page don't deserve to be there in the first place, and that's why they are offering to pay. We believe that in the long run we are going to win by staying true to our readership, not by taking pay to play money from vendors we don't feel good about promoting."
So how does this site make money? While many sites in the B2C space can rely on Amazon's affiliate program to make money, SSR has had to build direct relationships with over 100 of the biggest names in HR Tech in order to generate revenues. Their customer base includes Rippling, Greenhouse, Paradox, and many more.
They've built their own software that is designed specifically to monetize B2B software leads, and allow these vendors to bid for leads in a weekly auction. Clearly this was a lot of work, but we've been told they are a profitable, bootstrapped company. So, it was worth the hassle.
Three million and counting
So far, SSR has helped over 3 million companies figure out which tools to buy. The list includes Amazon, Boeing, Nike, and many smaller companies that needed to understand how to get the right system for their company.
We talked to Dan George, an HR consultant at Piper Key Analytics to get his take. "SSR is an independent and in depth resource for any company looking to understand which HR and recruiting tools are best for their company. There are just too many vendors out there, and it's hard to understand which one fits with your organization. I've come to rely on their research before I start talking to vendors so that I know what questions to ask, how to get the right price, and most importantly which tools I should be looking at in the first place."
Shortlists, editorialized reviews, user reviews and industry expert insights all combine to a great starting point for teams looking to buy their next tool. But, it's the supplementary materials that we appreciate the most. There is an entire library of "Whiteboard Wednesdays" that cover everything from negotiating contracts to determining the ROI of a new talent acquisition system.
"Our goal is to provide an easy to read and unbiased view of each software landscape so that a buyer can get to their next step quickly. We strongly believe that a diversity of opinion from users, experts, and our editorial staff results in the right shortlist. It also allows users to leverage the best practices across hundreds of informed buyers through pricing data, organizers, ROI calculators, and a whole lot more," Phil explains.
Overall, the rise of the creator and niche economy continues to intrigue us. From uber drivers to the end of the world, there are many interesting businesses carving out loyal audiences that are valuable to advertisers.
CONTACT:
Main Office
196 Broadway, Suite 200
Cambridge, MA 02139
Call: +1 (319) 481 2578
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://www.selectsoftwarereviews.com/
SOURCE: Strazzulla LLC