eqtble Raises $2.7M Seed to Build Healthier Workplaces

The Foundation of eqtble: Empowering HR with Data-Driven Insights

The core strength of any organization resides within its people. Indeed, personnel are considered more vital than the products themselves; without a dedicated workforce, product development and delivery become impossible,” states Joseph Ifiegbu, formerly heading human resources technology at Snap and previously leading People Analytics at WeWork.

Introducing eqtble: Analytics for the Modern Workplace

Ifiegbu’s new venture, eqtble, aims to equip HR departments with the sophisticated analytical capabilities long enjoyed by product, sales, and marketing teams. The ultimate objective is to foster more engaged and inclusive work environments. Having graduated from the Y Combinator program, the company has recently secured $2.7 million in seed funding.

This funding round was spearheaded by Initialized Capital, with additional investment from SB Opportunity Fund, RS Ventures, and a collective of venture capital firms and individual investors.

From WeWork to eqtble: A Team Built on Experience

Ifiegbu’s journey began at WeWork’s People Analytics team in 2017, when the company employed approximately 2,000 individuals. By the time of his departure in 2020, the workforce had expanded to 15,000. Gabe Horwitz, who joined WeWork as the first data scientist within the People Analytics division, became one of Ifiegbu’s initial hires.

Horwitz now serves as eqtble’s co-founder and chief product officer. Completing the founding team is Ethan Veres, who holds the position of chief technology officer.

The Challenge of Fragmented Workforce Data

Many organizations, particularly those experiencing rapid growth, struggle with workforce data that is dispersed across numerous HR software solutions. These systems often include human resources information systems (HRIS), employee engagement platforms, benefits administration tools, and employee survey applications.

This fragmentation can lead to missed opportunities for identifying crucial correlations. For instance, companies may fail to recognize the connection between employee turnover rates among top performers and the duration of the promotion process.

Furthermore, potential pay inequities can be overlooked, negatively impacting company culture, diversity, equity, inclusion initiatives, and overall talent retention.

Building a Data-Driven Approach at WeWork

During WeWork’s period of rapid expansion, the People Analytics team developed tools to consolidate and analyze data from across the organization.

“Numerous questions arose, such as the status of our promotion practices, attrition rates, and gender imbalances in hiring,” explains Ifiegbu. “We aimed to understand our employees better and streamline our processes, so we created systems to collect, cleanse, structure, and present data-driven insights to our leadership.”

The Genesis of eqtble: Democratizing People Analytics

This undertaking spanned approximately two years, culminating in a People Analytics team of 15 members. Ifiegbu and Horwitz recognized a widespread need for similar analytical capabilities among companies lacking WeWork’s extensive resources, which ultimately led to the creation of eqtble.

“The development process was lengthy and resource-intensive due to the team we had at WeWork,” Ifiegbu notes. “Our goal is to provide these insights more efficiently, recognizing the importance of data-informed decision-making for leaders regarding their employees.”

Understanding the Functionality of eqtble

Currently, implementing eqtble takes approximately six weeks; however, the company, led by Ifiegbu, is actively working to reduce this timeframe to just two days. Eqtble is designed to be versatile across various industries, focusing on rapidly scaling businesses with employee counts ranging from 250 to 3,000.

This human resources analytics platform is capable of integrating data from over 100 different sources. These include popular systems like Workday, ADP, Oracle, PeopleSoft, Qualtrics, and Culture Amp. It then transforms this data into actionable insights and clear visualizations.

Key Areas of Insight

eqtble delivers analysis across four core areas of HR: talent acquisition, workforce dynamics, employee engagement (with a specific focus on employee turnover), and compensation strategies.

An example of eqtble’s data summary dashboard. (Image: eqtble)

A significant benefit of the platform is its ability to pinpoint the reasons why promising job applicants choose to decline employment offers.

For instance, one eqtble customer discovered that their hiring managers were overwhelmed with an excessive number of applications. This resulted in a significant delay in the interview process, creating a bottleneck. Other organizations found that extended interview timelines were causing candidates to withdraw from consideration.

Ifiegbu explains, “Organizations committing to lengthy interview processes – six rounds spanning three months – risk losing out on qualified individuals.” He notes that competitors are often able to finalize hiring decisions within one to two weeks.

Leveraging Data for Enhanced Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Organizations frequently issue DEI commitments; however, genuine advancement necessitates a willingness to critically evaluate internal practices. eqtble’s ability to consolidate data from various company sources allows for the identification of potential disparities before they become apparent to leadership.

Ifiegbu explains, “Many organizations declared their intentions last year, outlining numerous planned initiatives. While such statements are commendable, tangible change is impossible without measurement.”

A company, for instance, might highlight a gender-balanced workforce or a significant representation of people of color. However, this positive surface-level data can mask underlying inequities in areas like salary increases and promotions to managerial positions.

“A 50/50 gender split holds little significance if women and people of color are underrepresented in leadership roles. Our platform provides a comprehensive organizational overview, pinpointing areas for improvement and enabling concrete action beyond mere public relations,” Ifiegbu states. “eqtble identifies both areas needing attention and existing strengths to encourage continued success.”

The Growing Importance of HR Analytics

Ifiegbu expresses optimism regarding the increasing focus on HR analytics. “Employing data-driven decision-making is crucial for fostering a robust and thriving company culture.”

The recently secured seed funding will be allocated to expanding eqtble’s engineering team, enhancing the platform’s machine learning and data visualization features, and driving user growth.

Jen Wolf, partner and president at Initialized Capital, commented, “Addressing critical organizational matters like DEI and equitable compensation requires genuine dedication, not simply a superficial check-box exercise. Companies committed to these principles shouldn’t be hindered by lengthy delays or substantial financial burdens when analyzing their existing data to implement meaningful change. The eqtble team offers a solution, empowering other organizations to do the same.”

This platform aims to provide actionable insights, moving beyond simply stating goals to achieving measurable results in diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.