Spotlight interview with...
Matthew de la Hey
CEO at inploi
Spotlight interview with...
Matthew de la Hey
CEO at inploi
Can you describe the origins and mission of inploi?
My co-founder and I founded inploi in 2016 to connect the world’s workforce and its employers. We’re a talent attraction technology software scale up, and sell to large enterprise to help them get more from their applicant tracking systems, delivering a world class candidate experience to help them attract and hire better quality candidates more quickly for less spend. Compared to traditional methods of hiring and managing staff, our customers see much better results, reduced marketing and recruitment spend as well as a quicker time to hire, ultimately giving time back to hiring managers and data to teams that didn’t have it before.
How did inploi adapt its business model in response to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and what impact has this had on your growth and strategy?
Initially, we started out building a platform to connect historically ‘blue collar’ workers with employers, particularly in the hospitality industry. That was going well until the Covid-19 pandemic. We came out the other side of that and realised that the labour market was completely different to anything that it was before, and that we were perfectly positioned to help large enterprises struggling to hire to navigate new labour market realities. So we pivoted towards an enterprise SaaS offering, and it paid off, we picked up some large customers and have been scaling since 2021.
"The saying ‘be careful of who you get into bed with’ is particularly true in this scenario. You’re selling a piece of your soul, so you need to be happy with who you’re working with."
Matthew de la Hey, CEO at inploi
Can you share your experience with fundraising for inploi? What strategies have you found effective in securing investment, and what advice would you give to other founders starting their fundraising journey?
Throughout our journey at inploi, we’ve raised a little under £4 million from family, friends, angel investors, and EIS funds. The best way to start fundraising is by building a strong network. Attending industry events, seeking introductions to other founders and their investors, go to events, get introductions to other founders and their investors, enter pitch competitions and start to get an idea of ‘who’s who’. Initially, we relied on personal connections for our first round of funding, which allowed us to develop our product and onboard early users.
In your experience, what types of investors have you encountered during your fundraising journey, and how do you approach selecting the right investors for inploi?
I’ve found there tends to be three types of investors, and you need to be selective about who you want to work with:
1) The passive investors who provide capital and then remain largely uninvolved
2) The proactive and helpful investors, who are hands on and add value
3) The distracting and unhelp investors We’ve avoided the third category,
but that has meant there have been occasions where we’ve declined offers due to concerns around the impact on our ability to focus and get on with what needs to be done. The saying ‘be careful of who you get into bed with’ is particularly true in this scenario. You’re selling a piece of your soul, so you need to be happy with who you’re working with. The equation you need to work out at early stage is how you can maximise your ability to exercise control over decision making and equity of the company, while balancing it with the sum of capital investment that you need.
"Resilience is a key trait in all of this, some of the common things you’ll be evaluated on are whether you’ll quit when the going gets tough, whether you’re trustworthy to be able to navigate challenges successfully and with integrity and whether you have what it takes to make it"
Matthew de la Hey, CEO at inploi
What qualities do investors look for in early-stage startups, and how can founders effectively convey their potential to deliver strong returns?
Investors are wanting large returns, particularly in the early stage, so it’s hugely beneficial to paint a picture of your ability to produce a large investment outcome if things go to plan. For the founding team, that means proving your conviction to spend money sensibly and follow the plans that were set out to your investors. Resilience is a key trait in all of this, some of the common things you’ll be evaluated on are whether you’ll quit when the going gets tough, whether you’re trustworthy to be able to navigate challenges successfully and with integrity and whether you have what it takes to make it.
How important is storytelling and narrative in attracting investors, and what strategies have you found effective in building excitement around your brand?
Everything comes down to narrative. You want to build a hype around your brand, and that’s done through the story you tell in getting people to buy in to becoming a part of your journey, the dream of how it might work out and the excitement of being involved. Articulating that well, and as early as possible, means potential investors are already warmed up to you even before you look to raise money.
About Matthew De La Hey
Matthew is a co-founder and CEO of human resources technology and services company, inploi. Headquartered in London, inploi’s mission is to rebuild the infrastructure of finding and applying for a job online: powering access to employment opportunities, enhancing accessibility, and facilitating workforce mobility.
Born and raised in South Africa, Matthew completed an honours degree in accountancy at Stellenbosch University as a Mandela Rhodes Scholar before moving to the UK for graduate studies. He read an MSc in African Studies (with his research focussed on small-scale agriculture in the rural Eastern Cape) and then an MBA at Oxford University, as a Weidenfeld Scholar.
Outside of inploi Matt edits creative writing journal Ozymandeus, is the Emerging Markets Director at financial technology business Kastelo, and advises various startups.
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