Source: PEGN

13/08/2022

Mereo, a HRTECH that helps companies track the performance of their employees, exclusively announced to PEGN that it has raised R$5 million in a new investment round. The contribution was made by the KPTL and Cedro Capital funds. A startup from Minas Gerais has created a tool capable of managing talent, evaluating personal performance, and calculating variable remuneration. Founded in 2012, the company has already impacted over 1 million professionals from companies such as Magalu, XP Investimentos, and MRV. In all, the platform translated into nine different languages is already present in 40 countries.

In an interview to PEGN, Ivan Cruz, cofounder of the startup, said that the investment came at the right time. The idea, according to the entrepreneur, is to increase the customer base by 60% this year. To this end, the startup will invest in product development and in marketing and sales channels. A good part of the contribution will be used for hiring in these areas.

With 29 new clients this year alone, Cruz says that the goal of the investment is to help Mereo strengthen its brand in the market. “Not only with large companies, but strengthen the presence among mid-sized customers,” he says. To achieve this, the startup believes it is necessary to make the product easier, more intuitive, and with increasingly well-developed insights.

The structure of the platform is divided into three modules: performance management, talent management, and recognition and reward. The companies consolidate the indicators of the employees in each area, evaluate the performance of these employees, and calculate the variable remuneration of each one based on company rules.

The idea for the business came about after Cruz and his colleagues Athila Machado and Marconi Rocha worked as consultants at Falconi. After leaving the company, they decided to go into business using their market expertise. Osvaldo Barbosa de Oliveira, partner at KPTL, told PEGN that the team was one of the differentials for the fund to invest in the business. “The first point was the experience of the founders, then the constant pain of companies to evaluate their employees, and third, the product being well accepted in reference companies,” he says.

With the entry of the new investors, Cruz is certain that it is time to step on the gas. “We want to discuss with a prepared board, and one that has already done this in other companies, how to structure this growth,” says the founder. In parallel, investing in branding, strengthening Mereo’s brand with the market’s human resources sectors, and preparing the startup’s new chapter.