CAPZA, an independent management company and specialist in private investments in European SMEs, has invested in the French HR Tech AssessFirst, an SaaS platform for predictive recruitment and talent development focused on soft skills.
AssessFirst has developed a proprietary platform that enables HR professionals to assess candidates based on three criteria: what they can do (their abilities), what they want to do (their motivations) and the way they behave (their personality). The solution also makes it possible to identify profiles able to integrate and evolve within a given team, function or environment. The assessment is based on a 30-minute questionnaire developed by scientists and based on recognised behavioural science studies.
Founded in 2002 by David Bernard and Alexis Teplitchi, AssessFirst has progressively moved from being a consulting company to a 100 per cent SaaS model in 2018. The company has developed algorithms based on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, which allows it to process data from several million profiles and automatically generate an evaluation of candidate profiles as well as predictive models.
Driven by the increasing automation of its platform, the company’s growth is accelerating rapidly and has enabled AssessFirst to post an annual growth of +40 per cent since its move to SaaS. More than 5 million candidates have been assessed using AssessFirst’s models and the company currently employs over 70 people to address the needs of a base regrouping more than 3,500 clients in over 40 countries.
Over a year ago, AssessFirst adopted a 100 per cent remote organisation, closing its Paris offices for good. The entire team now operates from all over the world (France, England, Spain, Sweden, the USA, etc).
With the support of CAPZA, AssessFirst’s ambition is to accelerate the launch of new product features (new interface, modules dedicated to internal mobility and the evaluation of affinity within teams, etc.), and to continue its development in France and Europe, especially through an external growth strategy. Numerous recruitments are also planned, particularly given the near future growth acceleration in the UK.
This collaboration should enable AssessFirst to become the European leader in predictive recruitment and soft skills development.
“We are delighted to support David Bernard and his teams in this new stage of AssessFirst’s development. With the spread of remote working, we are convinced that AssessFirst is well positioned to play a key role in the digitalisation and transformation of the talent management market,” says Matthieu Dordolo, Partner, CAPZA Growth Tech.
“We have found in CAPZA a solid partner to support us in the acceleration of our development. Whether it is the resources made available, the quality of the teams or the common values that drive us, everything is now perfectly aligned to enable us to take a step forward and move to the next level,” adds David Bernard, CEO of AssessFirst.
AssessFirst welcomes CAPZA as a minority shareholder in a primary transaction. Management retains a majority stake.
This is a new transaction of CAPZA Growth Tech which is currently under fundraising.