Disrupting the Floral E-Commerce Industry: Farbod Shoraka, CEO of BloomNation (Part 1)

You must have heard of 1-800-Flowers. Did you know that the company takes 50% of the order value, while the local florists fulfill the orders? That’s a hefty customer acquisition cost. Read how Farbod Shoraka and his co-founders are disrupting the industry. Sramana: Farbod, let’s start by learning a bit about you. Where are you

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Disrupting Cloud-Based Recruiting: SmartRecruiters CEO Jerome Ternynck (Part 7)

Sramana: It sounds like your recruiting marketplace is a key differentiator for you. Jerome Ternynck: The store is becoming a very interesting community. We have reviews, sharing of reviews, and cross-customer analytics. For example, if you want to find a designer in San Francisco, we can easily tell you where the best places to advertise

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Disrupting Cloud-Based Recruiting: SmartRecruiters CEO Jerome Ternynck (Part 6)

Sramana: How do you compare to SuccessFactors? Jerome Ternynck: They are a lower version of Taleo that ventured into recruiting in 2009. They have the same principles. This is a market that I know very well because I have been in it so long. Sramana: What is the sales cycle like? It sounds like you

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Disrupting Cloud-based Recruiting: SmartRecruiters CEO Jerome Ternynck (Part 5)

Sramana: When did you reach the $5 million mark? Jerome Ternynck: We passed that mark some time ago. From a revenue standpoint, it hasn’t been our focus in that we really want to build a tool that people love using. Sramana: If you are a venture funded company, you must focus on revenue. Jerome Ternynck:

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Disrupting Cloud-Based Recruiting: SmartRecruiters CEO Jerome Ternynck (Part 4)

Sramana: Up to the point that you launched the professional version, how were you generating revenue? Jerome Ternynck: One of the advantages of SmartRecruiters is that in the workspace we have a store where customers can spend their recruiting budget. In that store you can buy services such as advertising job postings which can include

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Disrupting Cloud-Based Recruiting: SmartRecruiters CEO Jerome Ternynck (Part 3)

Sramana: What did you do after you sold your company? Jerome Ternynck: I moved to San Francisco because being an entrepreneur in Europe is harder than it needs to be. If you are going to try and solve a big global problem you need to do it from the US or from an area where

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Disrupting Cloud-Based Recruiting: SmartRecruiters CEO Jerome Ternynck (Part 2)

Sramana: Why did you move to the Czech Republic? Jerome Ternynck: I went there for the market opportunities. France didn’t, and still doesn’t, offer good opportunities for entrepreneurs. There is not much growth there. I went to a market and positioned myself in a market where I can show growth and opportunity.

Disrupting Cloud-Based Recruiting: SmartRecruiters CEO Jerome Ternynck (Part 1)

SmartRecruiters is going after Taleo and SuccessFactors and intends to disrupt the cloud-based recruiting platform industry. Gutsy and well-conceived, Jerome is executing very well on his vision! Sramana: Jerome, let’s start by reviewing your background. Where are you from? What are the roots to your entrepreneurial journey? Jerome Ternynck: I was born in France. I

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