Editor’s note: This is one of five profiles of the finalists for Startup CEO of the Year ahead of the 2023 GeekWire Awards. Read the others on Rebellyous Foods CEO Christie Lagally; Phase Genomics CEO Ivan Liachko; Joon Care CEO Emily Pesce; and mpathic CEO Grin Lord.
Prem Kumar needed a break.
The CEO and co-founder of Humanly, an AI-powered employee interviewing and onboarding startup, went 2 1/2 years without taking more than a day off. His mental and physical health were impacted, and he had less time to spend with his wife and two children.
Since launching his company in August 2018, Kumar had faced one challenge after another: the pandemic, an economic slowdown, and eventually his own fatigue.
To address the burnout, Kumar sought advice from peers who had undergone similar experiences. He prepared his team for his extended absence, and decided to take a month-long break. During his time off in April 2022, he worked with a therapist to develop a plan to re-establish his focus and confront some lingering childhood traumas.
“Growth is sometimes uncomfortable,” Kumar said. “But it certainly takes proactiveness and awareness.”
Despite trying economic times and Kumar’s personal struggles, Humanly has pivoted and emerged stronger. And Kumar is now a finalist for Startup CEO of the Year at the 2023 GeekWire Awards, which will take place May 18 in Seattle.
“I’m lucky,” he said. “I had the opportunity to nip this in the bud.”
‘Didn’t quite fit in’
Originally from India, Kumar’s parents immigrated to the U.S. in search of better job prospects. His father first came to the country when he was accepted by the University of Southern California. He later got a job at Beechcraft, a civil aviation and military aircraft company in Wichita, Kan., where Kumar was born.
In 1989, the family relocated to Seattle after Kumar’s father was hired as an engineer at Boeing.
“When we first came here, I definitely felt different, and that’s where some of the bullying arose,” Kumar said. “I didn’t quite fit in.”
He said his mother experienced similar feelings when her graduate degree from a university in India wasn’t really recognized. She ended up getting another one at Seattle University.
Kumar later enrolled in the International Community School in Kirkland, Wash. The school was small and new, and helped Kumar make friends and regain confidence.
In high school he got his first job, as a clerk at Albertsons, bagging groceries and organizing shopping carts. He said the job helped him develop a work ethic and ability to advocate for himself.
During those years, Kumar’s mother was diagnosed with cancer, which influenced his decision to attend the University of Washington in order to be near her. She later died while he was in college.
“She was a huge influence on my life,” Kumar said. “I always felt a safety net with her there. When she was gone, it was like, ‘all of a sudden, now I have to do all this stuff.'”
Microsoft, then startups
After graduating from UW with a degree in computer science, Kumar was hired by Microsoft where he worked for more than a decade, building various customer-relationship management and marketing automation tools.
He eventually plunged into the startup world with a tech leadership role at TINYPulse. He spent nearly three years at the Seattle survey and employee engagement company. Kumar also became a mentor at Techstars Seattle, an accelerator and early stage investment firm.
Kumar co-founded Humanly five years ago with Andrew Gardner and Bryan Leptich. The startup helps large companies screen job candidates, schedule interviews, automate initial communication and run reference checks, among other functions. The aim is to reduce the time it takes to find talent and provide a better experience for potential new employees.
The tech also helps to remove bias by hiding a candidate’s name, gender, years of experience, and more. Using natural language processing, it can also analyze how companies are interacting with different candidates.
Humanly graduated from the startup accelerator Y Combinator in 2019, closing its first funding round in February 2020.
The pandemic was both an existential threat and forcing function for Humanly, said venture capitalist Oleg Kaganovich, an investor and advisor. He said it pushed Kumar to take a pause and refocus his direct attention on the most critical pieces of the business.
The company pivoted by focusing its pitch to provide companies with remote onboarding and hiring solutions.
Humanly went on to raise an additional $4.2 million in September 2021. It was riding tailwinds from companies that were rethinking their talent acquisition strategies amid the pandemic-driven shift to remote work and increasing attention on diversity, Kumar told GeekWire at the time.
But these macro tailwinds shifted in 2022. As interest rates rose, many large tech companies started hiring freezes. They also pulled back their spending on enterprise software, looking to conserve cash amid the downturn.
During this time, Kumar worked with customers to adapt to their needs, offering “white glove” services while also utilizing Humanly’s technology, said Ambika Singh, CEO of online clothing rental service Armoire, a Humanly customer.
Humanly sustained a 149% net revenue retention over the last 12 months. The startup’s tech has conducted more than a million candidate screening conversations and interviews, and customers include Microsoft, the Seattle Storm, and Moss Adams, among others.
‘Being a founder is stressful’
While running the startup, Kumar said he developed some unhealthy exercise and eating habits. Some of his childhood traumas started to manifest and weigh on his mental health.
“Being a founder is stressful when it’s just you and a few friends hacking together an MVP,” Humanly advisor Kaganovich said. “That stress grows exponentially once you have a team, and are responsible for their capacity to pay their mortgages and feed their families.”
During his time off, Kumar worked with a therapist, who helped him address some of his underlying emotional stresses from childhood. He also changed his schedule to include time for family meals, exercise and meditation.
“I did have stuff that I needed to address and figure out, which ultimately helped me be better at home, a better husband, a better dad, and better CEO,” Kumar said.
Company leaders are often told to remain confident and stoic, suppressing any fear or doubt, said Singh, who has been friends with Kumar for 26 years.
“That’s not the reality of any human,” she said. “I think that mentality just means that you’re not able to be your full self because you’re spending so much time creating this unbreakable shield.”
Sharing personal experiences of self-care allows others to consider if it’s needed for them or their company, she said.
“Bringing your whole self to work starts with the CEO,” she said.
After Kumar returned to work, he introduced new employee well-being policies. He said an employee who was dealing with some mental health concerns has already received support from the company because of that action.
In the three years since the company launched, only one Humanly worker has voluntarily left the company. The team has also retained a minimum of 50% gender and BIPOC diversity.
Kumar said Humanly is forecasting “significant revenue growth” in 2023, leveraging the momentum from the pandemic and economic downturn. He said that the company is equipped to handle its next challenge.
“Let’s take care of ourselves when adversity hits,” he said. “But then how do we turn this into a win for us at the end of the day?”
