HiOperator has made quite a bit of progress since it moved to Buffalo with handful of employees in 2018.
The startup now has 260 employees split almost evenly between its hubs in Buffalo and Dallas. And the real growth has only begun, according to its leaders.
“Our plan is high-velocity growth over the next several years,” said Bob Duggan, the company’s newly hired vice president of operations, who is based in Buffalo. “We expect to max out in Buffalo, to max out in Dallas, and then to expand in both cities beyond that.”
Founded by CEO Liz Tsai, HiOPerator moved to Buffalo after winning $500,000 in the 43North competition. The startup is a tech-enabled take on customer service, making the reps more efficient.
HiOperator's revenue has grown 300% to 500% each year, and the company plans to continue that pathway, Duggan said. Earlier this year, the company moved into a new 25,000-square-foot facility in the Roblin building in downtown Buffalo. Tsai and her husband, CTO Alex Kogan, live in Dallas but the company is calling Buffalo its corporate headquarters.
It’s easy to grow from 10 to 20 employees. But when your workforce numbers in the hundreds, it creates the need to rethink your new corporate infrastructure.
Hence Duggan, who works under Tsai and Kogan and oversees the Dallas and Buffalo operations. A longtime call-center executive in Buffalo, he was paired as a mentor with HiOperator in 2019 and stayed in contact. He was hired full time earlier this year.
His job is to make sure HiOperator has the right culture, processes and recruiting messages to handle the growth that is coming its way.
“I built my whole career around high-performing teams and this company is at a critical stage where, before we get really big, it’s time to solidify our team so that we can launch for the future,” he said. “I’ve been tracking Liz and Alex’s story for 3.5 years and gotten to know them personally. I’m just really excited about the technology, the client base and what this organization means to Buffalo going forward.”
HiOperator operates two shifts from the third floor of the Roblin building. A second floor buildout is expected by February, which will accommodate company growth for at least a year, Duggan said.
In the meantime, Duggan is recruiting customer-service employees from his old world into his new one. In a tour of the third floor space, it was notable for its lack of telephones and its modern, team-oriented feel.
He thinks the proposition will attract talented professionals downtown in large numbers.
“This is a fast-paced, high-energy, younger culture,” he said. You don’t get that at many call centers in Amherst.”
HiOperator scored an additional $750,000 investment from 43North in 2020 and got a new injection of cash this year from previous investor Hearst Labs. Angel investor Jack Greco also has invested.
The company is among is among 32 local startups that have raised private, growth-oriented capital this year. Others include Tackle ($135 million), Jerry ($103 million), Squire ($60 million), Centivo ($51 million), Torch Labs ($25 million), CleanFiber ($11.9 million), Circuit Clinical ($7.5 million), Kangarootime ($6 million), SomaDetect ($6 million), Kickfurther ($5.9 million), MimiVax ($5 million), Garwood Medical Devices ($4 million), Joblio ($4 million), Verivend ($2.5 million), HELIXintel ($1.6 million), Ognomy ($1.37 million), OxiWear ($1.25 million), Patient Pattern ($1.2 million), Ellicottville Greens ($1 million), Immersed Games ($540,000), braidbabes ($415,000), MemoryFox ($380,000), Zealot Interactive ($350,000), Zizo Technologies ($200,000), AirExpert ($200,000), Thimble ($165,000), Immunaeon ($100,000)*, Real Talk ($100,000)*, Alo ($100,000)*, Rally (undisclosed) and Classavo (undisclosed).
* UB earmarked $100,000 to these startups through its Cultivator accelerator, but they have only received tranches of the funding thus far.
