Seattle-based interviewing startup Karat has received a major boost from tennis superstar Serena Williams.
Earlier this month, Karat announced a partnership with Williams to grow the company's Brilliant Black Minds program, which offers free job interview training and feedback to current and aspiring Black software engineers in the U.S.
Karat co-founder and CEO Mohit Bhende said although he couldn't disclose how much Williams invested in the program, it was enough to open the program up after a small beta that tested the program with about 500 candidates.
"One of our early investors happened to just be personally connected (with Williams)," Bhende said. "In that first interaction, she just really got it."
According to Karat, just 5% of software engineers in the U.S. are Black, and one obstacle facing Black job candidates is having less practice with technical interviews before they apply. In its beta test, which lasted about a year, Bhende said candidates with three practice interviews were six times more likely to land a job.
In addition to her investment, Williams will help design the product, according to Bhende. He added that Williams will help with how long candidates should have between interviews, what the feedback should look like and getting industry partners to engage with the Brilliant Black Minds program.
Karat, founded in 2014, offers technology and interviewers to help clients screen for engineering talent. The goal is to free up clients' own engineers to focus on their core jobs rather than conducting interviews. The company also provides analytics to help with hiring. Karat's clients include American Express, Intuit and Ford.
Karat raised a $110 million Series C round in October and reached a value of $1.1 billion. Bhende said the company currently has about 250 full-time employees, up from under 200 at the time of the Series C, and the company plans to more than double its headcount year over year. He added that although Karat is in the process of reopening its offices, the company hasn't formalized a back-to-work plan yet.
"Our entire product is about flexibility. Interview whenever, from wherever," Bhende said. "Having a Seattle office presence was an important thing, so we've been just really focused on making sure that's safe and ready to go."
