Alex Brophy has tried his hand — successfully — on four previous startups, ranging from software to business advertising, but his latest venture into the human resources world wasn't exactly his own choosing.
"I was kind of forced into it," Brophy said with a laugh, explaining it was born out of a business advisory practice. "HR was always the challenge: how to recruit and retain employees, etc. And a lot of clients wanted me to do this."
The company, Otegrity — which stands for operating with integrity — was founded in 2019.
"This is a 'build it, keep it, create a legacy,' type company," he said, as opposed to building and selling it in the typical three to five year timeline. "This is making a difference in the marketplace."
The Brandon-based company is focused on the HR marketplace — a space that has found itself in high-speed growth after Covid-19.
"There was so much change in the workforce," Brophy said. "People are now realizing they have to manage people differently, have to get rid of what they don’t know and make it cost effective."
The company is an administrative services organization, providing both advising and tangible solutions for HR-centric problems. It could range from how to better recruit employees, to connecting with workforce centers.
"The idea is they shouldn't worry about collecting people's time, collecting benefits, if someone is eligible for this or that," Brophy said. "We're an extension of their company with services and technology."
He's quick to point out he believes Otegrity is a services company, not a tech company — although did say he eventually plans to build its own integration software to further enhance the employee and employer sides, like offering virtual yoga.
In the meantime, he thinks the people-first approach is what makes Otegrity stand out.
"If you provide HR, is it software? Because if you want someone to help you, you better be able to get ahold of [a person]," Brophy said. "We’re a service first company — there's a big dynamic in our industry that are having a difficult time, because they're so software-heavy."
Otegrity serves companies starting at nine employees and goes up to 9,000. It has nine employees itself, with plans to add three interns in the near future.
It's raised "a few million," in a seed round, with a focus to eventually open a Series A for an undisclosed amount.
"The most valuable asset of a company is your people," he said. "With M&As, HR has always been a bug-a-boo; whether it's helped or hurt a transaction. So understanding key assets, key employees and the ability to build upon that success is really important."
