Live on Bloomberg TV

00:00PUBLIC MARKETS. THE VALUE CASH PROFIT. WE HAVE ALWAYS FOCUSED ON THAT. WE FOCUS ON TO SIDES OF THE INCOME STATEMENT, GREAT REVENUE, JUGGLING YEAR-OVER-YEAR, AND ALSO FOCUSING ON PROFITABILITY FROM THE GET-GO. EMILY: EXPLAIN TO ME WHAT INVESTORS ARE ASKING OF YOU, AND HOW IT WAS PERHAPS DIFFERENT THAN MAYBE A YEAR AGO OR THE YEAR BEFORE? MEHUL: A LOT OF THE CONVERSATION IN AUGUST WAS AROUND HOW QUICKLY WE CAN GROW, ADDRESSING A $700 BILLION MARKET THAT IS UNDERSERVED. A MONTH LATER, BECAME ABOUT HOW QUICKLY CAN WE BE PROFITABLE AND LASER CASH BURN. FORTUNATELY, WE ARE GOOD FOR BOTH. BUT, IT CHANGED VERY QUICKLY, A MATTER OF WEEKS. EMILY: GIVE ME THE NUMBERS. MEHUL: WE TRIPLE YEAR-OVER-YEAR. $100 MILLION RUN RATE. WE WILL BE PROFITABLE NEXT YEAR. WE ARE ADDRESSING A $700 BILLION MARKET THAT IS BROKEN FOR BOTH SIDES. CANDIDATES HATE FINDING A JOB AND CLIENT PAID HIRING. WE'RE CRATING A MARKETPLACE ERASING SOLUTION -- SOLUTION TO REIMAGINING. EMILY: WHAT YOU DO DIFFERENTLY FROM OTHERS? MEHUL: WE THINK THERE ARE THREE WAVES OF RECRUITING ON THE WEB. JOB REQUISITIONS. THEY STRUGGLE WITH QUALITY. LINCOLN PUT JOB CANDIDATE PROFILES ONLINE. THE STRUGGLE IS INTENSE. HE BUT DO NOT KNOW IF THERE ACTION LOOKING FOR A JOB. WE ARE DOING BOTH. WE ARE CRATING A CURATED MARKETPLACE AND WE ARE LOOKING FOR GREAT PEOPLE WHO ARE OPEN TO ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES. IF WE DO THAT, WE WILL SOLVE -- WE'VE HAVE ESSENTIALLY FLIP THE MODEL. WE PICK THE BEST CANDIDATES, PICK THE ONES WERE GOOD, AND OPEN TO LOOKING. EMILY: PEOPLE APPLY TO YOU? MEHUL: YOU ONLY TAKE LIKE 4% OF CANDIDATES. 500,000 APPLICATIONS. EMILY: THEY SAY THEY WANT TO ADVERTISE THEMSELVES ON HIRED BECAUSE THEY ARE LOOKING TO A JOB. MEHUL: ARE THERE HOPING TO HEARING. WE ACCEPT 4%. ONCE ON THE PLATFORM, COMPANIES APPLY TO THEM. THEY ARE IN CONTROL OF THE JOB SEARCH. COME POLICE -- COMPANIES LOOK FOR YOU. EMILY: HAD YOU MAKE MONEY? MEHUL: WE MAKE MONEY BY CHARGING EMPLOYERS WHEN THEY MAKE A HIGHER. EMILY: WHAT ARE YOU HEARING FROM EMPLOYERS ABOUT WHAT IS WORKING AND WHAT IS NOT? MEHUL: THEY ARE FINDING THAT WHAT IS WORKING AS BEING UPFRONT ABOUT COMPENSATION. REALLY ADDRESSING CANDIDATES ON A PERSONAL LEVEL. THE CANDIDATES ON A PROFILES WILL STAY BUT THEY WANT TO DO NEXT AND EMPLOYERS WILL LOCK INTO THAT. WE ARE FINDING THAT PERKS DO NOT WIN THE BEST CANDIDATES. EMILY: FREE FOOD, NOT IMPORTANT? MEHUL: WHAT MATTERS IS THE MISSION. ARE YOU GOING TO BE A BIG COMPANY. WILL YOU HAVE IMPACT. WILL THERE BE A LEGACY THAT YOU CAN LOOK BACK ON. EMILY: YOU SURVIVED THE FIRST.COM BOOM/BUST. WHAT ARE YOU DOING DIFFERENTLY? MEHUL: MY FOUNDERS AND MYSELF HAVE ALL GONE THROUGH THAT DOWNTURN. WE KNOW YOU HAVE TO THINK ABOUT CASH AND CASH MANAGEMENT. WE DO NOT SPEND ON CRAZY VERTICAL HANGING WALL GARDENS AND A OTHER THINGS THAT DOT-COMS HAVE DONE. WE ARE BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS. WE THINK IT WILL BE $1 BILLION IN REVENUE AND A COUPLE OF YEARS. WE START WITH THAT MINE. WE BUILT A CULTURE THAT THINGS BUT PROFITABILITY. EMILY: WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THESE ON-DEMAND SERVICES COMPANIES. WILL THEY SURVIVE? MEHUL: THEY NEED TO HAVE GOOD ECONOMICS. IT MEANS FOR EACH TRANSACTION, YOU HAVE TO MAKE MONEY. WE DO, MANY OF THOSE MAY NOT. EMILY: MEHUL PATEL OF HIGHER.COM. AND FOR JOINING US. HERE'S A THROWBACK. ON THIS DAY IN TECH HISTORY, THE WORLD'S FIRST LONG COMPETITION

No schedule data available.

Startups Focus on Profit to Raise Funds

Mehul Patel, chief executive officer at Hired, discusses his latest round of fund raising and his outlook for the company. He speaks to Bloomberg's Emily Chang on "Bloomberg West." (Source: Bloomberg)

More From Bloomberg Technology
All episodes and clips