Local software firm Woven scores $8M in funding

Indianapolis-based Woven, whose technology platform helps companies hire software engineers, has landed $8 million in Series A funding, the company announced this week.

The funding round was led by new investor Allos Ventures, which has locations in both Indianapolis and Cincinnati; with participation from two returning Indianapolis investors, High Alpha and Elevate Ventures.

Woven is a remote-first company with nearly 40 employees, plus several contract workers. Between 10% and 20% of Woven’s employees, and five out of its six executives, live in the Indianapolis area.

Josh Colter, Woven’s head of marketing, said the $8 million investment will help the company scale up both its workforce and its product offerings.

“We have aggressive hiring targets and we are currently hiring in every department,” Colter said.

The company hasn’t yet set exact numbers for how many people it hopes to hire this year, Colter said.

Woven was founded in late 2017 by Wes Winham, Kyle Shipley and Anthony Panozzo. The company previously secured $425,000 in pre-seed funding in January 2019; and $2.5 million in seed funding in March 2020. Winham currently serves as the company’s CEO.

Woven aims to streamline the hiring software engineers, a process that typically requires skills-testing and multiple rounds of interviews. Job applicants can complete skills testing on Woven’s online platform, which means the hiring company doesn’t have to expend time and effort on in-house testing of job applicants.

The Woven assessments measure an applicant’s abilities on several factors, including programming, systems thinking and technical communication. Test results are then scored, analyzed and shared with the hiring company.

The goal is to make the hiring process faster, more efficient and less burdensome for employers. That’s especially important right now because software engineers are in extremely high demand, Colter said. “The shelf life for a really good, experienced candidate in this market is not very long.”

Colter said Woven’s process can also uncover qualified applicants who might have otherwise been overlooked.

Woven’s latest product, Woven Match, allows job seekers to complete a work simulation, get matched with multiple companies and be fast-tracked for interviews.

Woven’s revenue comes from hiring companies who pay for the service Woven provides. Job-seekers pay nothing to use the platform.

Current customers include health care tech company Olive, e-commerce shipping company Deliverr and Indianapolis-based Lessonly by Seismic, which sells sales training and coaching software and services.