One of the less recognized changes that AI has wrought in the world of Work Tech is market research, where AI-generated people have the potential to disrupt everything from focus groups to clinical trials. Gartner refers to the technology as “digital humans” and estimates that in five to 10 years, companies might even have digital twins for every single one of their customers. As market research experts, we know that this sounds like the holy grail for the average market researcher: Customer research without the customers. We understand the allure.
The advantage of a large-scale survey is that it generates a lot of quantitative data points. However, large surveys are extremely expensive, recruiting quality participants is harder than ever, and the process is often disrupted by bots and scammers. Even so-called qualified panels deliver mediocre quality for the price. Aside from that, two huge risks exist for product and go-to-market teams.?
- Loss of variability. Humans are naturally innovative but also unpredictable and inconsistent. AI humans can replicate behavior we anticipate but can’t allow for innovation. Synthetic research data loses this element. Purchasing decisions are complex and nuanced. Your research process should allow for that. Sometimes, the most valuable findings from any research project occur when your hypotheses are blown out of the water.
- Loss of actual human connection. The root problem with synthetic research data is not connecting with the actual customer. The whole point of product research is to understand buyer behaviors and preferences better. The biggest challenge we face is connecting with that buyer. Bots and scammers have made it difficult to know if we are gathering data from real buyers.
We’ve found that the best approach to research these days is to double down on human connection. What we have been deploying successfully more often these days is a technique we call The Card Sort. This approach draws on techniques from cultural anthropology to model an individual’s decision-making process. Specifically, card sorts enable you to explore how individuals categorize and prioritize complex variables when tasked with a defined decision (e.g., buying a product).
Card sorts combine qualitative and quantitative methodology. The different sorting options can be expressed as numerical scores, while the discussion before, after, and alongside the sort provides qualitative texture. Point for point, a card sort is the most cost-effective, agile, and efficient method for capturing real insight into the buyer’s journey and decision process.
What else is going on this week?
Cornerstone OnDemand gets into Talent Intelligence
The Work Tech power brand announced at its Connect Live World Tour kickoff event in Chicago the launch of Cornerstone Galaxy, an AI-powered workforce agility platform aimed at solving what it calls the workforce readiness gap. Cornerstone’s approach in this work includes a range of partnerships, including Visier, Meta, and Udacity. Read a quick-turn reaction on LinkedIn from Dani Johnson at RedThread Research.
New From Ocho: The Top 93 Work Tech Investors
See the list of the top 93 investors in Work Tech companies based on their total number of investments during the last 10 years. Thanks,
Bret Starr
!
WATCH AND LISTEN: To Gate Or Not To Gate?
The Starr Conspiracy’s Matt Tatum talks with Jonathan Gandolf from The Juice wrestling with the age-old question featuring the research from The Juice’s "State of Gated vs. Ungated Content" report. LISTEN NOW
Funding and Acquisitions
-
Docusign
acquires AI-powered contract management firm
Lexion
for $165 million. The company, which now prefers to go by Docusign, with a lowercase “s” ) is buying the contract workflow automation startup as the company increases investments in the contract management space, most recently launching DocuSign IAM, a service aimed at connecting different components of the corporate agreement creation and negotiation process. (TechCrunch)?
-
Jeeves
raises $75 million credit facility. The Mexico City, Mexico-based B2B payments and corporate card platform develops solutions for businesses in Latin America. Congratulations to CEO and founder
Dileep Thazhmon
and his team! (FinSMEs)
- Cyberdigm raises $73.4 million in PE funding. The South Korean company specializes in document centralization solutions and enterprise content management for collaboration and security. (CB Insights)
-
Mach Recruitment Ltd
gets $56.5 million line of credit. The Leeds, UK, recruitment services company focuses on temporary and permanent staffing solutions. (CB Insights)
-
Legion Technologies
raises $50 million Series D. The Santa Clara, California, company delivers an AI-powered frontline workforce management platform that offers services such as labor budgeting, demand forecasting, automated scheduling, and employee engagement tools. Congratulations to
Sanish Mondkar
,
Kristin Brennan
, and the entire Legion team! (TechCrunch)
-
Pleo
raises $42.8 million debt round. The Danish startup offers a business spend management platform with virtual cards, expenses, automated expense reports for employees, invoices, and more. (CB Insights)
-
Canopy
raises $35 million. The South Jordan, Utah, startup develops an operating system for accounting firms. Congrats to CEO
Davis Bell
and his team! (Press Release)
-
Sona (getsona.com)
raises $33.9 million Series A. The London startup offers a workforce management platform for frontline industries such as hospitality and retail. Solutions include employee scheduling, time and attendance tracking, shift management, and absence management, all designed to streamline operations and decision-making. Congratulations to
Steffen Wulff Petersen
and the entire Sona team! (CB Insights)
-
Sesame HR
raises $24.72 million in growth equity. The Valencia, Spain, startup offers a suite of tools for employee management, time tracking, performance evaluation, recruitment, and internal communication for various sectors, including retail, hospitality, consultancies, and non-profit organizations. (CB Insights)
-
Echo360
acquires
Inkling, an Echo360 solution
. With the acquisition, the NYC-based global SaaS platform for comprehensive learning engagement outcomes aims to redefine corporate learning for millions of frontline employees worldwide. Terms were not disclosed. (Press Release)
-
ChangeEngine
raises $10 million Series A. The San Francisco internal marketing & people design platform enables companies to deploy best-in-class programs without requiring employees to log in to separate systems. (FinSMEs)
-
Eleos - Embedded Life Insurance
raises $4 million seed round. The London startup offers insurance policies that provide regular financial support to individuals who are unable to work due to illness or injury, complemented by additional benefits such as access to remote GP services, mental wellbeing programs, gym discounts, and life cover. (FinSMEs)
- RiseUp announces Domoscio acquisition. The European integrated learning solution with more than five million active learners globally announced its strategic acquisition of Domoscio, a French expert in Adaptive Learning. Terms were not disclosed. (FE News)
-
Greenboard
raises $4.5 million seed round. The Austin startup offers a cloud-based operating system that manages employee tasks, archiving, content review, policies, calendars, document processing, and training. (CB Insights)
- In-House Health raises $4 million seed round. The Denver startup offers an AI-driven scheduling and management platform for modern nursing teams. (FinSMEs)
- Outpave raises $1.2 million seed round. The Frisco, Texas, startup is a spend management solution that streamlines bank connections, expense tracking, and invoice management. (FinSMEs)
- Gapai raises $1 million seed round. The Indonesian startup offers a platform that connects job seekers with employers serving the migrant worker industry, offering services to both individuals seeking employment and companies looking for workers. (CB Insights)
- Azara raises $1 million seed round. The Singapore startup is developing autonomous AI agents capable of performing multi-step tasks and responding to natural language commands for customer service, onboarding, sales, and training.? (CB Insights)
- TIGEREYE raises seed round. The Tokyo, Japan, startup offers a suite of facial recognition products that operate via browsers without the need for dedicated apps or hardware and are designed for a range of applications such as member authentication, time and attendance, access control, and web login. Terms were not disclosed. (CB Insights)
-
Kelly
enters into an agreement to buy Motion Recruitment Partners. (Press Release)
- M&A activity sees a mild uptick in Q1. (Crunchbase)
- French AI startup
Mistral AI
set to triple its valuation to $6 billion. (Wall Street Journal)
- Tomasz Tunguz: AI now 20% of U.S. venture investment. (LinkedIn)
Does Your Polycule Need A Trello Board?
Here’s a new way to look at work-life balance. Meet the people using Work Tech to organize their romantic lives. Seems that people use Slack, Trello, Notion, Google Calendars, and the like to organize everything from laundry to dating to polyamorous relationships.
Industry News
SUBSCRIBE: Lance Haun’s Work Leader Weekly
My friend and colleague,
Lance Haun
, is bringing his always-excellent Work Leader Weekly newsletter to LinkedIn. If you want hot takes and fresh perspectives about the swiftly changing world of work, subscribe now.
Around The Shop
Stuff we’re finding interesting right now at The Starr Conspiracy.
Everybody love everybody,
PS — Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Subscribe now via email or LinkedIn.
#worktech #hrtech #vcfunding #privateequity #enterprisesoftware
About The Starr Conspiracy
The Starr Conspiracy is an Experience Agency for enterprise technology companies that are shaping the way people work. Our passion is creating defining moments to transform your business across the Customer Experience spectrum — Brand, Marketing, Sales, Product, and Customer Success.
