Industries like manufacturing might seem like they have their own software stack, but they often have vast amounts of manufactured goods managed in Excel spreadsheets.The problem is, spreadsheets are great at many things, but when it comes to manufacturing, especially human resources management, they simply have AG5 believed there was a better way. A handful of investors agreed, adding his €6 million to the Dutch startup’s coffers and the company began to grow.
AG5 CEO Rick van Echtelt said in an interview with TechCrunch: He claims he has 2.7 billion of them worldwide. “At the macro level, the current pace of technological development, rising job turnover and an aging population mean that the shortage of qualified workers is getting worse each year, making the economic balance more precarious. I like the idea that we can make a difference in this big challenge.”
The company launched on its own in the first few years, building early product/market fit to prove the idea and then selling it to institutional investors. Headline led, with Acadian Ventures and several other investors closing out the round. The company aims to continue its internationalization starting in Germany and beyond the Netherlands, expanding its integration ecosystem to enable more customers to use their existing tools and integrate them with their HR and learning tools. I’m here.
The company raised $6 million at a “substantial” valuation, but didn’t disclose the exact terms of the deal.
In a previous startup, the AG5 founders tackled the same problem through a different lens, building tools for first responders, including firefighters.
“Firefighting requires a high degree of specialized training. Just as operating different fire trucks requires very different skills, the same thing happens on the factory floor. It takes know-how, and I was shocked to see how manual and inefficient the whole process was,” says van Echtelt. “Organizations, on a larger scale, struggle to keep track of which frontline employees are qualified to operate a particular tool or work on a particular production line. We use systems, but this software was not built for skill management, so each company creates its own spreadsheets, which are cumbersome, unscalable, and prone to errors. We help organizations remove these and provide a turnkey skill management solution that integrates with the software they already use.”
Macroeconomics may be on your side, as upskilling is the name of the game.
“The European Commission has declared 2023 to be the European Year of Skills. There is a shortage of 28 occupations ranging from construction and healthcare to engineering and IT, creating a growing demand for both high-skilled and low-skilled workers. It shows that there is,” says van Echtelt. “This issue is a threat to our way of life and the Commission has secured an investment of 85 billion euros in the development of digital skills in the workplace. This is especially felt in Germany, where 19% of the country’s GDP comes from manufacturing.”
Over time, the company wants to establish itself as an employee skills management system, ensuring that teams are trained and staffed efficiently.
“Ultimately, we want to lead to happier and healthier workers, whether they work at a fixed desk with a computer or on a factory floor with heavy equipment,” says van Echtelt. I will explain. “This results in greater personal empowerment, more job opportunities, and fewer work-related injuries and illnesses.”
The company currently employs 31 people and has an impressive line-up of early customers, including Douwe Egberts Coffee and Beverages, KLM Air France, TataSteel and Toyota Boshoku.
