Textio

Taylor Soper / GeekWire May 18, 2020

Leg Up and Seattle tech HR leaders publish employer guide to support working parents during COVID-19

Seattle startup Leg Up and local tech HR leaders released a new guide to help small and medium-sized employers support working parents and caregivers during COVID-19, offering resources, policy suggestions and executive insights. The guide compiles parent experiences, discounts and HR program changes and complements other toolkits like Madrona Venture Group’s Back to Work Toolkit.

John Cook / GeekWire Apr 28, 2020

NVCA warns COVID-19 will slash venture capital and trigger widespread startup layoffs, after 30,000 cuts reported

The National Venture Capital Association warns that COVID-19 will cause a significant drop in venture capital investment, triggering more startup layoffs and a tougher fundraising environment; reports estimate 30,000 layoffs already and predict widespread workforce cuts over the next year. Impact varies by industry, with travel-related startups cutting large shares of staff while some well-funded companies fare better.

Taylor Soper / GeekWire Apr 1, 2020

Usermind lays off 15 employees (25% of staff) amid COVID-19; CEO Michel Feaster calls it heartbreaking

Seattle marketing-software startup Usermind laid off 15 employees — about 25% of its staff — citing economic impact from the COVID-19 crisis, CEO and co-founder Michel Feaster said. The company, founded in 2013 and backed with over $45 million in funding, will help affected workers find new jobs while focusing on its customer-journey platform.

Kurt Schlosser / GeekWire Mar 30, 2020

Textio raises $12M as layoffs hit 20% of staff; Industry Ventures, Operator Collective join round

Seattle augmented-writing startup Textio raised $12 million from new investors including Industry Ventures and Operator Collective to expand beyond enterprise customers, after laying off 20% of staff amid COVID-19 uncertainty. CEO Kieran Snyder says the funding will help pivot the product to help candidates better express skills and values as remote written communication rises.

Kurt Schlosser / GeekWire Mar 27, 2020

Seattle AI Startup Textio Lays Off 30 Employees Amid COVID-19, Shifts Focus to Aid Job Seekers

Seattle startup Textio laid off 30 employees, or 20% of its staff, due to COVID-19 uncertainty, leaving about 120 employees remaining. CEO Kieran Snyder emphasized shifting the company's AI writing technology focus to help job seekers better represent their skills amid a challenging labor market.

Kurt Schlosser / GeekWire Mar 26, 2020

Textio adds 'age graph' and accommodation guidance to its AI writing tools to flag ageism and ableism in job listings

Textio expanded its AI-powered augmented writing tools to highlight ageist and ableist language, adding an "age graph" and reasonable-accommodation guidance to help make job postings more inclusive and speed hiring.

Taylor Soper / GeekWire Mar 19, 2020

Textio raises new capital — SEC filing shows $7M infusion as company closes $12M round to expand writing platform

Seattle startup Textio closed a $12 million funding round and an SEC filing shows a $7 million cash infusion as it aims to expand its augmented-writing platform beyond enterprise hiring use cases.

Kurt Schlosser / GeekWire Mar 18, 2020

Seattle startups including Apptentive, Textio and TINYpulse rely on Slack/Zoom and regular check‑ins as teams go fully remote during COVID-19

Seattle startups shifted to remote work during the COVID-19 outbreak, relying on chat and video platforms to keep business and social interactions going while monitoring employee well-being. Companies like Apptentive, Textio and TINYpulse report tools and check-ins help, but leaders note challenges for employees who struggle with isolation or being heard online.

GeekWire Podcast Aug 24, 2019

Headphones, AI and the future of humanity

New wireless Bluetooth headphones from Seattle startup Human are getting mixed reviews based on their appearance, and their initial starting price of $399 (which the company quickly dropped to a promotional price of $259). But their unique design, which completely envelops both ears, reflects a vision of the future in which technology will be melded to our bodies, and potentially to our minds. Plus: Jeff Bezos' first Amazon job ad, 25 years later; A new Netflix documentary will go inside the mind of Bill Gates, and Alexa makes a "Jeopardy!" cameo. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

23 min

GeekWire Podcast May 4, 2019

GeekWire Awards Winners Revealed

The strength and success of the people and companies across the Pacific Northwest tech ecosystem was on full display Thursday night at the GeekWire Awards. GeekWire's Jonathan Sposato, John Cook and Todd Bishop share highlights and clips from the night on this episode of the GeekWire Podcast. More highlights here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

36 min

Nat Levy / GeekWire Nov 30, 2016

GeekWire 200 November Update: DocuSign Tops as Textio Rises 23 Spots and Morningstar Acquires PitchBook for $180M

The November update of the GeekWire 200 highlights Pacific Northwest startups leveraging recent large funding rounds to expand products and staff, with DocuSign leading the list. Notable moves include Textio jumping 23 spots to number 176 and Avvo advancing into the seventh spot, while PitchBook was acquired by Morningstar for $180 million.

Todd Bishop / GeekWire Oct 6, 2014

Windows UX leader Jensen Harris leaves Microsoft to co‑found Textio, a language‑analysis startup

Jensen Harris, a 16-year Microsoft veteran who led Windows user experience, is leaving Microsoft to co‑found Textio, an early-stage Seattle startup that analyzes language to predict how well job listings or project descriptions will attract desired candidates or succeed. He and co‑founder Kieran Snyder (CEO) presented their plans after Harris announced his departure, saying his exit was personal and not driven by recent Windows 10 UI changes.