VIVAHR

How Ryan Naylor Grew VIVAHR to Serve Over 100,000 Job Seekers Nationwide

Founders

Profitable

Yes

Year Started

2016

Customer

B2B

Founders

Profitable

Yes

Year Started

2016

Customer

B2B

Who is Ryan Naylor?

Ryan Naylor, founder of VIVAHR, is an American entrepreneur based in Arizona who previously managed a digital marketing agency and created a job board. He graduated from Utah State University's Huntsman School of Business with a degree in entrepreneurship and has a passion for helping small businesses improve their hiring processes.

What problem does VIVAHR solve?

VIVAHR helps small businesses attract quality job candidates by highlighting their company culture in job postings, making it easier for job seekers to find roles that match their values and work environment preferences. This approach addresses the often frustrating experience of applying to generic job listings, ultimately saving time and improving job fit for both employers and employees, which makes VIVAHR a valuable tool for any organization trying to hire top talent.

How did Ryan come up with the idea for VIVAHR?

Ryan Naylor's journey in founding VIVAHR stemmed from experiences that highlighted a disconnect between job seekers and employers. Initially, while running a digital marketing agency and a job board during a time of high unemployment, he noticed that many small businesses struggled to hire despite the abundant availability of job seekers. This observation prompted him to dig deeper into the hiring challenges faced by small businesses and the intrinsic issues affecting the job market.

As he researched further, Ryan discovered that a significant factor in successful hiring was a company's ability to convey its culture effectively. Employers that focused on sharing their company values and culture in job postings attracted better candidates. This realization led Ryan to incorporate these insights into developing VIVAHR, a platform that emphasized storytelling and culture marketing to aid in hiring.

Before fully committing to the concept, Ryan tested his hypothesis through a localized job board in Arizona, which succeeded in helping over 100,000 people secure employment. Through continuous feedback and validation from both job seekers and employers, he realized the importance of culture in the hiring process. These experiences and learnings ultimately inspired and shaped the creation of VIVAHR, aiming to empower small businesses to compete with larger corporations in attracting talent by honing in on company culture.

How did Ryan build the initial version of VIVAHR?

Ryan Naylor and his team built VIVAHR, a job posting automation software, by initially focusing on the challenges faced by small businesses in leveraging HR tools that were traditionally available only to larger enterprises due to high costs. Using his background from running a digital marketing agency with in-house developers, Naylor was able to streamline the development process. This included utilizing software architecture that focused on automation and company culture storytelling, which was a crucial differentiator for their platform. The iterative development process was driven by lessons learned from a previous project, Local Work, where they had facilitated over 100,000 job placements. Developing the first iteration of the product involved understanding customer feedback and integrating tools to make it affordable and effective, taking several years of learning and adaptation from the original job board concept to the current platform.

How did Ryan launch VIVAHR and get initial traction?

Local Workshops

Ryan Naylor, the founder of VIVAHR, hosted free educational workshops at the Phoenix Public Library shortly after moving to Arizona. These workshops were designed to educate local small business owners about digital marketing and how they could transition from traditional marketing channels like the Yellow Pages to digital platforms. By offering valuable, free content and advice, he positioned himself as a knowledgeable and helpful resource, which helped spread the word about his company and services.

Why it worked: This approach allowed Ryan to build trust and credibility with local business owners. By providing valuable insights and practical advice for free, he created a positive impression that encouraged attendees to refer his services to others or become clients themselves. This grassroots strategy helped lay a strong foundation for his marketing business, which evolved into successful ventures like VIVAHR.

Cold Outreach and Networking

Initially, Ryan had to move quickly and build his presence in a new, competitive market. To achieve this, he leveraged cold outreach and networking to connect with local business owners who could benefit from his services. He spent time attending local business events and gatherings to introduce himself and explain how his services could address hiring challenges that small businesses faced.

Why it worked: Cold outreach, combined with attending local networking events, allowed Ryan to directly engage with potential clients and discuss their needs. Building relationships through personal connections was crucial in establishing trust and gaining early traction for his business. Direct interaction often led to referrals and word-of-mouth recommendations, fueling initial growth.

Focus on Purpose and Values

Ryan focused heavily on aligning VIVAHR with meaningful values, such as supporting the family unit and creating a purpose-driven business that emphasized meaningful employment. This was not just a unique selling point but also resonated deeply with both small business owners and job seekers looking for employment at value-driven companies.

Why it worked: By positioning his business around clear values and a compelling purpose, Ryan was able to differentiate VIVAHR from other HR tech solutions that were more transactional. Job seekers and companies were attracted to the authenticity and mission-driven aspect of VIVAHR, which helped in building a loyal customer base from the start.

What was the growth strategy for VIVAHR and how did they scale?

Culture Marketing

VIVAHR places a strong emphasis on "culture marketing," a strategy that involves storytelling to highlight company culture and core values in job postings. This approach allows companies to present their culture and values alongside the job description, encouraging candidates to align themselves emotionally with the business. VIVAHR creates culture-centric pages for job listings, embedding photos, videos, and company values directly into the postings.

Why it works: This strategy attracts applicants who resonate with the company's core values and culture, increasing the likelihood of hiring employees who are a good fit. By focusing on what the company stands for and what it aims to achieve beyond routine responsibilities, businesses can differentiate themselves from competitors. This has proven to improve the quality of applicants and overall employee retention.

Partnerships

VIVAHR has utilized partnerships with various job boards like Indeed, ZipRecruiter, and Glassdoor to widen their job listings' reach. By automating job postings across multiple platforms, they ensure maximum visibility for each job listing, capitalizing on the traffic these high-traffic sites generate.

Why it works: These partnerships expand the reach of job postings without incurring direct advertising costs on each platform. By leveraging these established networks, VIVAHR clients can access a broader audience, thereby increasing the pool of potential candidates for each position.

SEO and Organic Visibility

VIVAHR has focused on making their platform SEO-friendly, ensuring that job postings are optimized for search engines. This involves using targeted keywords and creating content that aligns with search queries job seekers use.

A snapshot of VIVAHR optimized blog posts

Why it works: By ensuring that job postings are optimized for search engines, VIVAHR helps businesses attract organic traffic, reducing the need for paid ads. This approach improves visibility on search engines, making it easier for job seekers to find postings that match their skills and interests.

Referral Programs

VIVAHR's referral program is a key strategy used to incentivize existing users to refer new clients. By offering rewards for successful referrals, they tap into their satisfied customer base to spread the word about their services.

Why it works: Referral programs leverage word-of-mouth marketing at minimal cost, as satisfied customers can be excellent advocates. This personal recommendation encourages others to trust and try VIVAHR, leveraging the credibility of existing user experiences to attract new clients.

What's the pricing strategy for VIVAHR?

VIVAHR offers an affordable applicant tracking system with a monthly subscription starting at $129, focused on small to medium-sized businesses to enhance their job posting and cultural storytelling efforts.

What were the biggest lessons learned from building VIVAHR?

Embrace Core Values: Ryan learned the importance of aligning business ventures with personal core values after his Shark Tank experience. VIVAHR was built around his passion for supporting the family unit, which drives its mission and motivates him daily.
Cultural Storytelling in Hiring: VIVAHR's success is partly due to its focus on "culture marketing," helping companies tell their culture story right in the job postings. This approach distinguishes them from sterile job advertisements and attracts candidates emotionally aligned with the company's values.
Purpose Over Profit: Ryan emphasizes running a purpose-driven business rather than focusing solely on profits. This approach not only fuels his passion but also resonates with clients and maintains customer loyalty without relying on external capital.
Resilience Through Adversity: The challenges of Shark Tank and subsequent lawsuits taught Ryan resilience. It's crucial for founders to stay committed to their mission despite setbacks and negative external pressures.
Data-Driven Decision Making: VIVAHR utilizes financial metrics and employee scorecards to drive decisions. Ryan highlights the importance of leading indicators over cash flow to anticipate business health and guide team performances.

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