What Headstart does

Headstart (Headstart App Limited) is a UK-based SaaS company founded in 2016 that builds diversity-focused applicant matching and screening software for enterprise early-talent and campus recruiting teams. The company serves HR and talent acquisition functions at organizations with roughly 1,000 or more employees, primarily targeting the graduate, apprentice, and campus hiring pipeline where DEI outcomes are most visible to internal and external stakeholders.

The technical core is a machine learning matching engine that evaluates candidates on hard and soft skills alongside structured life-journey signals while deliberately stripping protected attributes (gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age) from ranking decisions. Product modules include FairScreen (bias-controlled screening layer that operates alongside the customer's existing ATS), Match Score (candidate-to-role fit scoring), Rejection and Withdrawal Insights (pipeline analytics surfacing where diverse candidates drop out of the funnel), and Headstart ATS (optional end-to-end ATS replacement). Distribution includes proprietary research outputs such as "Diversity & The Dream," "UK Grad Recruiting," and "Racial Bias in ATS Tech," which double as brand and category-authority assets.

Headstart generates revenue through tiered annual subscriptions mapped to customer headcount: Business at £25k/$30k (1,000–5,000 employees), Enterprise at £45k/$60k (5,000–10,000), and Enterprise XL at £65k/$90k (10,000+), with entry via £10k/$15k pilot programs that credit toward a full annual contract. The go-to-market is enterprise field sales with named customers including Accenture, Balfour Beatty, and Smiths Group. The leadership team includes CEO Gareth Jones, co-founders Jeremy Hindle and Nicholas Shekerdemian (Executive Chairman), and CRO Tom Price-Daniel. Headstart has raised approximately $16.65 million across 2016–2019 from investors including FoundersX Ventures, Founders Factory, Plug and Play, Knightsgate Ventures, Y Combinator, Bossa Invest, Hack VC, L Marks, and Tenaya Capital.

Name

Headstart

Legal name

Headstart App Limited

Website

https://headstart.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Headstart (Headstart App Limited) is a UK-based SaaS company that provides diversity-focused machine learning recruiting software — bias-controlled screening, candidate-role matching, and pipeline analytics — for enterprise early-talent and campus hiring teams at organizations with 1,000 or more employees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Diversity Recruiting Software

NAICS

Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Talent Acquisition (Recruiting) & Applicant Tracking (ATS) (BPACAPAD)

Keywords

• Diversity recruiting software
• Candidate screening platform
• Early talent recruitment
• Bias-free hiring
• Enterprise recruiting software

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Subscription-based SaaS (FairScreen): Annual subscription model with tiered pricing based on company size (number of employees) or deployed country/market. Prices are per business unit or deployed country/market. Includes personalized onboarding, dedicated Customer Success Manager, and technical support with every plan.
2. Pilot Programs: Short-term evaluation programs priced from £10,000 ($15,000) allowing companies to evaluate FairScreen thoroughly with full use of the platform in one region for a limited time. Cost of pilot is credited toward contract if customer continues with Headstart.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Headstart sells a diversity-driven applicant matching and management SaaS platform for enterprise early-talent and campus recruiting teams. Its core product, FairScreen, uses machine learning to screen, rank, and match candidates based on skills and potential rather than gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or age, while integrating with customers' existing ATS systems. The platform also offers an optional full applicant tracking system (Headstart ATS) for end-to-end candidate management from apply to hire.

Product overview

Headstart is a unified recruiting platform for early talent teams consisting of the core Headstart platform with FairScreen as the primary screening module and Match Score as the candidate evaluation engine. FairScreen works alongside existing ATS systems for bias-free candidate screening, while Headstart ATS is available as an optional full applicant tracking system for end-to-end candidate management from apply to hire. The platform uses machine learning to transform recruiting processes, enabling clients to find high-potential employees regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or age.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FairScreen: The company's core candidate screening and diversity matching product that works alongside existing ATS systems to screen candidates instantly and increase diversity in hiring.

Products and services

• Headstart Platform A diversity-driven applicant matching and management SaaS platform for early-talent and campus recruiting teams. It screens candidates, increases diversity hiring, and automates recruitment workflows using machine learning, and is sold to enterprise organizations with 1,000+ employees.
• FairScreen Headstart's bias-free candidate screening technology that evaluates all candidates equally regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or age. Works alongside existing ATS systems to screen thousands of candidates instantly and rank candidates based on their unique fit for each role; sold as a core, named commercial offering to enterprise recruiting teams.
• Headstart ATS Full applicant tracking system add-on to FairScreen that manages candidates from apply to hire, available for clients who want to use the complete Headstart system for end-to-end candidate management rather than only screening alongside their existing ATS.

Quantifiable outcome

• 55% reduction in cost-per-hire
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature4 records

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• PredictiveHire: PredictiveHire is an AI hiring assistant focused on structured, bias-reduced candidate assessment for high-volume enterprise hiring. Comparable in ML-based candidate scoring and DEI-focused value proposition, though stronger in volume hiring rather than early talent.
• HireVue: HireVue offers AI-driven video interview and assessment tools used by enterprise recruiting teams for structured, automated candidate evaluation. Direct peer in ML-powered enterprise hiring assessment, though focused more on interviewing than resume screening.
• Pymetrics (Harver): Pymetrics (now part of Harver) provides AI-based behavioral assessments and candidate matching for fairer hiring. Comparable to Headstart in using AI/ML to assess candidates and surface non-traditional talent, though typically later-stage screening.
• Textio: Textio provides augmented writing tools that optimize job listings for inclusivity and unbiased language, directly addressing DEI in recruitment workflows. Comparable to Headstart in mission-driven DEI outcomes for talent acquisition.
• Applied (Applied Platform): Applied is a UK-based blind recruitment platform focused on diversity and skills-based hiring, offering structured, bias-reducing application processes for early talent and enterprise. Direct competitor to Headstart on the bias-free screening and DEI outcomes thesis.

Broad incumbents

• iCIMS: iCIMS is an enterprise Talent Cloud platform offering ATS, candidate matching, CRM, and DEI/sourcing analytics. Comparable as a broad incumbent in the enterprise recruiting stack where Headstart's FairScreen sits as a complementary layer.
• Workday (Talent & Recruiting): Workday is a major enterprise HCM and recruiting platform increasingly adding AI-driven candidate matching, bias-mitigation, and DEI analytics. Comparable as the incumbent ATS that Headstart integrates alongside, with growing native overlap in fair-hiring capabilities.
• Beamery: Beamery is an enterprise talent lifecycle platform combining CRM, sourcing, and AI-driven matching, including DEI and skills-based hiring modules. Comparable to Headstart in ML-driven candidate matching at enterprise scale, but as a broader platform incumbent.
• Eightfold AI: Eightfold AI is a broad talent intelligence platform using deep learning for recruiting, workforce planning, and DEI analytics. Comparable as an AI-native enterprise HR Tech incumbent pursuing similar fairness and skills-based hiring outcomes across a wider portfolio.

Emerging players

• Gapjumpers: Gapjumpers is a blind hiring platform that uses skills-based challenges to surface diverse candidates. Comparable to Headstart in the bias-reducing, skills-over-pedigree thesis, though focused more on blind audition workflows than AI screening.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Headstart_io

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds7 records

Investors10 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Headstart