Step Up

What Step Up does

Step Up SRL is a privately held professional HR services company founded in 2005 by Lucia Cărămidariu and headquartered in Timișoara, Romania. The company operates as a regional HR boutique serving western Romania (primarily Timișoara and Arad) with a five-person core team plus access to an extended expert network of 30+ practitioners through its 2013 strategic partnership with HPDI (Human Performance Development International), which also gives it exclusive regional representation of international thought leader Jim Bagnola.

The company's product portfolio spans the full HR lifecycle. For employer clients it offers active recruitment and selection (targeting top, middle, and specialist management), mass recruitment, outplacement, organizational consultancy including Solution Focus Coaching and HR procedures development, customized training (delivered with HPDI), team building, and tiered monthly HR subscriptions (Esential at EUR 500/month and Advanced at EUR 1,000/month, 3-month minimum). For individual job seekers it offers three-tier career consultancy packages (START, GOING UP, PREMIUM) and a self-paced online HR fundamentals course ('Resursele umane la îndemâna ta') distributed via the Thinkific LMS at approximately USD 55. The Speak Up monthly networking event, launched January 2013, reaches approximately 600 participants per invitation round and functions as both a community-building channel and a top-of-funnel demand-generation motion.

The business is primarily a people-intensive professional services operation rather than a technology product. The underlying technology is limited to a WordPress-based marketing/transactional website and a Thinkific-hosted course, with no proprietary AI, data platform, or integration layer disclosed. Revenue is generated through a mix of project-based professional services fees, recurring monthly subscriptions, and one-time online course purchases. The customer base is concentrated in multinational enterprises operating in Romania, with long-tenured relationships including Bosch Communication Center (since 2008), Continental Automotive, Hella Romania, Frigoglass, Logitrade, TMD Friction, and others across automotive, manufacturing, logistics, IT, and services sectors. The company is privately held with no disclosed funding rounds, no parent organization, and no public revenue disclosure.

Name

Step Up

Legal name

Step Up SRL

Website

https://hr-step-up.ro

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Step Up is a privately held, founder-led HR services boutique based in Timișoara, Romania, founded in 2005, providing recruitment, consultancy, training, teambuilding, and HR subscriptions to enterprise clients across western Romania.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

HR Services

NAICS

Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Human Resources Consulting Services (541612), Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Human Capital & Workforce Transformation Consulting (BPAHACAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Talent Management & Leadership Advisory (Succession, Performance, Culture) (BPACAJAH), Recruiting Administration Outsourcing (Recruitment Support, Scheduling, Onboarding Ops) (BPACAKAG), General Permanent Placement (Multi-Industry) (BPACAFAA), Workforce Strategy & Strategic Workforce Planning (BPACAJAC)

Keywords

• HR services
• Recruitment services
• Career consultancy
• Team building
• HR training

Headquarters

HQ city

Timisoara

HQ country

Romania

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Recruitment and Selection Services: Active recruitment and selection, mass recruitment, and outplacement services billed to employer clients. Active recruitment targets Top Management, Middle Management, and Specialists. Outplacement supports laid-off employees.
2. HR Consultancy and Coaching: Solution Focus Coaching (10 face-to-face sessions) and development of HR procedures. Coaching includes career consultancy packages for individuals (START, GOING UP, PREMIUM variants).
3. HR Subscriptions: Monthly subscription tiers (Esential EUR 500/month, Advanced EUR 1000/month) offering bundled HR activities including recruitment management, coaching hours, consultancy, on-site specialist days, teambuilding, and workshop facilitation.
4. Training and Teambuilding: Customized training programs and team building activities delivered in partnership with HPDI, covering topics such as Customer Service, Change Management, Leader as a Coach, Intercultural Leadership, and Emotional Intelligence.
5. Online Courses: One-time purchase of online HR course via Thinkific platform. Course 'Resursele umane la îndemâna ta' priced at the Lei equivalent of approximately $55.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Step Up is a Romanian HR services firm that sells active recruitment and selection, mass recruitment, outplacement, organizational consultancy, customized training, team building, monthly HR subscription packages, career consultancy for individuals, and an online HR fundamentals course to companies and job seekers in western Romania. The portfolio covers the full employee lifecycle from hiring through development and team cohesion, with an exclusive local partnership with HPDI and Jim Bagnola for training delivery.

Product overview

Step Up is an HR services company offering a comprehensive portfolio of human resources solutions. The core offerings include Recruitment and Selection services (active recruitment, mass recruitment, outplacement), Career Consultancy (three tiers: START, GOING UP, PREMIUM), and Organizational Consultancy including Solution Focus Coaching. The company also provides Training services through customized programs, the experiential HeRo on the Job training, Time for Feedback course, and online HR courses. Additional offerings include Hire and Coach (recruitment with integration support), Team Building programs (partnered with HPDI), and HR Subscription packages. The Speak Up monthly networking event complements the service portfolio. Together, these services form a complete HR ecosystem covering the entire employee lifecycle from recruitment through development and team building.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Recruitment and Selection (Recrutare și selecție)

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 5000 participants in team building programs in one year
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• HPDI (Human Performance Development International)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013Since 2013, Step Up has partnered with HPDI from Bucharest to deliver training and team building programs in western Romania. HPDI provides modern, adaptive approaches to human resources development, with unique concepts tailored to each company. HPDI's team of experienced trainers and consultants supports Step Up's service delivery. Step Up represents HPDI and Jim Bagnola in western Romania.
• Jim BagnolacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJim Bagnola is an internationally recognized speaker, executive coach, and consultant specializing in leadership and organizational culture. He is represented in western Romania exclusively through the HPDI-Step Up partnership. Jim Bagnola has received top recognition from the National Speakers Association and was included in 'Top 30 professional leaders in the world' by International Leadership Guru. He is a consultant for NASA, NATO, and the US Secret Service.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Adecco Romania: Global staffing leader's Romanian operations providing permanent placement, temporary staffing, outsourcing and career transition services. Broad incumbent competing with Step Up for enterprise recruitment and outplacement mandates in western Romania.
• ManpowerGroup Romania: Global staffing leader's Romanian subsidiary offering permanent placement, temporary staffing, RPO and career services. Broad incumbent that overlaps Step Up's recruitment and HR services but operates at significantly larger scale and broader geography.
• Hays Romania: Global specialist recruiter with Romanian presence focused on mid-to-senior permanent placement across professional disciplines. Comparable to Step Up's recruitment of Middle Management and Specialists, but with broader international reach and brand.
• Randstad Romania: Global HR services firm's Romanian operations covering permanent and temporary placement, RPO, HR consulting and career services. Broad incumbent that competes with Step Up across recruitment and HR services for multinational employers in Romania.

Regional players

• Gi Group Romania: Italian-headquartered staffing group with Romanian operations delivering permanent placement, temporary staffing and HR consulting. Comparable to Step Up's recruitment and HR service lines, though more weighted toward temporary and volume staffing.

Direct peers

• ABC Human Capital: Romanian HR services provider focused on recruitment, assessment, and HR consulting. Comparable because it serves employers with permanent placement, talent assessment and HR advisory services similar to Step Up's recruitment and consultancy lines.
• Grafton Recruitment: International recruitment firm with Romanian operations delivering permanent and temporary placement across industries. Comparable because it competes with Step Up for the same employer clients and specialist/mid-management mandates in Romania.
• Catalyst Solutions: Romanian recruitment and HR outsourcing firm with permanent placement, RPO and HR subscription offerings. Directly comparable as a Romanian competitor combining recruitment with outsourced HR services similar to Step Up's subscription model.
• Lugera & Makler: One of the largest Romanian HR services firms offering permanent placement, temporary staffing, outsourcing and HR consulting. Directly comparable to Step Up across recruitment, HR outsourcing and consulting lines for the Romanian market.
• HPDI (Human Performance Development International): Bucharest-based HR training and consulting firm that has been Step Up's strategic partner since 2013 for training and team building services. Directly comparable because both deliver customized training, leadership development, and team building using the same Jim Bagnola methodologies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/stepup.jobs
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/step-up
• Xx.com/stepuphr

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Step Up