Scottish video interview platform that counts Prada and Samsung among clients gets ‘statement of faith’ global backing

The US founder of email security heavyweight Mimecast is backing the scaling up ambitions of a Scottish recruitment technology platform.

Investor Peter Bauer has committed £1.5 million to Glasgow-founded video interview specialist Willo, which he believes has “massive” growth potential in international markets. His investment forms part of £1.8m secured by the “rec-tech” platform in its latest funding round.

Willo, founded by Euan Cameron and Andrew Wood in 2018, is already used by public and private organisations in more than 180 countries to make hiring processes faster, more efficient, and more accessible, including Prada, Samsung and Hitachi. The latest investment brings the firm’s total funding to date to £4.2m and follows a raft of new client wins in the first half of 2024, including car maker Toyota and energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie.

Andrew Wood and Euan Cameron, co-founders, Willo. Picture by Elaine Livingstone

The fresh funding will be used to fund further research and development, particularly in candidate experience and the “employee journey”, as well as the evolution of the firm’s integrated verification and certification software. The money will also fund further expansion in the US, where the business has a New York base in a market already responsible for more than 60 per cent of Willo’s revenues.

The company had initially set out to raise £800,000 in the investment round, but secured more than double thanks to Bauer’s additional investment.

Co-founder and chief executive Cameron said: “This is a significant moment for the team at Willo, and also for the Scottish tech start-up scene. It’s no secret that the investment landscape has been challenging of late, so to receive this level of backing from investors like Peter Bauer is a massive statement of faith in what we have achieved and where we’re going.

“This funding enables even greater levels of operational focus. It puts us in a position where we don’t need to fundraise next year, and we can prioritise scale and growth in 2025. There is significant momentum behind the business, and we are on the cusp of being not just a Scottish tech success story, but a global one,” he added.

Interview: Euan Cameron, co-founder and CEO of Glasgow-based, recruitment-focused tech firm Willo