Neurolytics has made a name for itself by harnessing the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to match candidates with the right corporate culture and environment. In an in-depth interview, Belén Hein elaborates on the company’s use of predictive models based on video analysis, a stark contrast to the language models used by other AI technologies like OpenAI. Watch the video or listen to the podcast version of the interview.
Finding the right environment
Hein, who recently celebrated the fifth anniversary of Neurolytics, was asked about the company’s core purpose, Belén succinctly defined Neurolytics‘ mission. “We test candidates to see how they’re going to fit by culture and environment”, she said. “We focus on finding the right environment for individuals.”
“We test candidates to see how they’re going to fit by culture and environment.”
Hein reflected on the initial challenges faced by Neurolytics and the shift from skepticism to widespread acceptance. “When we started five years ago, it was like, ‘What?’ And now it’s like, ‘Of course, we’ve got to work with it. So our clients use it as a pre-selection. And it’s something that a candidate can do from home. It’s essentially a five minute online test, of which we record some video while they watch video of the company and they also us answer some questions about the work preferences. Then we give some feedback and a report that they can discuss with the recruiter.”
Measuring engagement.
The main focus of it all? “We measure engagement. It gives an indication of how interested candidates are in connecting to the story of the work they see. So, how engaged are they with the work or industry? Or are they really interested in connecting to the story of the work they see? Based on that score, they can assess whether there’s a risk of early leavers, for example. You should really go into a conversation with the candidate: Hey, is this really for you?”
“It’s a very different kind of technology than OpenAI, for example. That’s based on language and different kind of models. We’re looking more at predictive models of facial changes on video.”
Neurolytics is a product of independent origins, though collaborations with universities have enriched their scientific foundation. “We started independently and collaborated with Utrecht University. We are coming from a kind of scientific side, but it’s all our own IP. It’s a very different kind of technology than OpenAI, for example. That’s based on language and different kind of models. We’re looking more at predictive models of facial changes on video.”
‘Great validation’
Neurolytics recently raised a €500K investment, led by the Utrecht Region Regional Development Agency (ROM Utrecht Region), VIE Tech Capital, Family Fund BarUni and informals. “We’re investing in increasing our commercial capabilities, hiring new people, and ensuring we have the right features for our clients. Our tech team is mixed because we really want to have the best engineers. Sometimes it’s a difficult market here, so we’re lucky to have people abroad as well.”
“For us as a really nerdy team, focused on a product, getting the recognition from outside and having people say, ‘Keep working on this,’ is great validation.”
As Neurolytics continues to evolve, Belén highlighted the importance of the company’s recognition in the media. In 2021, it won the prestigious MT/Sprout start-up of the year award. “For us as a really nerdy team, focused on a product, getting the recognition from outside and having people say, ‘Keep working on this,’ is great validation.”
More candidate friendly
As far as the future, Hein is not shy to look ahead. “We’re working on several features for our clients. For example, better integrations, improving the notifications that come out of our system. A lot of different, smaller specific features that help in the process to make everything go subtle. Earlier this year we also made a huge change on our reports. That was a big delivery we did to make it even more candidate friendly.
