Learn about Ponte Lamb, an emerging company that corresponds to Spanish immigrants to jobs using WhatsApp

While working on the Master of Business Administration at Harvard Business College, Colombian immigrants Stephanie Mora and Lorenza Velez I noticed that most workers in the cafeteria were of Spanish origin. In the talks with them, a common issue continued to appear: how difficult people who have law moved to the United States from Spanish speaking countries to find their first jobs in the United States? The English speaking was not good or at all, which was not surprising, was the biggest challenge.

“But we look at the news and see that the United States is actually unprecedented Lack of employment“So we were like,” well, there is definitely a problem here, “Mora told Techcrunch in an interview.

Mora said that the Chamber’s colleagues have begun to conduct research and realized that many potential employers would use traditional job boards such as already, and it is “not for immigrants of Spanish origin.”

“These workers, who do not speak English and are not really good with technology, are used to finding jobs through friends,” she explained. Moreover, they are often confused through online applications and are surprised by the idea of ​​someone who is interviewing with them in English.

an idea Ponte work child. The duo – who had previously worked for two years in Colombian Fintech Addi -The company, which is based in Miami, established its headquarters in April 2023, during the final semester at Harvard University.

“Employers in hospitality, construction, retail trade and other blue collar industries are really struggling to fill the roles for the hour, while millions of migrants of Spanish origin are struggling to find stable jobs due to linguistic barriers and cultural barriers.”

“We know the whereabouts of the workers, talk in their language and communicate with them through their favorite channel, WhatsApp. So we built Ponte to fill this gap,” Velez added.

The founders claim that their employment platform precedes the match, matches, and workers at the legal clock, “faster and more efficient than traditional methods.”

Workers are appointed directly by employers instead of employment agencies, which they say not only provide employers, but give them a larger set of potential employees to choose from. On the other hand, “workers get incredible job opportunities that are difficult to reach in another way,” Velez added.

PONE only works with documented immigrants: every candidate is previously assembled to license legal work before reaching the employer.

Startup has built an Amnesty International recruiter at home, receiving candidates through WhatsApp interviews and interviews of vocal intelligence. At the present time, he focuses only on the hospitality industry but plans to expand in other sectors such as building or caring for the elderly in the future.

Rapid growth

Ponte has been steadily growing since Mora and Feliz officially launched the platform in November 2023, on more than 60,000 candidates and put nearly 800 workers in hospitality roles. The net annual revenue grew from $ 70,000 in February 2024 to $ 550,000 today. It is not yet profitable, but the husband says they are working with high contribution margins, so their model is more able to develop. So far, they say they burned less than a million dollars.

PCTE works today with 14 employers who use their platform to employ workers, such as omni Hotels & Resorts, as well as large hotel management companies such as Pyramid Global, Peachtree Hotel Group and Atropiam Hospitality.

She told Techcrunch exclusively, as a start -up company recently raised a 3 million -dollar seed tour led by Harlem Capital, with a value of $ 15 million. Better Tomorow Ventures, 81 Collection and Wischoff Ventures also participated in financing. Bonte previously raised another $ 1.5 million combined from Better Tomorow Ventures’ The Mint Accessator, NFX’s Fast Collection and 81 group.

The company’s revenue model depends on success. Ponte receives a monthly fee equivalent to 10 % of the worker’s monthly salary for up to 12 months. Since it is a high rotation industry, if the worker leaves during the first month, the hotel pays nothing.

Nowadays, when starting 15 full -time employees.

Because social media and employment channels in Ponte in Spanish, more than 95 % of its candidates are immigrants of Spanish origin, Mora pointed out. Besides using WhatsApp, it places ads on Facebook and Instagram.

“This focus has helped build deep confidence with society and design our approach to meeting their own needs,” she said. “But we are building tools rich in language and can be easily adapted to serve other immigrant communities, including Portuguese -speaking Brazilians, in the future.”

She added that the startup has supported the original English speakers who found Ponte, which was named after the word in the Portuguese, which means “bridge”.

In the future, the founders say Ponte’s goal is “to create a place to help immigrants of Spanish origin in the United States achieve their professional goals.”

“This is not only helping them find the entry level function. We also want to help them grow in these jobs,” said Velez. “We see one of the biggest opportunities in helping candidates learn the English language, because this is where they stumble between their location now and get an upgrade for their next job.”

Herry Pierre Jack, the administrative partner of Harlam Capital, said he was tracking the founders from the days of Ponte before the seeds.

“I liked Lorenza and Stephanie were former colleagues in Adi … then the colleagues of the HBS room together before starting Ponte.” “We have received very positive references from the customers whose products were. They managed to see a strong traction in a little time. It was clear that Stephanie and Lorenza could do a lot with very little.”

Pierre Jack also believes that Ponte’s focus on Spanish hospitality workers is “huge discrimination”.

In fact, of Spanish origin It represents nearly halfOr 47.6 %, from the workforce born abroad in 2023 in the United States, according to the US Department of Labor.

He said: “With talent markets, we always think about how to manage our founders alongside the offer.” “We have seen WhatsApp strength within this community, and the understanding of Stephanie and Lorenza to integrate the workflow of employment through WhatsApp was the best channel to find their workers.”