Talent Venture Group: Meet our New Brand
Here’s what to anticipate as we launch a refreshed TVG brand, a new website, and welcome new companies to the HR & Talent Tech ecosystem
Having guided the journey of numerous companies, Talent Venture Group is an expert on how important it is to have a clear, compelling brand. We decided it was time to refresh our own brand to reinforce the message centered around our commitment to talent-focused companies. To achieve this refresh, we put ourselves through some of our own processes and it turns out that they work quite well! Here’s what to anticipate from the newly refreshed TVG brand.
Who we are
Our story at Talent Venture Group (TVG) began long before we launched in 2018. TVG’s roots in harnessing talent date back to the 1980s when our founder, Lars-Henrik Friis Molin formed a publication on student employment research while studying at the Stockholm School of Economics. What began as a series of talent-focused magazines became Universum, a leading consulting firm for employer branding acquired by the Axel Springer media family for half a billion SEK in 2018.
Today, out of the multitudes of HR and Talent Tech companies around the world, our companies stand out because they have our strength behind them for support and experience in the market. We position our group with synergy and collaboration to form a toolbox of businesses that complement each company’s value proposition. Together, we are a powerhouse of HR and Talent Tech deployed by companies that are putting talent first through technology.
What we do
Most people have written a CV or resume for the purpose of finding employment, not giving much thought to the fact that they will spend one-third of their life working. Conversely, employers spend considerable time and money to find candidates that fit in the company culture and make a positive contribution they can count on for many years. TVG’s purpose in developing and investing in HR and Talent Tech-related companies is driven by matching talent with the right opportunity for long-term, mutually beneficial relationships.
How we do it
Over 30-years of talent-focused ventures have positioned TVG as the only early-stake investor and venture creator at the helm of emerging technologies for an evolving Talent Tech ecosystem. Our bottom line remains the same: to supercharge talent above all. Why? Because we know a people-first approach yields happy teams and happy returns. To date, TVG has invested in over 20 HR and Talent Tech-focused founding teams and conducted six successful exits, and is seeking future visionaries to continue to grow our family. In fact, TVG strongly believes that, in the post-COVID era of the workplace, now is the time to double-down in HR and Talent Tech.
We are actively seeking bold, dedicated entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs to provide an equity stake along with experienced advice and mentorship, assets, SWAT teams, time, and energy to get up and running as a viable, growing business. TVG strategically develops internal concepts while seeking structured investments and startups focused on HR and Talent Tech-related innovation.
HR and Talent Tech
Why do we believe that HR and Talent Tech is prime for investment? The pandemic forced the world to pick up its pace to adopt a remote work strategy, then immediately shift to a hybrid working model. The shortage of skilled talent in comparison to the number of openings is making headlines around the world. In fact, according to Glassdoor, 76% of companies say that attracting top talent is their greatest challenge.
On the other side of the coin, almost half of all job candidates rate their job search experience poor, with 45% never hearing back from potential employers. To further compound the complicated employer-employee relationship, megatrends such as distributed teams and the gig economy have come along to further complicate every aspect of talent management.
Future forward
As we begin to witness a global recovery and looking toward the future, one thing is clear; companies will increase their reliance on strong, effective HR and Talent Technologies to onboard, maintain, and retain employee relationships. According to one report, the global HR and Talent Tech market will reach $43.29 billion by 2028, a CAGR of 12.2%.
With more companies embracing remote and hybrid work, virtual hiring will need support with speed and ease of execution. This is exactly where TVG has positioned its brand and the segment of the market where we invest in today’s most future-forward companies. It also played a role when we refreshed the TVG brand.
Brand journey
It may sound kind of funny, but we recently ran a brand workshop on ourselves instead of one of our newly acquired companies. The exercise gave us a sense of exhilaration as it uncovered our mission, personality, and a sense of our value in the market. It was especially fascinating to get everyone’s point of view on how they imagined TVG and seeing all the synergies between us and our companies. We also canvassed the founders of our portfolio companies to learn their perception of TVG and what benefits them most from working with our team.
What became clear was how TVG has created a talent-focused ecosystem that welcomes innovative companies, amazing talent, and like-minded investors. At TVG, we have intimate knowledge of the industry and previous successes in earmarking the highest potential prospects. Our knowledge of the market is one of the top benefits our companies gain from our team.
We have a competitive advantage for identifying and supporting early-stage companies in HR tech and Talent Tech. So far, we have invested in over 20 founding teams including TalentInc, Nova, NyTeknik, Wintrgarden, UBI Global, and more. And the year is young! Soon, we will be able to share news of an exciting partial exit and two new investments, HYRE and Preppio!
Vision statement
Every company needs to have a purpose, an inspirational ideal about the future of the group. The vision statement should provide direction and let internal and external stakeholders know what the group believes itself to be now and in the future. Vision statements are never about products or services, which would set limits on the company. Instead, a vision statement should paint a picture of what the future could be if one interacts with the company.
Of course, refreshing our vision statement went along with refreshing our brand, so it was out with the old and in with a fresh, new statement. In our own unique way, TVG has three audiences to consider when we communicate our vision; investment partners, founders and entrepreneurs that we might invest in, and talent. Writing a company vision statement with your current and future talent in mind communicates who you are and who you want to be with their help.
So we asked ourselves, what should our current and future employees, investors, and founders experience when they interact with us? And that led us to construct this vision:
We help founders create companies that supercharge talent through the next generation of HR and Talent Technology. With our specialization and deep insights into the full spectrum of employment and career progressions — from recruitment to engagement and performance — we raise the bar for our founders to build the future of HR with tangible, sustainable impact.
Logo refresh
Even the TVG logo got a refresh, and there’s a story behind it! The name Talent Venture Group gets turned into an acronym most of the time, we know that. So we embraced it by stacking each word vertically in the logo to create a natural acronym, TVG.
You might also notice that the word “Talent” is in bold, which is on purpose. We wanted a talent-first approach to our name and this is a subtle way to plant that message. The Aegean-blue bracket is the finishing, graphic touch to show the cohesiveness of our brand. Pretty cool, right? And we can use the new logo horizontally, too:
Website re-build
An obvious next step in our brand refresh journey was to re-design and re-build our website. The new look, which relies heavily on our revamped brand strategy, is easy and fast to navigate as well as providing ample opportunity to contact us. We really focused and took time on the design, implementing the right touches to invoke the new brand and leaving room for expanded features. We hope you like the new look of the Talent Venture Group website!
Welcome
Welcome to the refreshed Talent Venture Group brand! We hope you enjoyed this journey through our process of defining ourselves and our market space as we constructed our brand message for today and the future. Right now, the world is experiencing a digital revolution for HR and Talent Tech. What was once a people-centric profession is more and more becoming injected with tech and machine learning.
The shift in employment trends including the rise of the gig economy, the new normal for remote recruitment and onboarding, the wave of millennials entering the workforce, and the significance of upskilling and continuous professional learning have culminated at this moment in time. Talent Venture Group is ready for the ride. Care to join us?
Founders: TVG invests in and builds innovative HR & Talent Tech companies that encourage more candidates to find the right opportunities for their needs, and drive enriching relationships for both the employer and the employee.
Investors: These early and growth stage start-ups have the potential to command a global audience and become industry heavyweights in their niche. When they partner with TVG, they gain a sector-focused partner that provides direct, practical support and infrastructure to support their scaling success.
Talent: We’re always recruiting for the right fit. If you think you’re perfect for TVG and our portfolio companies, get discovered in our Talent Pool. Positions range from internships to senior roles working alongside the most amazing team on the planet.
If our dedication and mission spoke to you, it’s time to join Talent Venture Group! Get in touch with us today and let’s explore the global future of HR and Talent Tech together.
We’d love for you to visit our new website here: Talent Venture Group
