Harba Solutions
Talent consultants to the scientific industry
25+
headcount
300+
active contractors
CEO
Wade Franchville
Business Location: Indianapolis, Boston and Tampa
Client's Location: US - Nationwide
Market: Life Sciences
Investment Type: Start-up
Wade Franchville founded Harba Solutions in 2021 after 12 years in staffing, having built and managed teams while billing for leading names in scientific recruitment. In just two full years of trading and since partnering with Tempting Ventures, Harba has reached over 25 in headcount and recorded $3.7M NFI in 2023.
Founding Harba
Prior to founding Harba, Wade knew being a business owner was his ambition and that building recruitment teams was his strength. The red tape surrounding working at a large staffing firm brought challenges, yet he knew he could implement new ideas at his own firm. Wade took the plunge, and after a year or so of seeing success, in his own words, he knew his passion and skills surrounding recruitment, team building, and market analysis needed support.
Through conversations with Tempting Talent (Tempting Ventures' Rec-2-Rec Arm), who initially sought to work with Wade as a client, the Tempting Talent team saw an opportunity to introduce Wade to Tempting Ventures.
"I was initially surprised. I hadn't thought about speaking with an investor, and certainly not one who was based in an entirely different country, but it wouldn't hurt to have a conversation. From that initial call with Ryan, everything just clicked. We connected very quickly, sharing a lot of the same views on culture, building teams, managing teams, setting expectations, philosophies on building teams." - Wade Franchville
Headcount:
25+
NFI in 2023:
$3,700,000
Active Contractors
300+
Building a Foundation
Ryan and Wade started making calls, and both understood the opportunity ahead. They established where Wade would need the most support and set to work building a business plan. In conjunction with this, Wade was introduced to the advisory board and the Tempting Ventures team.
When it was time to get to work, equipment, a CRM system, a Payroll system, and Timesheet tracking were set up as a priority:
"It was like a well-oiled machine. The Tempting Ventures team had us up and running within 2 weeks."
While infrastructure had been established, processes were put in place across operations, finance, and marketing, all with the aim of giving Harba the best chance of success in hiring new starters, attracting candidates, and working with new clients. The entire plan focussed on laying a foundation for a business that could scale organically and become a talent consultancy with longevity.
The Journey So Far
Since Tempting Ventures and Harba Solutions joined forces, the Harba team has grown to 25 billers and over 300 active contractors working for various leading names in the scientific field. Harba has doubled revenue year on year and is on pace to do it again in 2024. The rapid growth saw Harba move to larger offices twice in Indianapolis and open offices in Boston and Tampa.
"Ryan and Adam are very good at what they do. Negotiations, access to capital, insurance, planning ahead and making decisions for the future, establishing how to create value, industry connections… the list goes on. If someone said here's a blank check to start a business or here's Tempting Ventures capital and support, I'd go with Tempting Ventures every time."
The platform is now in place for Harba to continue to reap the rewards of its hard work with a focus on continuing to scale. Wade notes his most significant achievements include maintaining a solid foundation built to last for the future and the strong values his company has worked by since its founding.
The future looks bright, and Wade now has an eye on investing, utilizing his knowledge, Tempting Ventures support, and the Harba team to support other scientific talent consultancies.