Columbia Immigration While Working for an MBA at Harvard Business School Stephanie Murra and Lorenza Vélez Noting that most of the workers in the cafeteria are Hispanic. In their conversation with them, a common theme continues to emerge: how difficult it is for people who legally move from Spanish-speaking countries to the United States to find their first job in the United States. It is no surprise that speaking English is the biggest challenge.
“But then we were looking at the news and seeing that the United States was actually facing unprecedented Labor shortageespecially for positions like this that usually see low-skilled immigrant workers,” Murra said in accepting TechCrunch: “So we’re like, ‘Well, there’s definitely a problem here. ‘”
Roommates started doing research and realized that many potential employers would use traditional working committees like indeed, which is “not suitable for Hispanic immigrants.”
“These workers, many of them who don’t speak English and are not very good at technology, are used to finding jobs through friends,” she explained. Additionally, they are often confused by online applications and are frightened by someone interviewing them in English.
This idea Ponte Labour born. Two – Previously worked in Colombia FinTech for two years addi – The Miami company was founded in April 2023 in the last semester of Harvard University.
“Employers in hospitality, construction, retail and other blue-collar industries really have a hard time filling hourly positions, while millions of human-authorized Hispanic immigrants have struggled to find stable jobs due to language and cultural barriers,” Vélez said.
Vélez added: “We know where to find workers, speak their language and communicate with them through their preferred channel WhatsApp. So we set up Ponte to bridge that gap.”
The founders claim that their recruitment platform competes in advance, competitions and legally authorized hourly workers are “faster and more effective than traditional methods.”
Workers are hired directly by employers rather than through staffing agencies, and they say this will not only save employers money, but also provide them with more potential employees to choose from. On the other hand, “workers get incredible job opportunities that are otherwise difficult to obtain,” Vélez added.
Ponte works only with recorded immigrants: Each candidate is authorized for legal work in advance before contacting the employer.
The startup has established an in-house AI recruiter that is reviewed through WhatsApp and voice-based AI interviews. Currently, it is focusing only on the hospitality industry, but plans to expand to other sectors in the future, such as construction or aged care.
Rapid growth
Since Murra and Vélez officially launched the platform in November 2023, Ponte has been growing steadily, pursuing more than 60,000 candidates and hiring nearly 800 workers in hospitality roles. Its annual net income has grown from $70,000 in February 2024 to $550,000 today. This is not profitable, but the two said they operate at high contribution margins, so their model is more scalable. So far, they say they burned less than $1 million.
Today, Ponte is working with 14 employers to use its platform to hire workers, such as Omni Hotels & Resorts, as well as large hotel management companies such as Pyramid Global, Peachtree Hotel Group and Atrium Hospitality.
The startup recently raised a $3 million seed round led by Harlem Capital, which is valued at $15 million. Better tomorrow’s joint venture, 81 Collection and Wischoff Ventures also participated in the financing. Ponte previously raised another $1.5 million in total, from Better Tomorrow Ventures’ The Mint Accelerator, NFX’s fast competition and 81 Collection.
The company’s revenue model is based on success. Ponte charges a monthly fee of 10% of workers per month, up to 12 months. Because this is a high flow, if the workers leave within the first month, the hotel will pay nothing.
Currently, the startup has 15 full-time employees.
Mura noted that because Ponte’s social media and recruitment channels are Spanish, more than 95% of candidates are Hispanic immigrants. In addition to using WhatsApp, it also places ads on Facebook and Instagram.
“This focus has helped us build a deep trust in our community and tailor our approach to their specific needs,” she said. “However, we are building tools that are inadequate in languages and can easily adapt to other immigrant communities, including Brazilians who speak Portuguese.”
And, she added, the startup even supports people who speak English as English, who found Ponte, named after the Portuguese “bridge”.
Looking ahead, the founder said Ponte’s goal is to “create a Hispanic immigrant in the United States to achieve their career goals.”
“So, it’s not only helping them find entry-level jobs. We also want to help them grow in these jobs,” Vélez said. “We see one of the biggest opportunities to help candidates learn English because that’s where they are now and where they’re now and where they’re going to be in their next job.”
Henri Pierre-Jacques, managing partner at Harlem Capital, said he has been following the founder of Ponte’s seed day before.
“I like Lorenza and Stephanie who were former colleagues at Addi…and then roommates at HBS before starting Ponte,” he told TechCrunch. “We received very positive references from customers who praised the product. They have seen a strong attraction in very few times. It’s clear that Stephanie and Lorenza can hardly do a lot.”
Pierre-Jacques also believes that Ponte’s focus on Hispanic hospitality workers is “a huge differentiator.”
Indeed, Hispanic Nearly halfAccording to the U.S. Department of Labor, 47.6% of the foreign-born workforce in 2023.
“Through the talent market, we’ve been thinking about how our founders manage the supply side,” he said. “We’ve seen the power of WhatsApp in this community, and Stephanie and Lorenza understand that integrating the recruitment workflow through WhatsApp is the best channel to find their workers.”
