VC Voices: ‘HR leaders should look for platforms that can grow with their organizations,’ says Georgian’s Margaret Wu

AI has really entered the public consciousness since November 2022, when OpenAI’s ChatGPT burst on the scene.

But it has been top of mind for global VC firm Georgian since it was founded in 2008.

Rather than investing in one particular sector, Georgian’s investment thesis “focuses on companies leveraging and enabling AI”, according to Margaret Wu, Lead Investor at Georgian.

Despite being “generally sector agnostic”, HR and learning tech are two areas where Georgian – and Wu herself – have made numerous investments.

Given the historically manual nature of processes in these spaces, we see potential for AI to improve efficiency, which fits squarely in Georgian’s investment thesis around the application of AI,” adds Wu.

Georgian’s standout HR and learning tech portfolio companies are global hiring company Oyster, all-in-one productivity platform ClickUp and Strivr, a VR training platform.

Margaret Wu, Lead Investor, Georgian.

UNLEASH is delighted to welcome Wu as our May ‘VC Voice’. She is the tenth interview in this Editorial series, and follows in the footsteps of 776’s Katelin Holloway, Thomas Otter of Acadian Ventures and Lucy O’Brien from Eight Roads.

Check out Wu’s exclusive insights into the world of HR tech, and why HR leaders and buyers need to think about how tools and tech can continue to support their businesses as they grow in the future.

Allie Nawrat:  How did you get into investing? What is the one piece of advice you would give to your younger self?

Margaret Wu: As with most, my journey into the world of venture capital was somewhat serendipitous.

I had a number of experiences as a consultant and operator in software companies and was exposed to entrepreneurial financing while pursuing my MBA.

The investment side of startups piqued my interest because of the continuous learning that takes place when evaluating new innovations.

The advice I would give to my younger self — and continue to give to young people today — is to think about your career for the long term while staying open to new job opportunities that come your way.

Each experience builds on the last and you don’t have to have a master plan.

AN: Name someone who inspires you – and why?

MW: It’s too hard for me to name just one person!

I’m generally inspired by people who are passionate about their craft – whether that be for work or play – and are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.

On the job that means I’m regularly inspired by mission-oriented founders like Tony Jamous at Oyster looking to create a more equal world by making it possible for companies everywhere to hire people anywhere.

At home, that can mean I’m inspired by reality competition shows from cooking to glass blowing – seeing regular people hone specific and amazing skill sets to take creativity to the next level.

AN: What gets you up in the morning, and what keeps you up at night?

MW: Well literally my morning HIIT workouts are usually what I get up for, but more broadly, the people that I work with at Georgian and the companies in which we have invested are what motivates me each day.

By contrast, the same people and companies can keep me up at night when thinking through key challenges.

AN: In your experience, what makes a great founder or CEO?

MW: Great founders and CEOs can effectively communicate their vision for the company and demonstrate that they’re capable of leading a growing organization through fast-paced change and adapt quickly to produce positive business results.

When CEOs move quickly to identify and act on problems and opportunities, efficient iteration tends to lead to success.

And when they are able to remain self-aware, surround themselves with people that have complementary skill sets and adapt to advice from those around them, great things can happen.

That can be difficult to achieve.

AN: How can a HR tech company really stand out in the overcrowded HR and future of work space?

MW: HR tech has some crowded spaces with formidable incumbents and sometimes there are predictable replacement cycles.

At Georgian, we’re interested in companies that have a large market to grow into, particularly those areas that have not yet been tech enabled or seen disruptive automation.

And we look for companies that have a differentiated wedge that gives them defensibility to navigate through the crowded market and grow their presence across the HR stack.

AN: Our audience, HR leaders, are the key customers of HR tech. What should they look out for when buying tech, and what should they avoid?

MW: A common pitfall that I hear about is lack of scalability.

I think that HR leaders should look for platforms that can grow with their organizations – that means looking for solutions that have consolidated multiple functionalities.

They might also want to pay attention to upcoming product roadmap items to understand how forward-thinking vendors are.

In my view, it’s also important to look out for security posturing in the product and detailed onboarding plans early for a smooth implementation.

AN: AI is top of mind for you and Georgian; what are the most exciting innovations on the horizon for HR tech?

MW: Generative AI may deliver outsized productivity gains for highly repetitive or difficult manual tasks.

Two areas where I’m seeing the use of generative AI shape HR tech are people analytics and recruiting; technology enables the use of disparate data to aid HR management decisions for hiring, performance and retention.