Announcement of New 'Recboo for Seed Startups' Plan for Early-Stage Startups

KnockLearn Inc. (Ota-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Ei Fukumoto) has launched a new recruitment support plan, 'Recboo for Seed Startups,' within its 'Recboo' service, which supports mid-career hiring for startups.

'Recboo for Seed Startups' is a specialized package designed for startups without dedicated HR personnel. It provides short-term support ranging from recruitment problem diagnosis to hiring strategy design, initial job posting/scout implementation, and the launch of referral programs.

Key Challenges Addressed:

1. Absence of dedicated HR staff.

2. Difficulty in prioritizing recruitment while juggling management and business operations.

3. Inability to afford the cost of a full-time HR employee (300,000–400,000 JPY/month).

Background of the New Plan:

Most startups in the seed to pre-Series A stage lack dedicated HR staff, with management handling recruitment in addition to their core duties. This structure, where management handles media selection, requirement definition, scout outreach, and interviews alongside business development, significantly slows down decision-making during the critical 'business startup' period immediately following funding.

Meanwhile, the cost of hiring a full-time HR professional is burdensome, and reliance on recruiting agencies often leads to passive hiring, preventing the 'proactive recruitment' needed to align with fundraising rounds.

Recboo has earned the trust of 70 venture capital firms and has been supporting startups with hiring, primarily from Series A onwards. Following numerous requests from partner VCs to support companies at even earlier stages, the company decided to launch 'Recboo for Seed Startups' exclusively for seed to pre-Series A stage portfolio companies.

About the New Plan:

'Recboo for Seed Startups' takes over the processes where early-stage startups often get stuck, promoting the 'first step' in hiring.

Main Support Content:

・Recruitment diagnosis / Hiring plan and KPI design

・Media and channel selection

・Job requirement definition and job description creation

・Scout message drafting and outreach

・Interview scheduling and interview agency

・Referral hiring support, etc.

This allows management to focus resources on their core business while establishing the foundation for hiring as quickly as possible.

New Pricing Plan Highlights:

1. Special price for partner VC portfolio companies: 100,000 JPY/month (No initial fee / No success fee).
The price is significantly lower than standard plans, making it easy to adopt at the seed/pre-Series A stage. For less than the cost of a full-time HR employee (300,000–500,000 JPY/month), a professional team handles the entire recruitment launch. Being fixed-fee, there are no additional costs based on the number of hires.

2. Design-led support focused on 'creating a forward-moving hiring status' rather than just agency work.
Rather than just performing tasks like bulk scouting or scheduling, resources are concentrated on the areas where seed-stage management struggles most: hiring design, requirement definition, and initial implementation. Since the hiring mechanism is left as know-how, a reproducible system remains within the company even after the contract ends.

3. Proactive application of Series A support know-how to the seed stage.
The company has supported a cumulative 40 funded startups, with approximately 70% achieving an up-round, IPO, M&A, or profitability after support. A team that understands the typical stumbling blocks of the next round builds the hiring foundation from the seed stage using a 'reverse-calculating' approach.

Recommended for:

・Seed to pre-Series A startups without dedicated HR where management handles hiring.

・Funded startups looking to accelerate the hiring of 1–2 key personnel for the next round.

・Companies stuck at the initial stage of hiring and needing a roadmap.

・Companies wanting to move away from reliance on agencies toward 'proactive' direct recruiting.

・Companies wanting to internalize recruitment know-how rather than outsourcing.

・Companies funded by Recboo's partner VCs.

About Recboo:

'Recboo' is a mid-career recruitment support service provided by KnockLearn Inc. As a subsidiary of the TSE Prime-listed AirTrip Group, it focuses on supporting high-layer hiring for startups, including CxOs and AI engineers.