Farrelly-Caizzone & Associates had the opportunity to interview Federico Dubini, entrepreneur and co-founder of Yobs Technologies, on artificial intelligence applied to human resources.
The capability of each company to select, and build top talent will be the differentiating factor for companies to retain their employees and don’t drain with turnover.
Federico Dubini is a 25-year-old entrepreneur who has already created and sold a startup in Milan and one in Hong Kong. He is now the co-founder of Yobs Technologies, an HR Tech start-up in Los Angeles.
Yobs Technologies aims to help companies manage the potential, personality and well-being of their employees through behavioral science and technology.
In November 2020 Yobs Technologies was a finalist in the Startup Competition of the Web Marketing Festival and it has won several awards.
As every year, Forbes Italia has selected 100 under 30 – divided into 20 categories – chosen because, with their ideas, start-ups and skills, they are revolutionizing the way we work, care, invest, eat and buy. Federico Dubini is among the under 30 2021 of Forbes Italy in the category Enterprise Technology.
Federico Dubini, together with Raphael Danilo, recognized the shortcomings of current systems to provide skills improvement for the workforce and they created Yobs as a solution.
Read now our interview with Federico Dubini to discover more!
Questions For Federico Dubini
- Hi, Federico. You are a 25-year-old entrepreneur who has already founded and sold a startup in Milan and one in Hong Kong. And now you’re involved in a new project as co-founder at Yobs Technologies: what were the steps that led you to achieve these great results as an entrepreneur in such a short time?
- How did you come up with the idea of founding Yobs Technologies?
- How do you develop a successful relationship with possible investors?
- What makes Yobs Technology attractive to the eyes of the investors?
- What are the difficulties you had to face during your managerial career?
- How much is the American economic system investing in artificial intelligence? What is the current situation in Italy instead?
- What developments are waiting for us in the field of artificial intelligence and what will be the impact on today’s society, including in the ethical field?
- What advice can you give to those who want to set up a start-up?
- Hi, Federico. You are a 25-year-old entrepreneur who has already founded and sold a startup in Milan and one in Hong Kong. And now you’re involved in a new project as co-founder at Yobs Technologies: what were the steps that led you to achieve these great results as an entrepreneur in such a short time?
Good morning, I think that passion and ambition were key ingredients to build what we have built. Each business I have built started as a passion of mine. Music, Design, Tech.
Now investments. It was also important to understand who the experts were, attract them and be open and humble to learn from them.
2. How did you come up with the idea of founding Yobs Technologies?
Communication was changing, people, employees, and companies were meeting more and more on zoom and similar video platforms and less and less in person.
We were particularly excited by the fact that if you meet in person you don’t create data, if you meet on zoom, you do and this data is particularly rich information. This new source of data was ideal for us to support companies to face the challenges of the future of work.
A world always more remote where there are huge gaps between managers and teams, a world where positions are more and more dynamic, where 1B people need to be reskilled, and where thanks to the recent movement of Diversity and Inclusion each process inside the company needs to be explained and justifiable.
3. How do you develop a successful relationship with possible investors?
Showing competence, ability to learn, and ability to attract top talent. Constant updates, and capacity to share also informal moments with them.
You are what you do in the darkness and not under the spotlight so it’s key to show them ( as to all the other people you partner with) who you really are.
Yobs Technologies chose to bet on a unique sector for technology startups, human resources: where does this choice come from? Human resources are the first asset of each company. Yet the most outdated one. There was and there is a huge potential to build a hybrid model where technology and human knowledge can drive innovation.
How do talent management processes change in big companies using artificial intelligence? AI + Human expert is key to give companies a tool that makes workforce management processes explainable and scalable at the same time.
Companies like Google and Facebook used to invest Billions of Dollars to build offices or better campuses to attract, and ever more importantly retain top talent. Everything from work to pre-school for employees’ kids to sports used to take place on campus.
Today this is not relevant anymore. The capability of each company to select, and build top talent will be the differentiating factor for companies to retain their employees and don’t drain with turnover.
Also, positions are more dynamic than in the past, each 2 years new skill sets are required, the ability to re-skill people and train them will be key to success.
4. What makes Yobs Technology attractive to the eyes of the investors?
The scalability of being an API, the Human in the loop model, the ability to 10x the ACV in one year and to find 14 prospects with the same cac of 1. Team of experts in each vertical + world-class advisors.
5. What are the difficulties you had to face during your managerial career?
Sharing a different vision since I was very young. Lack of ability to fit in a box. Moving from one country to another without help, connections, setup.
6. How much is the American economic system investing in artificial intelligence? What is the current situation in Italy instead?
There is not such a thing as “investing in AI”. It doesn’t work like that. It is not like asking how much is country x investing in for example education. It is about having a fertile land, an ecosystem to develop technology, new companies, attract capital, and scale.
Italy is the 7th biggest economy in the world, but in terms of tech and the ability to create a fertile ecosystem is behind LATAM and Africa.
7. What developments are waiting for us in the field of artificial intelligence and what will be the impact on today’s society, including in the ethical field?
A hybrid between AI and human experts is the best method to develop AI models.
For more information click here.
8. What advice can you give to those who want to set up a start-up?
Start small, prove your model, raise and scale. Don’t worry about the first minor obstacles. There are one million ways to succeed.
Listen to the market, don’t develop a product only according to your point of view. Get data from the consumer and shape the product according to it.
We want to thank Federico Dubini for this interview: we had the opportunity to understand the importance of applying artificial intelligence in the field of human resources.
To stay updated on the activities of Federico Dubini, these are the main links:
If you are interested this interview, discover our interview with Jason Feifer, Editor-in-Chief of the iconic magazine in our blog!
