Salt Lake City—Headcount can comprise up to 70% of a company’s total operating expense. For a cost of that magnitude, you would expect organizations big and small to have sophisticated tools and resources to accurately manage and forecast their greatest asset – people. 

Despite the litany of financial planning and analysis (FP&A) software solutions available, when it comes to headcount forecasting, finance teams still rely on spreadsheets to reconcile data from disparate sources. At best, these reconciliations are semi-informed projections. At worst, they are error-prone guesses. Furthermore, finance is often viewed as a service organization supporting other functions and can carry the stigma of an impediment to growing teams. While on the finance teams at Nike and Google Nest, Vrinda and I experienced these challenges first-hand. We believe, however, that with the right tools, finance can play a leading role in facilitating the growth and trajectory of talent acquisition.  

This is where Parallel comes in. While driving financial planning at Divvy, Parallel Founder and CEO Renato Villanueva was provided with a budget to buy a headcount forecasting solution. Like us, he couldn’t find one. Unlike us, he decided to go ahead and build it. Renato’s deep insight into the challenges facing finance leaders and Co-Founder and CTO Tyler Slater’s ability to quickly translate these insights into product creates a formidable team. The hustle and grit of this founding team and their elegant solution has created a robust, growing pipeline of FP&A leaders clamoring for their product. 

We’re delighted to lead Parallel’s Pre-Seed round alongside a great group of partners, including Peak Capital, the Frazier Group, Convoi Ventures, and Divvy leaders. To learn more about Parallel, visit their website at getparallel.com.

About Penny Jar Capital

Penny Jar Capital is an early-stage venture fund founded by Bryant Barr and Rich Scudellari. As complementary capital, Penny Jar backs founders with the imagination, curiosity and determination to create the category-leading companies of the future. With Stephen Curry as the fund’s anchor investor and special advisor, Penny Jar makes connections and creates opportunities for founders and their teams. For more information on Penny Jar, visit www.pennyjar.com.