Bob Neveu, an entrepreneur who’s built two successful technology companies in Portland over the last 20 years, has settled into his new role as managing director of OurPeople, a software startup that provides a mobile-first employee communication platform designed for businesses with hourly or desk-less workers. Neveu is an investor in the business and sits on its board of directors.
Neveu announced last month his plans to step down as CEO of Certify, the expense-management software company he co-founded in 2008, but at the time was mum about his next move.
Reached last week at OurPeople’s Portland office, Neveu discussed what he’s been working on behind the scenes for a while. He first invested in OurPeople in 2018 after meeting the founder, Ross McCaw, several years earlier at an industry event.
The company, which is headquartered in England, provides a platform for businesses to manage communication with a workforce that is primarily desk-less, such as retail businesses or restaurants. In those sorts of businesses, Neveu said, ad hoc communication tools, such as WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger, are often used to communicate with employees who do not sit at desks and may not even have computers.
“Imagine you’re the VP of HR with a retailer with 50 stores and you need to put out a message to all employees. … Some people try to solve it with messagings apps, some do print outs in employee break rooms, which no one looks at,” Neveu said. “There’s no control in those situations and all kinds of gaps.”
But every employee has a phone in their pocket, he said, and OurPeople leverages that reality to provide a mobile-first platform to allow managers to easily communicate with desk-less workers via an app that can handle simple messaging, company-wide announcements, and even staff training. The app allows managers to see who has read the messages and who hasn’t, providing them the opportunity to nudge and follow up with employees.
“It’s been great to see the technology grow over the years,” said Neveu, who is not a salaried employee, but acts as an advisor and plans to use his experience scaling software companies to help the company grow. “When Ross got into the space, not a lot of companies were thinking about it, but we’ve since seen more entrants to the market, which I think validates the business case.”
OurPeople opened its Portland office in 2018. It currently has 16 employees, including five in Portland. The rest are in the U.K., where the company is headquartered. The Portland office houses sales, marketing, and customer success employees, Neveu said. In August 2019, the company completed a Series A round of $3 million, in which Neveu was involved.
“I’m super excited to be involved and to help Ross growth the business as fast as he can,” Neveu said.
Neveu said this was his first angel investment, but it’s likely not his last, especially if he finds companies where “I see a way I can play a meaningful role and add value … other than capital.”
