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New York-based Holly has raised $2.2 million in a pre-seed round as co-founder Brendan Hellweg, who once helped launch the Baltimore Health Corps, bids to modernize government hiring using artificial intelligence. The round was led by Boston-based J2 Ventures, with participation from Roble Ventures, Gaingels and prominent angel investors.
Holly draws on the direct experience in public service and civic technology of its founders — Hellweg and Cherie Chung, who were classmates as they earned joint MBA and MS degrees in public policy at Harvard Business School and the university’s Kennedy School. Chung built critical systems and partnerships at Propel, a fintech company serving over 5 million low-income Americans.
Government Smarts
“I come from direct experience in local government. In Baltimore, I helped bring 275 people into public service careers in under a year through the launch of Baltimore Health Corps, the city’s key public health response team during Covid,” Hellweg, who for three years served on Baltimore’s Bloomberg Innovation Team, said on LinkedIn. “We hired 40 people/month and got noticed for it — the White House recognized it as a national model for embedding racial equity into large-scale employment development.”
Government hiring takes 135 days on average — nearly five times longer than the private sector, according to Holly, costing taxpayers $86 billion annually. The startup says its platform will aim to solve the “million-job government workforce vacancy crisis” by transforming outdated government hiring systems using AI and intergovernmental data collaboration.
Commercial Real Estate
MacKenzie Companies
Advertising / Media / Communications / Public Relations
Nevins & Associates
Financial Services / Investment Firms
Chesapeake Corporate Advisors
Commercial Real Estate
Monday Properties
Venture Capital
Blue Delta Capital Partners
Internet / Technology
Foxtrot Media
“Leading data science teams in government during the Covid-19 pandemic, I witnessed the urgent need for modern tools to enable faster, more equitable hiring,” said Christine Keung, general partner at J2 Ventures, and former chief data officer for the City of San Jose. “Brendan and Cherie bring both the government experience and entrepreneurial vision to modernize public sector hiring.”
Pilot in Long Beach, Calif.
Holly is building what Hellweg calls the first AI-native human resources information systems that can drive performance and collaboration for governments, “starting with a job design product that helps governments benchmark salaries and build better positions.” The company is currently running a pilot in Long Beach, Calif.
“This is a big issue, and we’re excited to pilot with Holly to accelerate our class and compensation process,” said Joe Ambrosini, HR director for Long Beach. “Outdated systems can add months to hiring and drive away top candidates.”