Gpayroll takes home the biggest prize at the HR Tech PitchFest
- Kelvin Ong
The first-ever HR Festival Asia, brought to you by the combined experience of HR Technology Conference & Exposition (US) and HR Summit (Asia), takes over the Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre on May 8 and 9. With a line-up of more than 100 speakers across six dedicated streams, and an Expo Hall with more than 100 exhibitors, there’s a little something for everyone at the event. Check out our HR Festival Asia tag for more coverage direct from the event. |
The winners of the inaugural HR Festival Asia HR Tech Pitch-Fest have been unveiled, with Singapore HR technology startup Gpayroll taking the top prize.
This year, 19 companies pitched their products and services to a panel of top business and HR decision makers, with three ultimately making the finals.
Gpayroll took home S$100,00 worth of prizes, while the runner-up – interview experience software platform mathilda™ by Astarel – bagged S$25,000 worth of prizes. Coming in third is HR management system Ceipal, which received S$15,000 in prizes.
“It would be a plus if we can get further investment for our product from this event, but this has been very beneficial for us just to get our name out there more,” said Hansel Choi (pictured), Senior Sales Executive, Gpayroll, shortly after his win.
Runner-up mathilda™ by Astarel found the Pitch-Fest to be an exhilarating experience. “Whether I win or not, it doesn’t matter,” its Chief Experience Officer Josephine Chia said. “But as long as someone here was inspired by my presentation, then I think I got my job done.”
This year’s competition saw startups covering a wide spectrum of HR, although unsurprisingly, there was a strong emphasis on HR technology, such as payroll systems.
Each startup had five minutes to highlight their product’s potential and ability in solving a key HR problem, followed by a rigorous round of questioning from Philippa Penfold, Chairperson of HRM Asia’s Advisory Committee, DN Prasad, former Director and Head of Google People Services Asia-Pacific, and Ian Chong, Associate Director of Innovation and Partnersips at JustCo, among other judges.
