Sarasota venture studio launches AI-driven hiring product

Suncoast Venture Studio, which is building companies from scratch out of its Sarasota headquarters, has released its first product.

Called RecruitTune.ai, the offering is a behavioral hiring platform that enables recruiters to receive job-tailored assessments in minutes. It is designed to cut costs and improve efficiency in the hiring process.

Here’s how it works: First, the hiring manager uploads a job description to RecruitTune.ai, which analyzes the role and creates a custom behavioral profile. Then, candidates complete a 10-minute assessment. Finally, the hiring manager receives a report with strengths, risks, role fit, trait scores and recommended interview questions for each candidate.

"You can finally hire people who actually fit your team, not just your job description," Suncoast Venture Studio posted on LinkedIn.

More than 50 organizations are currently testing the beta version, according to the RecruitTune.ai website. At the moment, the platform is free to use.

"We're getting a lot of great feedback from people that are starting to use it, letting us know enhancements they’d like to see," Suncoast Venture Studio co-founder and CRO Will Dolan says in a phone interview.

Suncoast Venture Studio plans to bring companies to market "very carefully," Dolan says, and testing is part of the process as it conducts research.

"It's a way for us to get the product improved but out there in the market," Dolan says, "before we fully staff and get the company going at 100%."

According to RecruitTune.ai, other similar tests by traditional providers can take weeks to conduct and cost $50 to $200 per assessment.

"We're trying to be a little disruptive in the industry," Dolan says. "Typically, firms will hire consultants, and it’s very expensive. We're trying to make that a lot more affordable and available so people are picking better candidates."