In this episode of the Canary Cast, Florian Hagenbuch, co-founder and partner at Canary, sits down with Christophe Gerlach, co-founder and CEO of Comp, a new kind of HR Tech that is rethinking the way businesses approach their total compensation strategies.From the origins of his entrepreneurial journey alongside Pedro Bobrow—delivering açaí to college students—to pioneering a "Service-as-a-Software" business model that leverages the combination of AI and human expertise, Chris shares details of his story and his vision for Comp's future. During the episode, he also reflects on the importance of thoughtful experimentation, building strategic trust when entering a new market, and the powerful impact of an intentional company culture.In this episode, we dive into: How Comp is helping companies be more strategic about every cent invested in labor costsPioneering the "Service-as-a-Software" Business Model: How Comp is disrupting traditional compensation consultants and building the company at the intersection of technology and human expertise, where AI supports senior compensation executives to deliver personalized, effective solutionsComp’s approach to working closely with CEOs, CFOs, and CHROs to strategically manage compensation decisions during periods of expansion, restructuring, or business strategy shifts.Lessons learned about building a lean, high-performance team and why hiring A+ talent makes all the difference. Exceptionally, this episode was recorded in English, but we included a translated transcription below in the description of the episode. Whether you're a founder, business leader, HR professional, or just passionate about innovation, this episode is packed with insights at the forefront of compensation strategy and business-building. Tune in now to hear how Comp is not only solving today’s compensation challenges but also defining a new category in the HR landscape for the future. Guest:Christophe Gerlach Christophe Gerlach is the co-founder and CEO of Comp. Christophe graduated in Applied Economics and Management from Cornell University, where he met Pedro Bobrow. Together, they first founded Suna and are now building Comp. The company raised $4 million in a Seed round led by Kaszek, with participation from Canary, Norte, and 1616 funds, as well as 40 angel investors who are also executives from American companies and Brazilian startups such as Nubank, Creditas, and Caju. Follow Chris on LinkedIn Host: Florian Hagenbuch Florian is the co-founder and General Partner at Canary, a leading early-stage investment firm in Brazil and Latin America. Canary has invested in more than 100 companies since its founding in 2017. Previously, Florian founded Loft, a company that digitized and transformed the home buying experience in Brazil, bringing transparency, liquidity, and credit to millions of Brazilians. Before that, Florian also co-founded Printi, the leading online printing marketplace in Latin America. Follow Florian on LinkedIn Highlights: 00:00 - Opening01:50 - Personal Journey and the Beginning of Chris and Pedro's Partnership03:07 - Starting a Food Delivery Business in College07:25 - Transition to HR Tech and General Atlantic Experience08:37 - Labor Cost Challenges and Finding a thesis11:48 - Founding Comp and Initial Product Development13:30 - Comp's Value Proposition in the HR and Compensation Market18:29 - "Service-as-a-Software" Business Model and Strategic Use of AI for Software, Services, and Tools26:20 - Comp's Traction So Far28:44 - Building a team in a AI native company35:12 - Challenges along the way39:26 - Vision for the Future and Global Ambitions46:56 - Customer Success Stories and Impact51:56 - Closing RemarksEpisode Transcription in Portuguese: O mundo que estamos construindo é um em que um executivo pode vir e dizer: “Ei, em 2025, minha empresa vai crescer a receita em 25%. Precisamos alcançar o ponto de equilíbrio. Vamos abrir uma divisão de fintech, então precisaremos de novos tipos de talentos nessa área, e também vamos encerrar nossas operações no país X, Y, Z. Assim, gostaria que vocês me ajudassem a desenhar cada elemento do meu custo total de mão de obra." Quais benefícios eu devo oferecer? Quanto eu devo aumentar nos salários baseado nesse objetivo de ponto de equilíbrio, na minha retenção anterior, no índice de conversão de candidatos que já tivemos? Existe uma enorme quantidade de dados que podem ser usados, digamos, para otimizar essas decisões. E tudo isso pode começar a partir de um input estratégico de alto nível, como esse, composto por uma ou duas frases de um executivo, e, a partir daí, podemos fazer todo o trabalho e voltar com soluções para o cliente. Realmente acredito que é assim que as empresas tomarão decisões no futuro. E, honestamente, colocaria vocês nessa categoria. Não é fácil apontar para uma empresa específica, em outro lugar, fazendo algo verdadeiramente parecido com o que vocês estão ...
