From Excel Sheets to All-in-One HR: How Hyre Scaled by Listening to the Right Buyers

When Eropa Stein first walked into the back office of an event staffing firm, she didn’t see organized workflows or tech-enabled processes — she saw chaos.

Staff schedules were managed in Excel. Thousands of paper resumes sat in filing cabinets. Client complaints piled up about the wrong workers being sent back repeatedly. Staff were frustrated with low pay and no say in their shifts.

This wasn’t just inefficiency — it was a leaky revenue funnel that cost time, money, and client relationships.

That experience stuck with Eropa, even as she went on to pursue her Master’s in Industrial Organizational Psychology. When she started entering pitch competitions with her idea for a digital staffing platform, she didn’t just win prize money — she landed her first paying client before she even had a product.

That client would set the stage for what became Hyre — an all-in-one HR platform for shift-based workforces, now serving healthcare facilities, venues, and catering companies across North America.

Lesson 1: Validate the Buyer Before Building the Platform

When Eropa’s first hotel client called and said, “We want to use your platform”, she didn’t rush into coding.

Instead, she built a manual MVP:

• Candidates filled out online forms.

• She personally interviewed and vetted them.

• Clients submitted staffing requests through basic forms.

• Behind the scenes, Eropa used calls, texts, and spreadsheets to match workers to shifts.

It looked like software to the client — but it was all manual.

Buyer intelligence takeaway: By simulating the product before building it, she learned exactly which features mattered most, eliminating months of guesswork and wasted dev spend.

Lesson 2: Scale Features in the Order Buyers Need Them

Hyre didn’t launch with every HR function under the sun. Instead, they followed a buyer-led product sequence:

1. Marketplace for temporary event staff.

2. Scheduling platform for a company’s own workforce.

3. Applicant tracking and onboarding.

4. Payroll integrations.

Each stage was triggered by repeated client requests — not just internal brainstorming.

Sales enablement insight: When your roadmap follows real buyer demand, every new feature becomes a built-in upsell.

Lesson 3: Don’t Sell to Everyone Who’s Interested

One of Eropa’s key disciplines is staying in her lane. Hyre works best for larger teams with 20+ rotating staff — not small businesses. Even if smaller companies express interest, they’re politely turned away.

Why?

• The UX is designed for complexity, not simplicity.

• Smaller clients wouldn’t get the same value.

• Onboarding them would cost more in support than they’d pay in subscriptions.

Positioning takeaway: True buyer focus means knowing not just who to target — but who to avoid.

Lesson 4: When the Market Shifts, Your Messaging Should Too

Before COVID-19, Hyre relied almost entirely on word-of-mouth. When events shut down overnight, revenue went to zero in 48 hours.

The pivot:

• Refocused on healthcare and long-term care facilities, where shift scheduling was critical.

• Built free resources to attract new audiences.

• Launched content marketing that educated buyers on workforce efficiency.

Marketing takeaway: In downturns, the companies that survive are the ones that reposition their messaging around the new urgent buyer problems.

Lesson 5: Build Culture That Supports Buyer-Centric Decisions

Hyre’s hiring process is intentionally slow and selective. Eropa looks for team members who:

• Value open, honest communication.

• Are willing to speak up — regardless of seniority — if a decision doesn’t serve the buyer.

• Reflect the diversity of the end users they serve.

This internal alignment ensures the entire team filters decisions through the same lens: Will this improve the buyer’s experience?

The Buyer-Centric SaaS Growth Playbook from Hyre

1. Simulate before you build — test workflows manually to validate demand.

2. Let buyer demand set your roadmap — don’t force features they didn’t ask for.

3. Be strict about your ICP — turning away the wrong customers keeps retention high.

4. Pivot messaging with market shifts — talk to the problems buyers have today.

5. Hire for alignment, not just skill — culture drives better buyer decisions.

Why this matters for SaaS founders & tech companies: Hyre’s growth wasn’t fueled by guesswork — it was built on listening, testing, and focusing relentlessly on the right buyers. This is the same formula SaaS companies can use to improve retention, speed up adoption, and build a product-market fit that lasts.