Allan Jones is the founder of the Bambee Human Resource Company. Allan is one of the most influential businessmen in modern society. He is also a member of the LGBTQ community and he uses his voice to impact the world. Allan’s pro recognition comes from his idea to disrupt the growth of small businesses. For a venture to be successful, it is ideal to have skilled and motivated employees. Allan identified the gap in business to help workers meet top performance. As a result, he started Bambee company to offer businesses an effective HR department. This idea now offers services to more than 20 industries in 50+ states with over 500 employees. Bambee has proven to reduce complaints from both clients and workers of a firm. The company uses technology in HR Autopilot to help over 10000 businesses. Allan’s mission is to lift small businesses to improve the customer experience.
Early Life
Allan was born in Los Angeles and spent his childhood living with his grandmother. He grew up in a small town between Watts and Compton. Allan’s neighbourhood was not safe due to the presence of high crime rates in that region. His grandmother’s house had a chain fence from the backyard for safety purposes. His childhood memories involved running around in his grandmother’s hallways. Allan was born into a family of business-minded people who was trying to make ends meet. He saw his grandmother running a childcare business from home every day. Allan embraced the hardworking trait from a young age because of his family.
Also, Allan’s parents had small businesses, which they used to provide all the basic needs. As a result, Allan developed the desire to become an elite businessman. Even though he did not know what his major would be, he knew that business was a part of it. He learned how his family worked to maintain their businesses. He saw his parents struggle with losses but they did not complain about the challenges. Allan knew that consistency is an ideal principle to grow a business.
Allan’s inspiration to start his brand came from his personal life experiences. He had the opportunity to be part of a family of small business owners. When he was growing up, he joined the family venture to work behind the cash register. Allan began to understand how to run a business after finishing high school. He collected insights on the daily struggle of sustaining a small business. Besides, Allan was lucky to have a seat at the table with his family to discuss the business progress. This learning cycle gave Allan the concept to improve the growth of the startup business. The desire and seed to start the Bambee company existed 20 years ago during his early life. Allan knew that a successful business needs to be authentic and with a vision. He acknowledged that employees play a big part in a professional organization.
From a young age, Allan has always had a dream to venture into technology. He thought that technology is the solution of the future to help businesses grow. One of his areas of interest was the concept of project management. Allan was a first learner in business matters due to his entrepreneurial family.
Education
In 2004, Allan joined Chaffey College but later dropped out at the age of 19 years old. After quitting school, Allan took a decade to learn more about small businesses. Allan became fascinated by the importance of product management in a pro venture. He found out that this phenomenon allows one to create something from nothing.
Allan’s first internship job was as an associate product manager. His role was to record the products and services summary for each week. During his time in this line, Allan had challenges crafting detailed product emails. After some time, Allan learned from his mistakes with the help of his mentor. Also, Allan was a Campaign Member of Bernie Sanders for President in 2016.
“I’ve been in technology now for 16 years and started as a quality assurance analyst testing the compatibility between software and hardware at a telecommunications company in the early 2000s at a company called Healio. Early on, I knew that I was a builder, and I came from a long line of entrepreneurs. My parents were entrepreneurs. My grandparents on both sides were entrepreneurs. And I knew that I wanted to do something that allowed me to build my future for myself and create and set my destiny.”
Early Career
Like any other founder, Allan’s career journey was not a walk in the park. After his internships, Allan got hired as the head of product at Docstoc company. He was in charge of the product team analysis, which pushed him to work with the CEO. Entering the expert industry paved way for more business opportunities. The founder of Docstoc shared key insights into building a long-lasting business. Allan gained confidence and he had faith that he could achieve anything he wanted. As a result, Allan decided to start his first company at 23 years old. The brand was in the fashion industry in men’s clothing and styling. But the business failed due to poor employees and inadequate management.
Allan had already raised a few million dollars that would act as a starting capital for Bambee. A good business requires a strong bond between employees and company founders. In 2007, Allan was a Quality Assurance Analyst at Helio mobile-based company. Besides, Allan was the Chief Marketing Officer at ZipRecruiter from 2013 to 2016. It is in this line that Allan learned about the significance of technology in business. He developed skills that ranked the company as the fast-growing organization in history. Allan offered clients marketing services, business operations, and customer success tips. He got a chance to network with global investors who became his main source of capital.
“The best ideas are authentic. The best ideas come from are multi-dimensional in terms of where they come from, in terms of your brain and your story. Bambee is a company that aims to reshape the fabric of employment in America’s small businesses. The way we do that is we made it hiring an HR manager, extremely affordable so that every one of the 5.6 million small businesses that are in the United States can afford to hire one and help them shape the cultures inside of their small organizations.”
“The trust and relationship you have with the investors and the quality of investors matters. Though, I was creatively good. I was not yet a seasoned operator. The result of that first business showed and demonstrated that fact. Um, but I think it all, all went well because after failing in that first company as CEO, I then went on to have a successful career as the youngest chief marketing officer of a billion-dollar brand at ZipRecruiter, um, where I helped shape that company’s future, which ultimately led to that company going public.”
Bambee
Building a good business requires a quality team with a relentless mindset. When Allan had the vision to start his company, no one believed in him except his best friend. After quitting his job to start a brand, his peers thought that he was delusional. He saw the gap in startups based on the challenges of his family. After working in established brands, Allan knew how to start and manage a brand. Allan launched Bambee company in 2016 as the CEO. The main purpose of this company is to help businesses run with HR management.
Bambee’s online platform offers clients a subscription rate of $99 per month for HR services. Customers should expect a dedicated HR manager and Annual & Comprehensive HR Audits. Bambee uses technology in HR Autopilot to grow business and enhance customer satisfaction. Statistics show that Bambee has raised over $63 million in funding within 6 rounds. This achievement was possible due to two leading investors and 10 other shareholders.
“The foundational principle for every leader is confidence, but that’s a foundational principle. Confidence is fairly common. And so just having confidence, doesn’t make you a good leader, but confidence usually gives you the courage to get up and act against ideas you care about and make decisions that are sometimes difficult.”
“Sense of thought optimism: it’s easy to become pessimistic when building companies and it’s easy to become pessimistic when things don’t go your way. It is also easy to just be broadly optimistic to just think that everything will go your way. Thoughtful optimism is something that we practice here at Bambee. It is something that I talk about a lot internally. This means it isn’t that everything will fix Excel. It is that everything is fixable with enough thought and enough time.”
Philanthrophy and Awards
Allan has been able to sustain his company because of a good team around him. Teamwork is one of the core cultural principles of Bambee company. Allan uses his success to impact the community to help small businesses. With the help of his team, Allan gives mentoring, coaching, and investing techniques. Bambee has had a positive impact on thousands of businesses across the globe. According to Forbes, Bambee is three times the Best Startup Employer in America. The story of Allen Jones is inspiring to anyone who has a vision and a dream to be great. The most important Trait to own is authenticity in your idea.
Allan Jones is part of our Black Founders50 Series. Download the complete 2023 BBVA Founders50 list here.