By Katharine Grayson
Venture capital firm High Alpha has teamed up Twin Cities tech veterans Scott Burns and Chip House to launch Structural, a software startup that aims to give growing businesses insight into their workforce.
Burns is CEO of the company, while House, a former ExactTarget executive, will serve as chief marketing officer. The startup will have operations in St. Paul and Indianapolis, where High Alpha is headquartered.
High Alpha runs a venture capital arm and a “startup studio" that employs engineers, designers and experts who launch companies. Structural was born inside the studio and already has about 10 customers. Scott Dorsey, the former CEO of marketing-technology company ExactTarget and managing partner at High Alpha, has known Burns and House for years and tapped them to expand the venture.
Burns will take the reins after he stepped down from leading St. Paul-based tech company GovDelivery Inc., which Vista Equity Partners bought for $153 million last year.
Structural’s product lets employees create a LinkedIn-like profile to promote their skills and interests. The company's software taps into that data, plus information stored within human-resources applications and other systems, to give businesses a better understanding of their employees’ talents.
