Howdy.com
Howdy.com is an American technology staffing company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2018 by Jacqueline Samira and Frank Licea, it specializes in nearshoring, connecting software engineers in Latin America with companies in the United States, focusing on full-time, remote roles in compatible time zones. The company provides recruitment, payroll, benefits, equipment, and compliance services for its clients' hires. In 2023, the company acquired Brazilian tech recruitment platform GeekHunter. It participated in Y Combinator's Winter 2021 startup accelerator program. Howdy was included in the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in 2023 and 2024, and was included in Forbes's list of "America's Best Startup Employers" in 2024.
History
The company was founded as Austin Software in 2018 by Jacqueline Samira and Frank Licea. Its mission was to address the U.S. tech talent shortage by recruiting engineers from Latin American countries like Colombia, Chile, and Mexico. The company was selected for Y Combinator's Winter 2021 startup accelerator program.The company launched from stealth mode in August 2022 under the name Astro and later rebranded to Howdy.com to better reflect its company culture and expanding mission.
The company received Series A funding in 2022 and an extension in 2023 to support growth. In August 2023, it expanded in Latin America by acquiring GeekHunter, a Brazilian tech recruitment platform with nearly 400,000 registered users.
The company appeared on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in 2023 and 2024 and was included on Forbes' list of "America's Best Startup Employer" in 2024. The Austin Business Journal ranked it among the fastest-growing private companies in Central Texas in 2023.