P20
May 2013
CLASS OF 2013
Ken Blanchard College of Business
Humberto Valle discovered the inspiration for OppenUp, an online job-search
company he founded, while studying at GCU. Photo by Michael Ferraresi
– by Michael Ferraresi
Business grad turns online job-search
idea into fledgling company
By
the time
Humberto Valle
graduated with his first bachelor’s degree,
he briefly ran a warehouse and held project-management roles, among
other gigs.
So when Valle lost his job at a Tempe engineering company a couple years
ago because of the economic downturn, he was frustrated waiting one year
to get back into the workforce.
“I just could not get a job,” Valle said. “I had six different resumés. I was
applying to so many job boards.”
The experience of being unemployed led Valle to found OppenUp, a Web-
based company he hopes will provide resources to help job seekers get in
front of hiring managers. OppenUp blends multimedia with digital mapping
of job opportunities to streamline the hiring process for both prospective
employer and employee. OppenUp.com is scheduled to relaunch this spring,
coinciding with Valle’s graduation from the Ken Blanchard College of Business
at Grand Canyon University.
“Being part of the GCU family has meant a lot, just as far as being able to
talk to people there,” said Valle, a Texas native who graduated from high
school at 15. He briefly attended an art school in Florida before getting into
mechanical engineering and later into business development.
“You not only get to meet other students, but you learn about … what led
them to those (business) ideas,” Valle said.
Valle, 25, holds a mechanical engineering degree from his hometown
University of Texas at El Paso. He is graduating from GCU with a bachelor’s
in entrepreneurship.
Valle made connections on campus that led to a little start-up cash. With a
bit more funding, Valle expects OppenUp to have a stronger Web presence
and more complete package to present to universities in Arizona, California
and Texas.
The idea, according to OppenUp’s executive summary, is to “create a more
standardized, user-friendly job search platform that incorporates social
interactions and video applications” as a primary source for hiring managers
to prescreen potential employees. Valle said OppenUp aims to cut through
the formalized, document-heavy process that costs up to $750 per candidate
through major online job search sites.
OppenUp has value with its combination of video interviews, resumés and
candidate bios, he said. Recruiters and hiring managers are able to pre-
screen candidates faster, while job hunters can use the site to search for
opportunities that once took him a year to navigate.
“People need a fast way to apply to jobs rather than going through multiple
different resumés or processes, and they also need a way to stand out without
going crazy,” Valle said.
Valle is a member of the Chandler Rotary Club and Chandler Gangplank, a
business development collaborative workspace where entrepreneurs share
ideas. He also runs a separate project, LaunchPadAZ.org, which focuses on
helping small businesses with digital branding.
He lives with his wife,
Diana
, and 3-year-old son,
Santiago
, in Tolleson but
rents a place in Chandler to be closer to the think-tanks where he spends so
much time.
Scott Taylor
, incoming president of Chandler Rotary, said Valle has provided
invaluable pro-bono help with social media and website redesign. Taylor
described Valle as a budding entrepreneur who is constantly networking,
but who also takes time out of his own busy schedule to help with Chandler
Rotary community outreach events.
“He’s a real dedicated guy, he’s a contributor,” Taylor said. “He shows up, does
a great job. I’ve never heard him complain.”
■
AN ‘OPPEN’ MIND
