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the ORIGIN

Built by someone
who walked in
through that door.

Built by someone
who walked in
through that door.

Built by someone
who walked in
through that door.

Thirty years ago, Mo walked into a McDonald's to apply for his first job in America. He got it because the manager took a chance on a person standing in front of them — not a form, not a resume. That trust layer has disappeared. Cleo is bringing it back.

the ORIGIN

"I walked into a McDonald's with nothing but a willingness to work. Someone trusted me enough to say yes."

1994

That moment stayed with Mo. Thirty years later, frontline workers are applying to dozens of jobs and hearing nothing. Operators are drowning in unverified applicants while their best managers spend their afternoons screening people who never show up.

The human moment got replaced by a form. The trust got replaced by friction. And nobody built the infrastructure to fix it — because everyone building hiring tech was focused on desk workers.

Cleo exists for the 80 million people working frontline jobs and the operators who employ them. Both sides deserve better than the current system.

our mission

A real response for every candidate. A verified hire for every operator.

A real response for every candidate. A verified hire for every operator.

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the ORIGIN

A real response for
every candidate.
A real hire for
every operator.

A real response for
every candidate.
A real hire for
every operator.

A real response for
every candidate.
A real hire for
every operator.

Cleo exists for the 80 million people working frontline jobs and the operators who employ them. Both sides deserve better than the current system.

What Cleo is not

Not a background check company

Not a job board

Not another ATS

Not a chatbot with a resume parser

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the team

The people
building Cleo.

Co Founder & CEO

Mo Saeed

Mo knows what it's like to apply and hear nothing back. Twenty-five years ago, he walked into a McDonald's in Boston with a job application and never got a response. That experience stuck. Before CleoHR, Mo founded Orbispay (earned wage access) and Firefly Capital. He's spent two decades building in Boston's startup ecosystem, solving problems that affect real people trying to make a living.

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Co Founder & CTO

Zubeir Syed

Zubeir build s AI systems that work in the real world. As CTO, he architected CleoHR's verification infrastructure—liveness detection, proximity GPS, conversational AI, and FitScore ranking—to handle frontline hiring at scale. His background in machine learning and natural language processing powers Cleo's ability to screen, verify, and rank candidates automatically. He believes the best technology is invisible to the people using it

Linkedin

Co Founder & CTO

Mo Saeed

Mo knows what it's like to apply and hear nothing back. Twenty-five years ago, he walked into a McDonald's in Boston with a job application and never got a response. That experience stuck. Before CleoHR, Mo founded Orbispay (earned wage access) and Firefly Capital. He's spent two decades building in Boston's startup ecosystem, solving problems that affect real people trying to make a living.

Linkedin

Co-Founder & CTO

Zubeir Syed

Zubeir build s AI systems that work in the real world. As CTO, he architected CleoHR's verification infrastructure—liveness detection, proximity GPS, conversational AI, and FitScore ranking—to handle frontline hiring at scale. His background in machine learning and natural language processing powers Cleo's ability to screen, verify, and rank candidates automatically. He believes the best technology is invisible to the people using it.

Linkedin

Co Founder & CEO

Pablo Alvarado,

Pablo knows how frontline employers think because he's spent years working with them. At Orbispay, he helped bring earned wage access to hourly workers. As CleoHR's Chief Marketing Officer, he's responsible for getting CleoHR into the hands of QSR, retail, and warehouse operators who need verified candidates, not just applicants. He believes marketing is about solving real problems, not clever campaigns

Linkedin

Co-Founder & CMO

Pablo Alvarado,

Pablo knows how frontline employers think because he's spent years working with them. At Orbispay, he helped bring earned wage access to hourly workers. As CleoHR's Chief Marketing Officer, he's responsible for getting CleoHR into the hands of QSR, retail, and warehouse operators who need verified candidates, not just applicants. He believes marketing is about solving real problems, not clever campaigns

Linkedin

GTM Advisor

Greg Holbrow

Greg is an engineer at heart who applies logic and reason to untangle complex business problems. He specializes in turnarounds and broken processes—most recently spearheading a five-year, top-to-bottom transformation of a technology company. His belief is that the best strategies aren't built on data alone but on genuine relationships, and that trust is the ultimate business accelerator. As a leader, Greg is a coach, never a player/coach: his job is to mentor talent, build advocates, and put his teams in a position to win—an approach that's driven results like hitting 251% of quota while building a culture of shared success.

Linkedin

ic

Co Founder & CEO

Pablo Alvarado,

Pablo knows how frontline employers think because he's spent years working with them. At Orbispay, he helped bring earned wage access to hourly workers. As CleoHR's Chief Marketing Officer, he's responsible for getting CleoHR into the hands of QSR, retail, and warehouse operators who need verified candidates, not just applicants. He believes marketing is about solving real problems, not clever campaigns

Linkedin

based on

Boston, MA

Founded 2024

SalaryX Inc.

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We believe hiring should start with a conversation, not a checkbox.

See Cleo Live in 15 Minutes

See Cleo Live in 15 Minutes