# Tanya Bakalov

> Tanya Bakalov is the CEO and founder of HelloTeam, a Boston-based employee engagement and performance management platform she started in 2016. A Bulgarian immigrant and University of Delaware accounting graduate, she left Deloitte in 2005 to co-found SevOne, the network monitoring company she scaled with her husband from three people to more than 500 employees and roughly $100M in revenue before its acquisition. A 2016 EY Entrepreneur of the Year and Inc. Female Founders 500 honoree, she raised a $10M Series A led in large part by payroll billionaire Tom Golisano and is pointing HelloTeam at AI-driven employee retention.

- **Role:** CEO and Founder at HelloTeam
- **Organizations:** HelloTeam, SevOne, Deloitte & Touche, Horn Entrepreneurship National Advisory Board
- **From:** Bulgaria
- **Nationality:** Bulgarian-American
- **Education:** B.S., double major in Accounting and Management Information Systems, University of Delaware, Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics, Certified Public Accountant (CPA), American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
- **Known for:** Co-founded and scaled SevOne to 500+ employees and ~$100M in annual revenue, EY Entrepreneur of the Year (New England, 2016), Founded HelloTeam, an employee engagement and performance management platform

## Career timeline

- **2004** — Graduates from the University of Delaware with a double major in accounting and management information systems.
- **2005** — Leaves a senior consultant role at Deloitte & Touche to co-found SevOne with her husband, Vess Bakalov.
- **2005-2016** — Serves as COO and Chief People Officer at SevOne, scaling it from 3 people to 500+ employees and roughly $100M in annual revenue.
- **2016** — Wins the EY Entrepreneur of the Year award (New England) and the Lerner College Alumni Award of Excellence; launches BetterSkills.
- **2016** — Founds HelloTeam (originally BetterSkills, Inc.) in Boston.
- **2017** — HelloTeam wins the University of Delaware's 17&43 Most Promising Venture award.
- **2020** — Launches the #InternsMatter initiative offering free platform access to internship programs during the pandemic.
- **2022** — Closes a $10M Series A round, with $7M from Tom Golisano's Grand Oaks Capital.
- **2023** — HelloTeam ranks #595 on the Inc. 5000 list; featured in Forbes.
- **2025** — Named to Inc.'s Female Founders 500 list for growing HelloTeam 375% and saving clients $4M in turnover costs.

## Achievements

- Co-founded and scaled SevOne to 500+ employees and ~$100M in annual revenue
- EY Entrepreneur of the Year (New England, 2016)
- Founded HelloTeam, an employee engagement and performance management platform
- Raised a $10M Series A led substantially by payroll billionaire Tom Golisano
- Named to Inc.'s 2025 Female Founders 500 list
- HelloTeam ranked #595 on the 2023 Inc. 5000
- Lerner College Alumni Award of Excellence (2016)
- Two-time female startup founder

## Latest updates

- **2025-01** — Named to Inc.'s 2025 Female Founders 500 list for growing HelloTeam 375% and saving clients roughly $4M in turnover costs.
- **2023-04** — Featured in Forbes after closing a $10M Series A led largely by Tom Golisano's Grand Oaks Capital, with plans to build AI around employee retention.

## Links

- Website: https://helloteam.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanyabakalov/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/tanyabakalov
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/HelloTeamInc/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/tanya-bakalov
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-08