Benchling × Built In — Customer Story
Employer Brand · Customer Story · Life Sciences

From Lab
to Market.

How Built In helped Benchling build employer brand visibility across San Francisco and Boston, reaching 100,000+ tech professionals, driving a 92% surge in apply clicks, and doubling headcount to 800 employees.

What Built In delivered for Benchling
Partner since 2022 · San Francisco & Boston Source: Built In platform analytics · 2024–2025
★ Flagship result
100K+
unique tech professionals reached annually across SF and Boston
+92%
apply clicks quarter over quarter, outperforming the market by 15%
+23%
profile views quarter over quarter, 83% above similar employers
2×
headcount growth: 400 to 800 employees, while internal teams stayed focused
83%
above similar employers on profile view performance
27%
of readers are developers & engineers, Benchling's core hiring audience
What this means

The metrics we track for employer brand success.

Employer Reach
How many unique tech professionals engage with Benchling's branded content, employer profile, and employee stories on Built In each year.
Content Conversion
The rate at which employer brand content converts profile visitors into active job applicants, tracked as apply click growth quarter over quarter.
Audience Quality
The seniority and role composition of the Built In audience engaging with Benchling's content, skewing mid- to senior-level, developer- and data-science-heavy.
01 · The Challenge

Success in one market doesn't travel automatically.

Benchling had already doubled from 200 to 400 employees in a year but lacked a recognized employer brand in San Francisco and Boston, two of the most competitive tech talent markets in the U.S.

Before Built In
Invisible
No scalable employer brand in SF or Boston. Competing against biotech giants and well-funded tech firms with no consistent storytelling engine and no way to reach 100K+ tech professionals at scale.
With Built In
100K+
100,000+ unique tech readers annually. A recognized employer brand in both markets, built on authentic employee stories, with near-zero internal lift from Benchling's team.
Built In gave Benchling a scalable storytelling engine that reached exactly the right audience in exactly the right markets, while keeping internal recruiting teams focused on hiring.
Benchling's target audience on Built In
Developers & Engineers27%
Data & Analytics14%
Go-to-MarketMid–Sr
Product & DesignMid–Sr
The core problem Built In solved
Employer brand visibility: SF & Boston0 → 100K+
Content production for internal teamsOffloaded
Competing vs. biotech & tech giantsSolved
Apply click volume quarter over quarter+92%
Headcount growth (partnership period)2×
02 · Reach

100,000+ readers. Exactly the right ones.

Built In put Benchling in front of a mid- to senior-level technical audience in SF and Boston: the precise professionals Benchling needed to reach at scale, with no internal content burden.

100K+
Annual Readers
Unique tech professionals engaging with Benchling content each year on Built In.
27%
Developers & Engineers
The largest audience segment, aligned with Benchling's core engineering hiring needs.
14%
Data & Analytics
A high-value secondary audience for Benchling's R&D platform and data science roles.
Best Tech Companies in San Francisco Life Sciences Companies in Boston Biotech Startups to Work For Software Engineer Jobs SF Data Science Jobs Boston Best Employers for Engineers Working at Benchling Benchling Careers SF Benchling Culture & Benefits Life Sciences R&D Platform Jobs
03 · Results

A recognized brand that converts readers into applicants.

Built In moved Benchling from unknown in two of the hardest markets in tech to a recognized employer brand, with apply clicks nearly doubling and profile views outpacing the competition by wide margins.

+92%
Apply clicks, quarter over quarter
Outperforming the market by 15%
Apply clicks grew 92% quarter over quarter, with profile views up 23% in the same period and Benchling tracking 83% above similar employers, all while headcount doubled from 400 to 800.

What got better

++92% apply clicks QoQ, outperforming the market by 15%
++23% profile views QoQ, 83% above similar employers
++5% above peers on article views
+Headcount doubled again: 400 → 800 employees

How it happened

→Employee Q&As converted into polished articles by Built In's Content Studio
→Year-long editorial calendar with near-zero internal lift
→Authentic engineer, data scientist, and GTM spotlights
→Consistent presence in SF and Boston high-intent talent feeds
Headcount growth during the Built In partnership
Benchling performance vs. peers & similar employers (% outperformance)
04 · How It Worked

Employee stories at scale, without the internal lift.

Built In's Content Studio handled production end-to-end, turning short employee Q&As into a full year of branded content that reached exactly the audience Benchling needed to hire from.

What drove the results

+Content Studio turned simple Q&As into polished employer brand articles with no editing required from Benchling
+Authentic voices from engineers, data scientists, and GTM leaders gave content credibility with skeptical tech audiences
+Year-long editorial calendar kept brand presence fresh across SF and Boston with minimal resource investment
+Built In audience of active job seekers in the exact roles and markets Benchling was hiring for

Why this model scales

→Internal teams stayed focused on hiring and product, not content production
→Each employee spotlight compounded brand equity in search over time
→Consistent storytelling created familiarity with audiences that take months to convert
→Built In's SF and Boston editorial authority gave Benchling instant market credibility
"Built In's Content Studio makes it easy for our busy data scientists, engineers, and leaders to share their perspective, turning simple Q&As into compelling branded content." Dean Talanehzar, Head of Talent, Benchling
05 · In Benchling's Own Words

Dean Talanehzar, Head of Talent.

The person who built Benchling's employer brand in SF and Boston, covering the challenge, the solution, and the result.

The Challenge
On scaling in competitive markets"We were scaling quickly and needed a way to consistently tell our story to tech professionals in competitive markets like San Francisco and Boston."
Benchling had doubled headcount from 200 to 400 in one year, but brand recognition in SF and Boston had not kept pace. Simply posting jobs wasn't enough.
The Solution
On Built In's Content Studio"Built In's content studio makes it easy for our busy data scientists, engineers, and leaders to share their perspective, turning simple Q&As into compelling branded content."
One short Q&A per employee → a polished article, spotlight, or earned media feature. Content Studio handled everything in between.
The Result
On brand recognition"Built In has put us in front of exactly the right audience. Through their platform and content, we've become a familiar and trusted brand with engineers, data scientists, and GTM professionals."
100K+ annual readers. +92% apply clicks. Headcount doubled twice.
builtin.com/company/benchling
BenchlingLife Sciences R&D Platform · SF + Boston
★ Employer Brand Partner Built In since 2022
100K+Annual Readers +92%Apply Clicks 2×Headcount
View Benchling's live Built In profile ↗
Content driving Benchling's employer brand
All quotes attributed to Dean Talanehzar, Head of Talent at Benchling. Articles and employee spotlights were produced by Built In's Content Studio and published across the SF and Boston platforms as part of Benchling's annual employer brand partnership.
The Return

Visible.
Trusted.
Chosen.

Benchling went from invisible in two of the most competitive tech markets in the U.S. to a recognized employer brand reaching 100,000+ tech professionals every year.

Customers may have received compensation for their participation in case studies.

Case study

From Lab to Market: How Built In Helped Benchling Build Employer Brand Visibility Across San Francisco and Boston.

Benchling is a cloud-based platform designed for life sciences R&D. By replacing paper notebooks, spreadsheets, and siloed tools with a single digital workspace, it helps scientists collaborate seamlessly and bring breakthrough products to market faster.

Founded In
Employees
+
Customers
+
Built In Partner since

The Challenge

Benchling had already doubled its headcount from 200 to 400 in just one year, earning credibility across the life sciences industry. But as it looked to expand into San Francisco and Boston, two of the most competitive tech markets in the U.S., the team realized that success in established locations didn’t automatically translate to new markets.

“We were scaling quickly and needed a way to consistently tell our story to tech professionals in competitive markets like San Francisco and Boston,” said Dean Talanehzar, Head of Talent at Benchling.

Without a recognized presence in SF and Boston, Benchling risked losing top-tier talent to biotech giants and well-funded tech firms. Simply posting jobs wasn’t enough. Benchling needed a way to authentically showcase its culture and career opportunities while keeping internal teams focused on growth. Partnering with Built In became the clear solution to reach top tech talent in two of the most competitive bio-tech hubs.

“Built In’s content studio makes it easy for our busy data scientists, engineers, and leaders to share their perspective, turning simple Q&As into compelling branded content.”

Dean Talanehzar

Head of Talent

The Solution

Benchling partnered with Built In to bring its employer story to life. Built In’s Content Studio transformed employee experiences into branded content that felt authentic to engineers, data scientists, and go-to-market professionals.

Together, Built In and Benchling developed a year-long content strategy that included:

article features, earned media opportunities, and spotlight features. Employees shared short Q&As, which were converted into polished articles, keeping the internal workload minimal while letting their employee experience shine.

“Built In’s content studio makes it easy for our busy data scientists, engineers, and leaders to share their perspective, turning simple Q&As into compelling branded content” said Dean.

With direct access to mid- and senior-level tech talent in San Francisco and Boston, Benchling elevated its employer brand while staying efficient, turning employee experiences into a powerful tool for attracting and hiring competitive tech talent.

The Results

With Built In, Benchling built a recognizable employer brand that reached their target talent audience, now engaging approximately 100,000 unique readers annually. The audience was predominantly mid- to senior-level technical professionals, with 27% developers and engineers, and 14% in data and analytics. 

The impact was clear: article views hit 100,000 over the past year (+5% vs peers), profile views rose 23% quarter over quarter (83% above similar employers), and apply clicks surged 92% QoQ, outperforming the market by 15%.

Armed with a stronger employer brand in these competitive markets, Benchling doubled its headcount again, growing from 400 to 800 employees, all while keeping internal teams focused on innovation. By turning employee stories into consistent, authentic storytelling, Benchling strengthened its reputation, engaged candidates meaningfully, and converted readers into qualified applicants.

“Built In has put us in front of exactly the right audience.Through their platform and content, we’ve become a familiar and trusted brand with engineers, data scientists, and GTM professionals” said Dean.

Customers may have received compensation for their participation in case studies.

Profile views

14,060 profile views in 2021

Job views

13,248 job views in 2021

With 1,103 job applies (8.3% apply rate)​

Want More? Check Out These Case Studies.