How Xano helped Soraia modernize their client's legacy recruiting codebase and save €360k every year
Soraia's client saves €360k every year after Soraia modernized its legacy recruiting codebase with Xano, with 30% more recruiter efficiency and 2x faster onboarding.
30% increasein recruiter efficiency
€360kannual cost savings
2x fastercandidate onboarding
Overview
Soraia is an agency that builds AI-driven software and mobile apps, helping businesses modernize inefficient systems. Their client for this project was Stars Be Original, a Swiss-based company and a key partner of Alpitour Group. Stars Be Original specializes in recruiting entertainment and animation talent for tourist resorts worldwide.
Industry
HR
Company type
Agency
Solution
Internal tool
Use case
Recruiting platform
Stop 01
Challenges
Stars Be Original was struggling with the legacy system they used to review talent applications. It was a logistical nightmare - slow, inefficient, and expensive to maintain. "They're handling thousands of applications every season, and their old PHP-based system just wasn't cutting it anymore," said Daniel Levis, co-founder and CEO of Soraia.
Manual, time-consuming operations
Recruiters had to manually copy candidate data across systems, manage hundreds of emails, calls, and WhatsApp messages daily, and send individual follow-ups for next steps and payments.
Lack of scalability
Every update required hiring a PHP developer, making changes slow and costly. The system couldn't keep up with business growth, bottlenecking operations and hiring.
Fragmented data
Candidate information and recruiting progress were unstructured and scattered across multiple systems, making reporting and data access difficult.
“
Xano allows you to custom-develop the software of your dreams, that users will actually love.
Daniel LevisCo-founder and CEO of SoraiaStop 02
Solutions
Within just six months, Soraia rebuilt Stars Be Original's recruiting system with a Xano backend and WeWeb frontend. A small team - one developer, one UX designer, and one product manager - handled the entire build, with a project manager from Stars Be Original as the point of contact.
"By ditching manual tasks, automating workflows, and improving UX, we gave Stars Be Original a system that finally works for them, instead of against them," Daniel said.
The new platform automated admin tasks, hiring workflows, and data reporting, while providing a clean and modern user experience on the frontend for recruiters and applicants.
Automated hiring pipeline
Recruiters no longer waste time on repetitive tasks. Thanks to database triggers and background tasks, the system automates onboarding, document collection, payments, and interview scheduling. 70+ automated emails trigger based on candidate status, reducing manual follow-ups. Payments are now fully integrated, allowing candidates to complete transactions without leaving the platform.
Automated reporting and real-time dashboard
Recruitment data from Fillout for forms, Stripe for payments, and Brevo for marketing are all aggregated into Xano. That data gets processed into new insights for recruitment KPIs and candidate progress tracking.
Instead of error-prone spreadsheets, recruiters now have dashboards with real-time visibility over hiring progress. According to Daniel, Xano's SQL editor played a crucial role in automating data retrieval and reporting.
Learn more about how Xano can scale your business.
Instead of patching an outdated system, Soraia recommended a complete rebuild with Xano - creating a scalable, future-proof solution. "Instead of building on fragile foundations, we migrated their entire system to a scalable backend that could grow with them," Daniel explained.
They intentionally built everything from the ground up, eliminating all dependencies on the PHP infrastructure. Aside from a frontend UX overhaul, key migration challenges included data structuring, API redesign, and email automation - but the benefits far outweighed the effort.
"A clean rebuild eliminates technical debt, reduces costs, and accelerates future iterations. Long-term efficiency beats short-term fixes."
Full customization over software development drives better adoption
A fully-tailored system reduced workflow inefficiencies for Stars Be Original, driving higher adoption among recruiters and eliminating the risk of shadow IT. The ability to rapidly iterate meant the platform could easily evolve with business needs - and ensured even more adoption.
Xano has a readable, API-first approach - allowing for faster development without sacrificing flexibility
"We didn't have months to spend writing backend code from scratch. Xano let us build powerful APIs quickly, without sacrificing customization," Daniel explained. The team could also easily unify and clean legacy data for better organization, with Xano's flexible database structure.
Xano auto-scales for high-traffic seasons
Recruitment spikes seasonally, requiring reliable auto-scaling. Xano dynamically adjusts CPU and memory to meet demand - no DevOps required. Soraia doesn't need to worry about provisioning servers or unexpected downtime. "Xano handles high traffic without breaking a sweat," Daniel said.
Xano provides enterprise-grade security and compliance, built into the platform
Handling sensitive recruitment data meant security was a top priority. Xano's GDPR and ISO 27001 compliance, encrypted storage, and role-based access controls eliminated the need for additional security infrastructure setup or maintenance.
Soraia could also select their server region to be in the EU, and easily implement custom API authentication rules.
“
When choosing the right backend, we needed something powerful, scalable, and fast to implement. That's where Xano came in.
Daniel LevisCo-founder and CEO of SoraiaStop 04
Results
Stars Be Original increased recruiter productivity by 30% and saved an additional €360k every year
By eliminating manual work, recruiters gained efficiency equivalent to six additional team members - without increasing headcount. "Automating manual tasks doesn't just save time. It transforms how a business operates," Daniel said.
Candidates move through the hiring process 2x faster
A streamlined hiring process meant faster placements, improved candidate experience, and higher-quality applicants. Better UX also resulted in higher recruiter satisfaction.
Stars Be Original finally has scalable, AI and automation-ready infrastructure
By rebuilding with Xano, Stars Be Original now has a scalable foundation that will support growth for years to come. "Xano helped us turn a frustrating, outdated system into a smooth, high-performance recruitment engine," Daniel explained.
Soraia plans to enhance candidate engagement in the platform even more - integrating WhatsApp messaging for real-time communication and faster response times.
