Cloud-based HR automation platform Employment Hero has added AirTree Ventures to team of Series A investors, bringing its total funding to $4.5 million.
The Series A round was already over-subscribed after the freemium Service attracted $3 million from OneVentures and AMP New Ventures in June to finance growth, including an expansion into the UK market. The additional $1.5 million was contributed by Airtree Ventures together with the initial Series A investors.
Ben Thompson, founder and CEO of Employment Hero, spoke to us about the latest capital raise and what it means for his Sydney-based start-up, which was founded three years ago to provide growing companies with “an intuitive, affordable way to manage essential employee information and HR processes”.
What was the rationale for extending the Series A round by 50%?
“It gives us more time over the next 12 to 18 months to focus on executing bigger plans to further disrupt the HR and financial services market, rather than diverting our efforts to concentrate on Series B. We began discussions with AirTree Ventures a few months back and saw an opportunity to take conversations further, particularly as the round had not yet been closed at the time.”
How will the additional funding be used by Employment Hero?
“We’ve experienced phenomenal growth this year. Our subscriber base grew by 300% in the first nine months of 2016 and we’ve exceeded our projections for customer growth. In fact, we’re on track to surpass 100,000 active users by 2017. The additional funding validates our success to date and will be used to sustain our momentum. Funding will mostly be invested into development resources to build on product functionality, broaden our offering and expand customer acquisition strategies.”
What went into successfully pitching to AirTree Ventures?
“We brought the idea to AirTree Ventures with a simple phone call to start discussions. The pitch came down to talking openly about Employment Hero’s success to date and looking at our growth strategy and market potential. We’ve been fortunate enough to sustain a strong growth trajectory and we’re primed to continue this.”
What drew AirTree Ventures to Employment Hero?
“AirTree has an eye for investing in high potential startups and as a result, has an excellent portfolio of investments. We believe that AirTree recognised potential in not only Employment Hero’s business and platform, but also the market that we’re operating in. We’ve hired a great team and built a sustainable business model that has the opportunity to capitalise on inefficiencies in a number of sectors, including the multi-trillion dollar superannuation market.”
