There are countless technology companies developing HR technology for small and medium-sized businesses, but many are aimed at “professionals sitting behind a desk in some capacity,” argues John Waldmann, founder and CEO of Homebase.
Homebase is a human resources software that targets two-thirds of American small business employees, offering hourly jobs that require on-site supervision. Homebase recently closed on $60 million in Series D funding after acquiring more than 100,000 small and medium-sized businesses as customers and covering more than 2 million employees. . L Catterton Growth led the round, with participation from Emerson Collective. Existing investors Notable Capital, Bain Capital Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Cowboy Ventures, and PLUS Capital also participated in the round.
Homebase provides payroll, shift schedules, timesheets, recruiting and onboarding, communications, and HR compliance.
“It's really hard to raise money right now. The fact that we raised money from a top private equity firm like L Catterton Growth says a lot about our team and our performance,” he said. Jeff Richards, investor and managing partner at Notable Capital (formerly GGV Capital).
“Hourly workers have many of the same desires for flexibility and certainty, but they manifest in very different ways. That is our core mission,” Waldman said. Ta.
Richards agrees. He said SMB technology for field and hourly workers hasn't gotten enough attention, despite potentially impacting more than 55% of the workforce. He also said that artificial intelligence will be a key enabler for small and medium-sized businesses, allowing companies like Homebase to “build great businesses.”
Despite the enthusiasm of its founders and investors, Homebase is not alone in serving this hourly worker market. Others include Workstream, which builds mobile-first recruiting and onboarding tools, Salt Labs, a compensation platform, and Clair, a shift payment tool. Still, Richards insists that Homebase's growth has been impressive.
“We have over 2 million employees at home base, which is over 2% of our workforce, which is great for a private company,” Richards said. “If this number continues to grow, it has the potential to become an important company from a technology and economic perspective.”
TechCrunch last reported on Homebase in 2021, when the company raised $71 million. Since then, the company has focused on additional financial services products and AI-enhanced features such as improved automated payroll functionality. The company is also working on automating chip management.
This round provides Homebase with total venture-backed funding of $169 million. In 2021, sources told TechCrunch's Ingrid Lunden that the company was valued at between $500 million and $600 million. Waldman declined to confirm that or provide an updated valuation, other than to say it was not a down round.
In addition to investing in research and development, Homebase appointed Philip Moon as its new CFO earlier this year and made several additional changes. Mr. Moon previously held strategic finance roles at companies including Square and Grove Collective. Rushi Patel, the company's co-founder and chief operating officer, also added the title of chief revenue officer.
“We're using technology to give workers superpowers and actually make work more human, not less human,” Waldman said. “There is a lot of data showing that good jobs are important to the health of our communities. Small businesses have always provided that, and to me this is why our mission to make these jobs even better is so important.” That's why it's important.”