Workstream closes $108 million Series B

Hourly workers were on the frontline during the pandemic. While knowledge workers were able to work safely from home, many hourly workers are deskless and they put their health at risk to continue working; they kept the economy going during COVID-19 by, for example, keeping essential shops open, packaging and delivering parcels, and caring for the sick.

While there is a plethora of tech tools for desk-based workers, deskless frontline workers have often been overlooked. This makes it incredibly difficult for them to find new jobs, and for employers in sectors like retail, hospitality and leisure that rely on hourly workers to find <and employ new staff.

Things are slowing starting to change, and investors are becoming more aware of the need to empower the deskless workforce.

This explains why Workstream, which was founded in 2017, has attracted $108 million in Series B funding. The deskless worker-focused recruitment tech company first closed its Series B in late August with $48 million raised, but it has now extended it and raised a further $60 million.

The first iteration of the round was led by BOND and Coatue Ventures, and the second is led by Hans Tung of GGV Capital.

Many angel investors also participated in the Series B; examples include Zoom CEO Erin Yuan, DoorDash’s Tony Xu, Ryan Smith CEO of Qualtrics, Lattice co-founder Jack Altman and Dropbox co-founder Arash Ferdowski.

A bright future for Workstream

After experiencing ten-fold growth in the past year, Workstream currently helps 4,000 companies globally with their hiring; it claims that its tools reduce the time to hire by 70%.

Brands that rely on Workstream’s tech include Subway, McDonald’s, Burger King, 7 Eleven, Dunkin’, Holiday Inn, UPS, Nurse NextDoor, FedEx and Marriott International.

Workstream is planning to use the Series B funding to expand beyond its core market, quick service restaurants, and further embed itself into the retail, hospitality, healthcare, warehouse and automotive sectors.

Talking about the investment, GGV’s Tung commented: “Workstream has seen tremendous momentum in the last year.

“We’re excited to see Workstream continue to expand into new verticals, in particular the retail sector, which was profoundly impacted by COVID-19.

“60% of the U.S. workforce does not sit at a desk to do their job, and we’re delighted to see Workstream continue to build technology to support this group.”

In a blogpost, CEO and co-founder Desmond Lim noted: “When building Workstream, we prioritized products and features that would have the greatest impact on those who work in this fast-paced, on-the-go environment: two-way texting, automation, QR and text-to-apply codes, templates, and more.

“With this funding, we will continue to invest in building the products and features our customers are asking for and find new ways to streamline how the deskless economy hires and retains their employees.”

Workstream has also committed to doubling its team as a result of this funding – this is a bold commitment as many tech companies, both big and small, have been forced to implement hiring freezes and layoffs due to a looming recession.

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