While there are countless tech companies that make HR technology for small and midsized businesses, much of it is geared toward “professionals who sit at desks in some capacity,” insists Homebase founder and CEO John Waldmann.
Homebase is HR software that targets the two-thirds of the American SMB workforce with hourly jobs that require them to be on-site. After nabbing over 100,000 small businesses as customers, covering over 2 million employees, Homebase recently closed on $60 million in Series D financing. L Catterton Growth, the tech venture arm of one of the top private equity firms, led the round and was joined by Emerson Collective. The round also includes existing investors, Notable Capital, Bain Capital Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Cowboy Ventures and PLUS Capital.
Homebase offers payroll, shift scheduling, timesheets, hiring and onboarding, communication and HR compliance.
“It’s really hard to raise capital now, and the fact that they raised with L Catterton Growth says a lot about the team and performance,” said Jeff Richards, investor and managing partner at Notable Capital (formerly GGV Capital).
“Hourly workers have a lot of the same desires for flexibility and certainty, but it shows up in entirely different ways, and that’s been our core mission,” Waldmann said.
Richards agrees. He said that SMB tech for frontline or hourly workers doesn’t get nearly the attention it deserves despite the fact that it may affect over 55% of the workforce. He also said that artificial intelligence will be a major enabler of small businesses, and companies like Homebase will enable them to “build amazing businesses.”
Despite the founder’s and investor’s enthusiasm, Homebase isn’t alone in serving this hourly worker market. Others include Workstream, building mobile-first hiring and onboarding tools; rewards platform Salt Labs; and shift payment tool Clair. Still, Richards makes a case that Homebase’s growth is impressive.
“To have over 2 million workers on Homebase, which is over 2% of the workforce, is impressive for a private company,” Richards said. “If the numbers keep growing, it could be an important company from a technology and economic standpoint.”
TechCrunch last reported on Homebase in 2021 when the company raised $71 million. Since then, the company leaned into additional financial services products and AI-enhanced features like improvements to its automated payroll capabilities. It is also working on automated tip management.
The round gives Homebase a total of $169 million in venture-backed capital. In 2021, sources told TechCrunch’s Ingrid Lunden that the company’s valuation was between $500 million and $600 million. Waldmann declined to confirm that or provide an updated valuation other than saying it was not a down round.
In addition to R&D investments, Homebase made other changes earlier this year with the appointment of Philip Moon as its new CFO. Moon previously held strategic finance roles at companies such as Square and Grove Collaborative. Company co-founder and chief operating officer Rushi Patel also added the title of chief revenue officer.
“We are using technology to give workers superpowers and in fact, make the work more human, not less,” Waldmann said. “There’s so much data that shows the importance of good jobs in the health of communities. Small businesses have always provided that, and this, to me, is why our mission is so important to make these jobs even better.”