Assemble Scores Raises $5M Seed Funding - Compensation Equity

Streamlining Employee Compensation Management

All organizations must determine employee remuneration and maintain records of this compensation, frequently utilizing spreadsheets and a variety of payroll, financial, and human resources systems.

Ensuring equitable pay for individuals possessing similar experience performing the same roles is also a critical requirement for businesses.

Assemble Secures Seed Funding

Assemble, a nascent startup, aims to introduce structure to this process and has recently announced a $5 million seed investment led by Susa Ventures, Goldcrest Capital, and several angel investors specializing in the industry.

According to Assemble co-founder Enrique Esclusa, the startup has developed a comprehensive system for managing compensation decisions.

A Centralized Compensation System

“The system consolidates all compensation and workforce data into a single, centralized hub, typically dispersed across multiple systems,” Esclusa explained. “It then renders this data not only accessible but also easily understandable and actionable for stakeholders throughout the organization.”

Esclusa and his co-founder, Lisa Wallace, previously collaborated at another company where Wallace oversaw recruitment and Esclusa managed finance and business operations.

It was during this time that they directly experienced the difficulties associated with tracking this type of information.

The Pain Points of Existing Methods

“We observed that nearly all data resided in spreadsheets, which is a cumbersome and time-intensive method for compiling data and frameworks,” he stated. “Sharing relevant information with decision-makers and making choices that are both competitive for attracting and retaining talent, as well as financially sound, fair, and equitable, proved challenging.”

Consequently, in 2020, the two founders joined forces to develop a solution to these issues, resulting in the creation of their product.

Integrating Equity from the Start

Wallace highlighted that companies often overlook equity considerations during organizational development, attempting to address them retroactively, a process frequently requiring external consultants to gather data from various systems.

Assemble is engineered to incorporate equity into the compensation framework from its inception.

“This isn’t simply about conducting a pay equity analysis in one location or providing managers with isolated visibility elsewhere,” she clarified. “It’s about establishing a genuine engagement layer across the organization, involving multiple stakeholders impacting compensation, as numerous objectives and potential pitfalls exist.”

Building a Diverse Team

Assemble currently employs 10 individuals and, with a diverse founding team and a commitment to DE&I principles regarding pay equity, is focused on cultivating a diverse and inclusive workplace.

“We have proactively sought out and evaluated diverse candidates for each open position,” Wallace said. “Recruiting is a significant focus for both Enrique and myself, consuming approximately one-third of our time.”

She added that, despite currently having only 10 employees, their diversity metrics are promising.

Diversity Statistics

“Currently, 40% of our team identifies as Hispanic, and 60% are immigrants or the children of immigrants,” she reported. While the team currently includes only two women, Wallace stated that she is actively working to improve gender representation in future hiring.

The company is also striving for diversity in its funding sources by including a number of historically underrepresented angel investors in its cap table.

Integration with Existing Tools

Given that compensation data is not typically isolated, Assemble integrates with existing HR and payroll software solutions such as WorkDay, Gusto, ADP, and Bamboo HR.