The Rise of Global Workforce Management and Oyster's Funding

The increasing prevalence of remote work and geographically dispersed teams has brought significant attention to the HR technologies companies utilize to manage their personnel. Currently, Oyster, an HR startup experiencing substantial growth, has announced a new funding round to further expand its operations.

Oyster's Platform and Services

Oyster is a platform designed to streamline the process of hiring, onboarding, and managing both contractors and full-time employees engaged in “knowledge work.” The company provides essential HR services, including payroll processing, benefits administration, and salary management.

The company currently operates in 100 countries. CEO Tony Jamous, alongside co-founder Jack Mardack, stated their intention to broaden their market reach and introduce additional services, particularly focusing on opportunities within emerging economies to facilitate increased hiring.

Current Capabilities and Future Expansion

At present, Oyster does not offer candidate sourcing or assistance with the interviewing and evaluation stages of recruitment. However, these areas represent potential avenues for future development, either through internal technology creation or strategic partnerships to create a comprehensive, one-stop solution.

The company has experimented with virtual job fairs, indicating a possible direction for product exploration.

The Global Talent Landscape

“An estimated 1.5 billion knowledge workers will enter the workforce over the next decade, primarily from developing nations, while approximately 90 million jobs remain vacant in established economies,” Jamous explained. “Leveraging a globally distributed workforce offers considerable advantages, but it presents substantial challenges in HR and payroll administration.”

Series A Funding and Investors

Oyster has secured a $20 million Series A funding round led by Emergence Capital, a B2B venture capital firm with a portfolio including Zoom, Salesforce, and Bill.com. The Slack Fund and Connect Ventures also participated in this investment.

This funding will accelerate Oyster’s growth trajectory and reinforce its commitment to enabling individuals to work from any location.

Financial Details and Company Valuation

The specific valuation of Oyster has not been publicly disclosed. To date, the startup has raised approximately $24 million in funding.

The Impact of the Pandemic on Remote Work

Ironically, the global health crisis, while shrinking our physical worlds, has simultaneously expanded employment opportunities and the scope of organizational operations.

The widespread adoption of remote work, driven by public health mandates, has decoupled employees from traditional office settings, enabling companies to seek and collaborate with top talent irrespective of geographical boundaries.

Origins and Inspiration

This trend, though accelerated recently, has been developing for years, fueled by advancements in cloud computing and globalization. Jamous shared that the concept for Oyster had been evolving for some time, becoming clearer during his tenure at Nexmo – the cloud communications provider acquired by Vonage in 2016.

“At Nexmo, we aimed to be a strong local employer. While headquartered in two countries, we aspired to have personnel globally,” he stated. “We invested significantly in building employment infrastructure to achieve this, gaining expertise in local regulations across France, Korea, and other nations.” He quickly recognized the inherent inefficiencies of this approach. “We were unprepared for the complexity and diversity of issues that arose.”

From Angel Investing to Venture Creation

Following his departure from Nexmo and a period of angel investing – including support for other distributed work platforms like Hopin – Jamous resolved to address the workforce challenge as the core focus of his next venture.

This initiative began in mid-2019, prior to the pandemic, proving to be remarkably well-timed as organizations rapidly sought solutions for their evolving distributed workforce needs.

A Personal Connection to Emerging Markets

The emphasis on emerging markets is deeply rooted in Jamous’s personal history: he left Lebanon to pursue studies in France at the age of 17 and has resided abroad ever since. However, his experiences returning to emerging markets highlighted the significant technical talent available and the potential to empower local residents and economies through technology.

Reflecting this broader social commitment, Oyster is currently pursuing B-Corporation certification.

A Growing Field of HR Tech

Jamous is not alone in establishing an HR company based on personal experience. The founders of Turing cite their upbringing in India and remote work experiences as key motivators, while Remote’s founder, originating from Europe, drew inspiration from GitLab’s success – where he previously led product development – in tapping into global talent pools.

Oyster is part of a competitive landscape, alongside companies like Deel, Remote, Hibob, Papaya Global, Personio, Factorial, Lattice, Turing, and Rippling, all striving to become the leading HR solutions for distributed teams.

Oyster's Value Proposition

The appeal of Oyster lies in the simplicity of its service delivery. It offers options for both contractors and full-time employees, with scalable solutions for larger international deployments. Clients can choose to add benefits packages and utilize tools for budgeting and local remuneration guidance.

Pricing starts at $29 per person per month for contractors and $399 for full employees, with customized packages available for larger organizations.

Oyster collaborates with local partners to deliver certain services, but its proprietary technology ensures a seamless customer experience. It essentially functions as a local employer on behalf of its clients, navigating the complexities of employment and payroll while adhering to both company policies and local regulations.

Investor Confidence and Future Outlook

“While Oyster faces competition from several well-funded companies, this is often a positive indicator,” noted Jason Green, the Emergence partner leading the investment. “The key is identifying the team most likely to succeed, and that hinges on execution. We are backing a team with a proven track record, an entrepreneur who has successfully built and sold a company. Tony has demonstrated business acumen and, importantly, is mission-driven, which will be crucial in this space.”