September 13, 2024
Though opinions on whether Rajeev Behera's new HR firm, Every, is a high-risk venture or a brilliant idea are varied, the startup is making waves. For small firms, the all-in-one platform integrates payroll, onboarding, and expenditure management. This market is already congested with established players like Gusto, Rippling, and Deel as well as up-and-coming companies like Mercury and Brex. However, Behera's backers appear to be certain that his strategy is unique. Recently, Every raised $22.5 million in a Series A fundraising round headed by Okta Ventures, Base10 Partners, Y Combinator, and Redpoint Ventures.
Behera's emphasis on early-stage firms and distinctive offering strategy are what distinguish his vision. Every provides free incorporation services to small firms, and then they set up business bank accounts and provide crucial back-office support. Interchange fees and SaaS fees for extra modules like accounting generate revenue.
Behera explained that Every has developed advanced tools for payroll, banking, and expense management. To attract founders early on, they are now offering free incorporation services. Once onboarded through a personalized session, startups gain access to a comprehensive system covering banking, payroll, HR, bookkeeping, taxes, and state compliance. Additionally, founders benefit from a dedicated Slack channel where they can connect and share insights with other entrepreneurs.
After completing their incorporation using Every, customers usually stick with it instead of using competitors' platforms like Rippling. With tools meant to promote their growth during the first five years, Every's concentration is on companies with less than 200 people.
Behera's approach is unique in that he anticipates his most profitable clients will eventually require more services from Every—at least until Every develops into a growth-stage fintech that can assist bigger companies.
Behera's relationship with Y Combinator (YC) has been a vital component of Everybody's development. Behera, an experienced entrepreneur, made use of the accelerator's network, and everyone was a part of YC's Summer 2023 cohort. Reflektive, his prior business endeavor, was purchased in 2021 following a capital raise of more than $100 million. In addition, YC advisor Surbhi Sarna, his wife, is also a successful entrepreneur. Because of this, about half of Every's clientele came via YC's extensive startup network.
Even though Rippling, Gusto, and Deel—three other YC-backed startups—compete with them, Every's close ties to the YC ecosystem are a significant advantage. This has attracted investors, along with Behera's hands-on approach to creating the platform's components from the ground up.
Behera hired more staff after personally overseeing customer sales, support, and product design for the first 50 clients of the business, with the help of Redpoint's Alex Bard, who oversaw the Series A fundraising round. After reading glowing testimonials from firms that were already use Every, other venture capitalists did the same.
In less than two weeks, the Series A money was secured without Behera actively seeking new investors. Although the company's worth was not made public, estimates place it at $112.5 million. The additional funding will be used to support the free incorporation and onboarding services that are driving Every's early success, as well as to grow the engineering staff, which now numbers roughly 20 people.