They want to be the human resources platform to rule everything. HR teams can integrate employee data from different systems with the help of the software. After localizing for employment regulations in Southeast Asia, it plans to roll out in other markets.
The startup is coming out of stealth mode with an oversubscribed pre-seed round co-led by Alpha JWC Venture and Picus Capital. Former executives of U.S. HR software firms were involved in the investment.
The soft launch of Omni HR took place in March of 2022. A recruitment module and a performance enhancement module will be added by the end of the year.
The company was founded by Brian Ip and YC Chan. According to Ip, he and Chan learned about the industry from looking at many HR tech deals while he was working at Goldman Sachs.
Most local solutions only address limited functions, like payroll, and there isn't a winning product for Southeast Asia yet
Most teams wanted an all-in-one solution. Basic payroll software was still being used by many. New hires, recruiting employees, performance reviews, collecting documentation, and preparing HR reports are some of the work they were doing manually.
The startup opportunity is more interesting because we don't see HR software as a silo-ed tool used only by the HR department. We see it as a system of record for employees.
Almost every app or business function within a company can be connected to Omni, turning it into a software infrastructure layer.
Local payroll software and imported software from overseas are some of the categories Chan sees in the competition. The disadvantage of payroll software is that they only give admin functions around payroll calculation, and are notScalable. They don't have features for performance appraisals.
Imported HR software lacks features like payroll modules for Southeast Asian countries, local customer support and even modules like time off tracking or attendance management that are not built flexible enough to accommodate policies in one market.
He said that some top U.S. HR platforms are not available outside of the US. Even if they expand internationally at some point, they will still be able to build a strong moat.
It can be difficult to localize for each market. Different employee information needs to be collected by HR managers. Employees in Singapore give their children's birth certificates to their employers so they can apply for government reimbursements when they take care of their kids. Multiple forms of ID information are collected by companies in Indonesia.
Different countries have different ways of doing things. In Indonesia, a maximum of only three months is allowed, but in Singapore, it can be extended.
Tax, pension and other statutory withholdings are included in payroll calculations. There are different time off rules. Local job boards are more likely to be connected with by Omni.
According to Ip, Singapore and Indonesia were chosen as the startup's first markets because they are companies in tech and tech-adjacent sectors. The most mature market in Southeast Asia is Singapore. Indonesia is one of the largest and fastest growing markets in Southeast Asia.
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