WorkMotion is a pioneering Global Employment Platform, revolutionizing the way businesses hire international talent. Its consumer-like software sits atop a robust global network of legal entities and empowers clients to seamlessly onboard cross-border remote talent without the burden of establishing their own legal entities. As the legal employer, WorkMotion orchestrates local payroll setup and ensures full compliance, simplifying global hiring processes and transcending traditional boundaries.
We’re excited to be sitting down with Founder, Carsten Letbig to shine a spotlight on WorkMotion’s journey so far.
Share the story of WorkMotion, how did it come to fruition?
Right in the middle of the first COVID-19 lockdown, I witnessed an unprecedented shift in work dynamics, witnessing five years of remote work innovation happening in five weeks. Thinking about whether this fast-growing trend could last, I realized a big problem: there aren’t enough skilled workers in Europe. It dawned on me that by dismantling the artificial barriers of national borders and facilitating effortless global hiring, we could alleviate talent shortages while fostering positive global impacts. My Co-Founders and I swiftly brought our vision to life, launching the initial iteration of our product and rapidly onboarding hundreds of talents across the globe for our clients.
What has been the hardest lesson learned so far?
Post-summer 2022, we encountered a seismic shift in the macroeconomic landscape, with tech companies scaling back on hiring or downsizing teams. Even though our platform was great at providing a fully automated onboarding experience, we had not yet built capabilities for compliant offboarding following involuntary terminations! Figuring out complex trial periods, local work laws, and rules for ending employment needed quick solutions.
At the same time, we transitioned from using local third parties to creating our own worldwide setup, with 34 companies fully owned by WorkMotion, enabling us to provide our clients an even smoother experience. Working on this alongside building new features for our platform was difficult, but we were able to demonstrate our dedication to helping our clients succeed.
What has been the biggest surprise during your time at WorkMotion?
Scaling our team from 0 to 300 employees within two years, all while embracing a 100% remote operational model, proved to be a big positive surprise. Despite our lack of prior experience operating fully remotely at such a scale, the efficacy of our remote setup surpassed expectations.
Our dedicated People and Culture team designed onboarding processes that fostered cohesion and productivity among remote employees. Obsessing over the OKR framework streamlined our operations with clarity and alignment, enabling optimal resource allocation and fostering a culture of transparency.
Today, we proudly embody modern employment, exemplifying the potential of remote and hybrid work environments.
What advice would you offer other growth companies about financing their business?
I think the best advice is to remember to use money from inside the company wisely, instead of just relying on money from outside sources — we learned this during a particularly busy growth period. Back then, we weren’t so good at managing our spending and budgeting. We have to ensure we’re compliant across different jurisdictions so we ended up spending a lot on advice from expensive experts rather than figuring things out ourselves — our legal advice bill got really high. We fixed this by implementing rules about who can spend money and how much. This helped us cut our legal advice bill by 70%.
Another problem was with buying software. For a long time, we didn’t keep track of what software we were buying or how many people were using it. Once we realized this, we started controlling our software spending better and managed to cut it.
What is WorkMotion‘s biggest achievement so far?
We helped thousands of people around the world get jobs at top European companies. We made it super easy for them to have a legal work contract and get paid on time, even if their employer is in a different country or continent.
When we hear feedback like “You changed my life. Now I work for a great company, doubled my income, and have a better career path,” we know we’re doing something right.
Any further tips for aspiring founders?
I suggest keeping a diary as a founder. Building and hopefully selling a company takes many years and is like a crazy rollercoaster ride: you experience the highest highs and the lowest lows — sometimes all in a single day! So, it’s helpful to have something to look back on after 3, 6, or 12 months. I’m often surprised at how much progress we’ve made when I review my notes.
Also, prioritize yourself as a founder! Many founders sacrifice their health or relationships for their company’s success. I believe only a healthy, balanced founder can be a great leader and role model for their team so carve out time for the gym or social events, even if your to-do list seems never-ending.
