EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Stoke Raises $15.5 Million for Its Non-payroll Hiring Platform

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Stoke announced a $15.5 million A round of venture capital for its non-payroll hiring platform. This brings its total raised to $20 million.

Stoke allows companies to empower anyone hiring a non-payroll worker to do so quickly and efficiently from any talent source. While enabling a good hiring and onboarding experience for hiring managers and workers, Stoke also ensures compliance with myriad regulations around hiring in this category and internal company policies. Compliance is delivered without distraction from execution.

Independent workforce trends have been growing rapidly since the early 2000s, and like many trends, the return to work and the workplace post-COVID has accelerated this. The independent workforce, which includes freelancers, contractors, consultants, agencies, and gig workers, has grown from 16 million in 2011 to more than 38 million in 2020 a year in which this segment of the workforce generated $1.7 trillion in revenue or 5.7% of the US GDP according to MBO Partners. 48% of the US private workforce has worked independently, and this segment is growing three times faster than the rate of overall employment.

As we’ve seen in the recovery of every economic downturn since the late 80s, employers embrace independent workers, hedging their bets during times of uncertainty. A good time to bring a platform focused on streamlining and improving the quality of that hiring experience.

Stoke CEO Shahar Erez plans to invest in the growth of the product and its go to market, stating, “These funds will follow us as we build out our own category and cement a single source of truth for business leaders to manage any and every aspect of freelance talent overhead, and to help them securely leverage the most dynamic kind of workforce.”

WorkTech founder George LaRocque interviewed Erez and discussed the market for Stoke’s platform, the impact this funding will have on the Stoke product, customers, employees, and the market.

Learn more about Stoke in this recent HR MarketWatch podcast.

$2.7 billion was invested globally in work tech during 2021 Q1 alone. Get WorkTech’s free report and analysis here.

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