Amir Nehemia, an Israeli Navy officer, encountered several issues while attempting to get crucial data across to field soldiers. They were only reachable via phone calls without email access and away from desks. After he left the Navy, he understood how it was an issue faced by several blue-collar workers across sectors. In 2016, he set up Connecteam with his friends Yonatan Nuriel and Daniel Nuriel. This is a smartphone-based app that enables employers to easily communicate with desk-less employees, train them and schedule tasks in sectors like manufacturing, construction, and retail.
The startup confirmed $37 million in funding from a clutch of investors like O.G. Tech, Insight Partners, and the leadership of Wix, the software management entity from Israel. This deal brought the total funding amount to $40 million for the New York-based startup as per stollerforbes. The valuation of the entity has already crossed $100 million according to Nehemia. He also adds that bigger companies like Sodexo, Nike, and SodaStream make use of Connecteam for remote worker management, while a large chunk of almost 10,000 customers is smaller business entities.
If any business has 70% of employees bereft of corporate mail/PC access, then daily management becomes difficult, since Slack cannot be used. At the same time, the newer generation of workers does not wish to keep using pen and paper or even fax. They desire technologically-driven working solutions. Desk-less employees can use the Connecteam app for scheduling their shifts, logging in/out, making reports, and completing daily tasks and checklists. Employers can also onboard new hires, and communicate via announcements, live polls, and surveys, while also training employees. Employers pay the monthly charge starting from $39 for the app. A simplified free version is also available in the market.
Nehemia stated that its customer pool increased by 400% throughout the pandemic in 2020, especially due to higher usage by the cleaning and security sectors. He also has more than 150,000 users active on his app in more than 60 global nations. He also recognizes the presence of other competitors like remote onboarding platforms Remote and Deel and others like workforce marketplace entity Shiftsmart. The latter also enables blue-collar workers to schedule their shifts through an app. However, Nehemia is confident of a massive global market for his app since 80% of the workforce does not have desk jobs throughout the world as per studies.
Connecteam is one of the few startups emphasizing on desk-less blue-collar workers and creating newer features based on what they prefer, according to Nehemia. He also highlights features like the voice recording provision to help workers who are not comfortable speaking in English. The CEO at Wix, Avishai Abrahami, was drawn to the worker-focused philosophy and what he describes as the proper mindset.
Connecteam is one of the few focusing on the diskless blue-collar worker and building features that take their preferences into account, he says. For instance, while most of the app’s users speak English, some can’t write in the language, so Connecteam created a voice recording feature for these employees.