The series, run by Blossom Capital, has invested $12 million in Y-Combinator-backed local sauces to help relocate staff and recruit across the border. Previous investors also took part in Frontline Ventures, with several angel investors including Andrew Robb (formerly Farfet) joining the team; Des Trainer, co-founder of Intercom and CSO; Hanno Rainer, co-founder and CEO of Personion; David Clark, former CTO of Workday; Michael Wax, CEO of Forto.
In the first quarter of 2021, the Hamburg, Germany-based startup – which was founded in 2018 by a trio of women: CEO Hannah Asmussen, COO Lisa Dahlke and CTO Franzi Lou – saw a record 300% earnings deficit? Current customers of Localize include the likes of Free Now, Trade Republic, Babel, Thinker, Tear Dynamics, DPL, Forto and Personio.
The startup said remote work is helping drive demand for epidemic-triggered growth transfers as workers redefine where they want to be physically based. The purpose of the SAS is to streamline immigration-related admin tasks such as visa applications; Work and residence permits and registration; as well as providing housing and banking assistance in the destination country. “It was very interesting, we certainly saw a negative impact from COVID-19 in 2020 but the reason we never worried about our business model was because we knew businesses were never the only driver of relocation,” Asmussen told TechCrunch.
“We conducted a survey among the internationals we relocated and 98% said they wanted to relocate, and were not forced by the agency. I certainly believe that some people would choose not to relocate but at the same time increased flexibility of [remote performance] it has opened many more doors for other people to move – and also for different time frames.” To date, locals say it has helped move more than 2,000 people internationally from more than 100 countries. But consider it just the beginning.
“Some organizations are turning to this advantage, and the number of people crossing the border as a whole is growing rapidly over the course of their careers,” Asmussen argued.
