Over 80% of large companies offer wellness programs to their employees as non-wage compensation is growing in importance in an era where employees are re-evaluating their relationship with work. These programs are said to improve employee health, productivity, recruitment and retention while lowering healthcare costs. Pirkx is a self-service workplace wellness programme that can be integrated into any type of business to provide over 40 benefits. Businesses of any size can now offer their employees benefits that are on par with wellness benefits found at larger corporations. The benefits span across mental health, health, nutrition, lifelong education, and financial management as well as 24/7 GP access. The pricing for the services is only £4.50 per employee per month, making wellness accessible for the masses for the first time.
London TechWatch caught up with pirkx CEO and Founder Stella Smith to learn more about the business, the company’s strategic plans, latest round of funding, which brings the total funding raised to £4M, and much, much more…
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
£3M raised in a pre-Series A round and investors include NoBa Capital, Joyance Partners, Love Ventures, 1818 Venture Capital, Vala Capital, and Capital Pilot Boost Fund.
Tell us about your product or service.
A shocking 91% of the 3.2 billion workers globally don’t have access to a workplace wellness programme. pirkx is on a mission to change this and make wellbeing benefits accessible to all. For just £4.50 per month per user, pirkx gives businesses and individuals a package of health and wellbeing benefits previously available only to employees of large corporations. Over 40 benefits span physical and mental health, financial wellbeing and education and include on-demand GP services, counselling and mental health support, shopping discounts and skills training courses. This is all delivered via a uniquely flexible, configurable, self-service platform.
What inspired the start of pirkx?
Having previously founded several small businesses supported by a network of freelance and contract workers, I knew from first-hand experience that there were simply no wellbeing packages I could offer to them that came close to the expensive benefits I enjoyed while working at large corporates with big budgets. My mission was to change this once and for all.
How is it different?
pirkx is unique. Our ethos is to support people to be happier, healthier, humans and to do that we understand that not every person has the same definition of wellbeing. That’s why pirkx’s benefits range from health to wealth through to education.
What market you are targeting and how big is it?
Our service perfectly caters to SME businesses, the self-employed, and contract workers but any individual, anywhere in the UK, can access pirkx. Our ambition is bigger than the UK. We have already launched in Australia and we intend to solve the same problem that we solve here in the UK anywhere across the globe where we can make a meaningful difference.
What are your post-COVID office plans?
Just as pirkx offers ultimate flexibility for our users, pirkx believes that ultimate flexibility is vital for its people too. We operate a hybrid model. Unusually, we all dial in to a virtual office each day with a stand up in the morning and evening. For us, it really works – we operated on this basis throughout the pandemic and, because we were altogether, not one of my team was lonely across that period. It also gives us short lines of communication and therefore the efficiency across our teams is high. However, we obviously love nothing more than meeting up to bring new ideas to life, build our culture and do something a bit cool.
What was the funding process like?
Full on! Busy, tiring, challenging but at the same time encouraging, exciting, and rewarding. I think we had new experiences and learnings and ultimately that always helps you grow as a professional.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
In truth, time! Time is the one thing we, as a team, can’t magic up. We ran a very organised process, particularly given my finance background, and we were very diligent. To see the number of prospective investors and organise due diligence processes etc. while still running the business at the pace we are travelling at was a continual balancing act.
The biggest goal was ensuring we partnered with investors who had the same values and ethos as us. We were passionate about working with investors which care about social impact and tech for good as we believe this is vital in ensuring long term commercial success. We also wanted to find nice people that we liked!
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
1/ our founding team. I am proud to be a female entrepreneur and was encouraged by how many investors were so keen to support impressive female leaders 2/our market opportunity is huge and we already have a comprehensive tech stack which is 100% ready to scale to meet this. Finally, our unwavering belief in our mission to make wellbeing benefits accessible to all.
1/ our founding team. I am proud to be a female entrepreneur and was encouraged by how many investors were so keen to support impressive female leaders 2/our market opportunity is huge and we already have a comprehensive tech stack which is 100% ready to scale to meet this. Finally, our unwavering belief in our mission to make wellbeing benefits accessible to all.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
The next 6 months is all about growth. We are confident that our platform is ready to scale, and we will be spending our time preparing to launch into several big markets including South Africa. At the same time, we are nurturing and growing our UK community and continuously making our product perfect!
What advice can you offer companies in London that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
Don’t give up and find as many hacks as you can. Create a network and if you are confident in your product and its potential to solve a problem, then go with your gut instinct and continue to break down barriers and challenges one at a time.
There are so many resources available that I didn’t know existed before pirkx. Programmes like London & Partners Mayor’s International Business programme, accelerators, initiatives from large banks and professional advisers such as accountants and lawyers are invaluable and a lot of them are free. I would research everything available and take all the support, resource, wisdom, and guidance you can find.
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
We are so excited about the potential of pirkx. Our goal is to make a real dent in that 91% of workers that are locked out of corporate wellbeing benefits and we’re 100% confident of the positive impact this will have on global wellbeing levels. I also see more and more people I meet, or already know, joining in to help us succeed – whether it’s buying pirkx for themselves or their teams or lending us their time with advice or practical help. I hope that we can pull together more and more people and create something very special.
What’s your favourite outdoor activity in London?
I am a Londoner and I still get goosebumps when I walk over Waterloo Bridge and see Big Ben and St Paul’s. London is an amazing city, I love its diversity, activity, energy, and noise. I live in Covent Garden so take advantage of all the cool stuff to do from museums and parks to art, sport, and eating. You can never be bored in London.
As a team, we like journeys, adventure, and exploring. Eating is also a big pirkx team activity and we have quite a few budding chefs…