There are countless workforce management applications and tools for workers that spend most of their time in front of a computer. But for members of the workforce that don’t sit at a desk, there’s a dearth of options to do simple administrative tasks, creating a bottleneck in communication between employers and employees. Sona is a workforce platform designed specifically for the needs of frontline workers (often deskless) like those working in retail, healthcare, logistics, and even manufacturing. The platform, founded earlier this year, focuses on shift scheduling, company communications, holiday leave scheduling, and feedback to ensure that both employees and employers are on the same page.
London TechWatch caught up with Cofounder Steffen Wulff Petersen to learn more about building a timely solution for an economy where the concept of work is evolving, the company’s strategic plans, recent round of funding, and much, much more.
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
$2.2M (£1.6M) pre-seed. The round was led by Speedinvest, with participation from experienced angel investors including Andy Leaver from Notion Capital, Lorenzo Franzi from Flash Ventures, and several partners from Novator.
Tell us about your product or service.
The Sona employee app is designed for the specific needs of these ‘deskless’ workers in industries like healthcare, retail, logistics, and manufacturing. The problem for these frontline staff is that too many aspects of managing their work – checking their schedules, booking leave, submitting feedback – involve a lot of manual back and forth with managers and HR.
Sona is a mobile hub for all of these tasks:
- View and claim shifts instantly
- Access and manage their schedules
- Book annual leave
- Get real-time company updates and message team members 1-1
- Leave feedback for managers and head office
Making these common tasks extremely easy and convenient for employees to complete autonomously so they feel more empowered and valued at work. Then, as more workflows can be automated, managers are freed up to focus on mission-critical work.
What inspired the start of Sona?
We had previously built our own technology to stop us from being overwhelmed by manual processes as we grew and ran ‘gig economy’ workforces (predominantly made up of shift-based staff). Over time we discovered that many of the companies we worked with did not have their own equivalent.
Then one of our candidates – who’d previously worked for a major UK retailer – showed us a WhatsApp group filled with photos of annotated paper schedules. A pattern started to emerge across our vast client base and at that moment we realised there was an incredible opportunity to create something far better.
How is it different?
Our key point of differentiation in the market is our focus on the needs and wants of frontline workers as the end-users, which means building mobile-first and taking inspiration from the world’s leading consumer apps rather than existing enterprise software.
What market are you targeting and how big is it?
Sona is designed for the needs of ‘deskless’ industries. Globally there are 2.7bn workers who don’t work at desks so it’s a massive market opportunity. We are currently focused on growing our presence in the UK as our home market and expanding into other major markets.
What’s your business model?
We run a software subscription model where customers pay a fee per user per month, so a pretty standard SaaS template.
How has COVID-19 impacted your business?
The pandemic has accelerated the pace of digital transformation in lots of areas, including adoption of workforce management software. So with funding and customer validation for our product in place we are in a good position to grow into an expanding market. Covid is also leading to a complete restructuring of the overall labour market and changing people’s attitudes towards work. We call Sona “The employee app for tomorrow’s workforce” because, through our technology, employers can give staff the greater autonomy and flexibility they have been calling for.
What was the funding process like?
Happily, the round was competitive and therefore moved quickly. It took 4 days from the first meeting to receiving term sheets. We quickly settled on SpeedInvest as our ideal partner and closed out the legals over the next few weeks.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
We received some negative feedback around differentiating Sona from what can appear from the outside to be a noisy category. This was easier to navigate with VCs that already understood the category well. SpeedInvest is a prime example of that, which also enabled them to move quickly because they had less catching up to do.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
Having deep knowledge of – and being passionate about – the opportunity we’re pursuing was probably the main driver. For VCs you then need to combine that with a very large market given the fund return profile they’re looking at (which deskless work is). Lastly, having prior founder experience helped too.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
With the team and funding in place so it’s all about launching the platform to new customers and grow, grow, grow!
What advice can you offer companies in London that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
Make sure you are targeting the right investors that are relevant to your stage and business. SpeedInvest is highly focused on early-stage B2B SaaS and hence was a perfect fit whereas many other funds would be the wrong fit and a waste of time.
If you’re targeting the right investors but not getting the raise done, then look at the feedback. There is usually a pattern of 1 or 2 key concerns across investors. If you can address those concerns (which may require a big change and might be painful) then you often end up with a better business as a result, on top of being able to raise funding.
If you’re targeting the right investors but not getting the raise done, then look at the feedback. There is usually a pattern of 1 or 2 key concerns across investors. If you can address those concerns (which may require a big change and might be painful) then you often end up with a better business as a result, on top of being able to raise funding.
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
We’re a young company so we are focused on our early customers and making the product amazing for them. That makes growing a lot easier.
What is your favourite restaurant in London?
I love the restaurants in East London. While some come and go, I would highlight Bistrotheque as a place I have loved returning to for 10 years!
