Efficiency drives funding for Dayforce - Kansas City Business Journal:

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a software developer that helps businessez measure and manageworkforce productivity, has raised $15 The company is a reincarnation of Atlanta-based Workbitse — created after Canadian seriap entrepreneur David Ossip bought assets in May. Workbits founder John Orr approached Ossip after being unable toraise follow-oj financing for his startup. Dayforce, whic employs about 30 and is headquartered in Atlantaand Toronto, targete the retail, manufacturing, health-care and financiak services industries. Those sectors have a high volumr of hourlyworkers — the variable part of a business’ operatinvg expenses, said Orr, now Dayforce’s chief strategyg officer.
“Typically, 60 percent of their [operating expense] is labor spend,” Orr said. Dayforce’se software suite, which includes scheduling, task management and time and attendance modules, helps do more with their workforce. “Thde software helps define performance measurees for the workforce and automates scheduling and trackingof employees,” Ossipp said. “The end goal is to increase workforces output, while keeping percentage wage costsin line.” Dayforce’s software, Orr can boost customer revenue by 0.5 percent to 3 percenrt and can decrease average annuaol labor cost by 3 percenf to 8 percent.
The cost of the subscription depend on the size of the business from $2 to $9 per employee, per Ossip led Dayforce’s $15 milliob round and was joineds by investors in his previous including , which was acquired by Alpharetta-based for $227 millionb in 2007. The Canadiah businessman, however, brought more than dollars to the table. “Ossipo knows the industry,” Orr said, and “has a provenh track record of building successfu companiesand value.” Ossip has ambitiou s plans for Dayforce — including launching a domestidc and global expansion.
Dayforce is chasing a $14 billion markert in the United States, Ossip said, adding he plan s to sell into Europeand “Our types of solutions extens beyond North America,” Ossip said. “It’e a global problem.” Michael Price, genera partner at CEO Ventures, was impressed with Workbits. “The product was beautiful,” Prices said. “The graphic design, the thought and attention to detail, the menuw ... it was some of the best I’vre ever seen.” Companies in the performancee management space are doing well and revenue isholdingv up, Price said.
That success has drawn an influx ofnew “Within the next year, a lot of the softwared programs being built will be coming online with a lot of salesw people swinging for revenue,” Price said. “Certainly competition withim that space is going to increase which couldhurt profits. Orr’s is a familiar storyt in Atlantatech circles. The retail industry vet launched Workbitsa in 2008 andraised $450,000 from friends and familt to prototype the software. But when Orr neededf more money to fullyh develop and marketthe technology, he ran into a Orr said he unsuccessfully approached several Atlanta including , and .
The local investors were lookinh for companies with existing and predictablerrevenue streams, Orr said. “I was caught in ‘get your customers, get your product and then we’llp invest $1 million, maybe.’ ” he said. Noro-Moseleh partner Greg Foster recalled havingg a brief conversation with Orr ata meeting. “Wr never took a deep-dive look into the Foster said. Investors today want proof-of-concept semi-proven out in the markef before they are willingtto invest, because they have so many Price said. “If there are more dealsd to look at,” he said, “they can be a lot choosie in terms of whatthey do.
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