Firstbase announced a $13 million Series A round of venture capital for its remote workforce infrastructure app, bringing its total raised to $15.1 million. Its software platform helps companies set up, manage, maintain and retrieve all physical equipment remote workers need to work from home comfortably and effectively. Firstbase handles deployment of assets, IT installation and upgrades, ongoing repairs, culture and perks, and asset collection when a worker leaves.
I’ve been studying employee experience (EX) since 2012. Writing and speaking about how work tech extends across the three pillars of EX: Cultural, technical, and physical. The most recent presentation I did on this was late 2019 in Paris to a room full of CHROs and HRIT leaders. When I got to the part about physical EX and how employers needs to invest in infrastructure to support a distributed workforce with the equipment needed to do the job. How important this is to productivity. I was met with the usual response: eye rolls. That was pre-COVID. The global pandemic shined an incredibly bright light on how inadequately prepared employers were to support distributed and remote work – even if those trends were on the rise. This looks to be where Firstbase fits.
Now when I speak on EX? I can see the CHRO and HRIT leader leaning in across Zoom. The physical aspect of EX isn’t just for the shop floor.
$2.7 billion was invested globally in work tech during 2021 Q1 alone. Get WorkTech’s free report and analysis here.