I'm the target audience for Charlie - long running small business in the UK willing to spend money on a service that saves time and effort. However I wouldn't risk something as important as my HR on a company that has no visible form of financial sustainability. When the VC bubble bursts, my data is gone and it would be irresponsible of me to take that risk on behalf of my staff, suppliers and customers.
Edit People seem to be comparing it positively to Zenefits. From what I can tell, Zenefits raised >$500mm and has $60mm annual recurring revenue (ARR)[1]. They also recently fired 250 people, which is 17% of their workforce. This means that they have around 1500 people working there. If each person conservatively costs $100k/year, their staff costs are $150mm/year so they have a way to go before they're profitable. Then of course there's the ethical issues[2].
I don't mean to imply that there's anything wrong with CharlieHR and I wish them all the success in the world. I hope the product works and that in a few years, I'll be able to use the service of a business that is likely to continue operating.
Edit People seem to be comparing it positively to Zenefits. From what I can tell, Zenefits raised >$500mm and has $60mm annual recurring revenue (ARR)[1]. They also recently fired 250 people, which is 17% of their workforce. This means that they have around 1500 people working there. If each person conservatively costs $100k/year, their staff costs are $150mm/year so they have a way to go before they're profitable. Then of course there's the ethical issues[2].
I don't mean to imply that there's anything wrong with CharlieHR and I wish them all the success in the world. I hope the product works and that in a few years, I'll be able to use the service of a business that is likely to continue operating.
[1] http://uk.businessinsider.com/zenefits-missed-sales-projecti... [2] http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/18/technology/zenefits-scanda...