Jolly, a workforce optimization platform, announced a $16.5 million Series A fundraise which was led by Zach Kirkhorn (former CFO of Tesla). Along with Kirkhorn, who will join the company’s Board, the funding included participation from angel investors Gokul Rajaram, Julien Codorniou, Steve Luczo, and David Marcus, and institutional support from Bullpen Capital, Dorm Room Fund, Eigen Ventures, among others. These funds will expand Jolly’s product suite and scale into new verticals.
Companies have historically struggled to align frontline employees’ motivation with business executives’ interests in a way that benefits both the employee and employer. And with deskless employee satisfaction at an all-time low and advanced technology threatening disruption, it is more important than ever for executives to align employee interests with company goals.
Jolly’s platform incentivizes actions that are value-accretive to the business such as picking up extra shifts or showing up on time. And incentives are fully customizable while points are dispatched autonomously based on objective work data. Ultimately, the points can be used on gift cards or other high-value items.
Before founding the company, Zimberg worked as a data scientist and investor, where he experienced firsthand the difficulty of recognizing and retaining a frontline workforce. The traditional employee recognition platforms depend on qualitative manager assessment, rewarding work visible to a manager. But Jolly depends on data-driven assessment, resulting in recognition for work regardless of visibility or subjective opinions.
Jolly also works with over 100 frontline employers across the United States and has over 30,000 essential workers using the platform.
KEY QUOTES:
“Frontline workers are the backbone of our economy — they are the folks paving roads early in the morning, cleaning dishes late at night, or delivering packages over holidays. These workers should be celebrated. Employers want to reward actions that improve business outcomes. We’re proud to be the platform that gives the frontline a deserved piece of the bottom line.”
- Dean Zimberg, Founder and CEO of Jolly
“Business leaders are under immense pressure to improve financial performance, but it’s also critical to ensure employees see a direct benefit from their hard work. Jolly has created a unique platform that ensures employees and companies can benefit together. The best businesses are those in which everyone wins, and I look forward to supporting the Jolly team on this important work.”
- Zach Kirkhorn, Board Member at Jolly
“We saw a 30% improvement in on-time documentation among our nursing staff after the first four months of using Jolly. The platform enabled quicker billing and better cash flow for our business. Jolly has been a win-win for Team Select, improving our revenue operations and boosting employee satisfaction.”
- Fred Johnson, President and CEO of Team Select Home Care
