- Work-travel platform Remote Year announced it raised $5 million in funding led by Lightbank
Remote Year, a work-travel platform launched in 2014 by Greg Caplan, announced it has raised $5 million in funding led by Lightbank, a Chicago-based venture capital firm founded by serial entrepreneurs Eric Lefkofsky and Brad Keywell. Existing Remote Year investor Highland Capital Partners also joined in the round.
With this round of funding, Remote Year will invest in growing participation in work-travel programs globally along with exploring new products and sales channels.
“We have spent the last four years building our global infrastructure and playbook. We now have the pieces in place to really grow our community. We believe that one day, our global community of curious and driven professionals will grow to over one million people,” said Caplan in a statement.z
How does it work? Remote Year offers 4, 6, and 12 month work-travel programs to professionals who work remotely. And each community travels together for the entirety of the program by spending a month in each city around the world (Latin America, Europe & Africa, and Asia). These services are available for a down payment and $2,000 per month.
In the past four years, Remote Year hosted over 2,500 “Remotes” on their work-travel programs. And Remote Year invests in building a professionally focused community to support each other’s success during the experience. And to ensure productivity, each program’s transit and local experiences are built to respect the work week and connectivity is always a priority as the company provides SIM cards and ensures strong Wi-Fi in each city. Plus Remote Year has Employer Success specialists that support interested participants in getting employer approval to join a program.
The program currently operates in 12 cities across the world, including Mexico City, Medellin, Lima, Santiago, Split, Lisbon, Valencia, Cape Town, Hanoi, Kuala Lumpur, Chiang Mai, and Kyoto.
“Remote Year has unequivocally defined the work-travel space. Their impressive growth and leadership over the last four years has demonstrated the long-term viability of this market,” added Michael Mauceri, CFO at Lightbank. “We’re excited to partner with them to further their growth, and we’re equally excited to support their vision of shaping the future of work and the global community.”
Remote Year believes that this experience has a three-pronged benefit for individuals, companies, and society. From an individual standpoint, this experience allows each participate to get out of their comfort zone and push their limits personally and professionally. For companies, Remote Year provides a step towards leveraging a distributed workforce to improve recruitment and retain top talent.
And for society, Remote Year believes that this program will create a more productive world by fostering genuine human connections across diverse cultures and people.
