London-based Zelt, an all-in-one people operations software that bridges together HR, finance, and IT just grabbed $6M in a funding round led by Nauta Capital (one of the early investors in Revolut), with participation from Venrex and existing investor Episode 1. The freshly raised capital will enable the company to expand its product set to include more areas of operations, expand to new geographies and add new and improved features to support customers.
Vorms’ solution to software fragmentation in HRtech
The rise of affordable cloud software has spawned numerous specialised solutions for onboarding, payroll, holidays, benefits, and performance management. This has created a complex web of tools and subscriptions that complicates data management, processes, and reporting. Zelt aims to solve this fragmentation definitively.
Founded in 2020 by Chris Priebe, a former VC and PE investor with HR Tech expertise, and Polina Vorms, former product lead at Talkwaker and GfK, Zelt enables efficient workforce management throughout the employee lifecycle.
In a conversation with TFN, Polina Vorms shared: “I joined Chris on a mission to build an all-in-one platform for people management. From day one, it was easy to empathise with the problem of the scattered stack. Unfortunately, most have experienced payroll errors and constant roadblocks to simple things like updating our bank details. We wanted to bring a modern, user-friendly consumer app experience into HR and give people an easy-to-use, secure platform that makes sense.”
Behind Zelt: transforming people’s operations with automation
Zelt’s core platform enables customers to manage essential people operations, including payroll, expenses, device security, goal tracking, and holiday bookings. Automation and employee self-service features significantly reduce administrative work for employers and managers.
Unlike traditional software requiring multiple subscriptions, Zelt simplifies operations through its modular approach to workflow customisation and process automation. Vorms explained: “Zelt centralises HR, Finance, and IT processes, enabling automation and seamless workflows. The market need remains strong as companies seek to streamline operations and reduce software costs.”
Alongside time savings, Zelt’s customers can reduce their related software spend by up to 50%, a significant financial benefit. “2024 was an excellent year for Zelt as we launched our new Growth module, onboarded our first 1,000+ headcount organisation and closed a new round of funding that will enable us to invest even more into building the best product available in the market. We see a $50bn opportunity globally as organisations move from legacy and point solutions to a next-generation all-in-one platform,” said Chris Priebe, Founder and CEO at Zelt, instilling optimism about its financial impact.
But most importantly, how is it to be a female founder?
On asking Polina Vorms commented: “Personally, my experience has been very positive. The investors I have connected with over the past four-plus years of building Zelt have been beneficial and knowledgeable. Honestly, I’ve never felt profiled or categorised by them as a ‘female co-founder,’ which perhaps was a good thing. However, I am aware of the challenges women face in this position, and I hope that with time and experience, I can offer a more interesting perspective.”
She added: “I’ve had the privilege of working alongside some amazing women in tech (40%+ of our product engineering team at Zelt are women). My advice would be this: If you have the talent and the passion, there’s so much room for you in tech. The industry is far more inclusive and welcoming than people often imagine—so don’t hesitate, take the leap and give it your all.”
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