Startup Diligence
Diligence report Enterprise Tech / HR, payroll, and workforce management SaaS Private unicorn / late-stage venture-backed startup

Employment Hero

Employment Hero Startup Diligence Research Report

Employment Hero is a Sydney-based Enterprise Tech HR/payroll/workforce platform with public evidence of unicorn status, broad SMB adoption, and AI-led expansion; proceed only with focused data-room diligence on revenue quality, competition, privacy/payroll compliance, and product execution.

Company profile

Employment Hero Startup Diligence Research Report

Eligible private unicorn with strong public scale/funding evidence, but investment-quality diligence is gated by private financial, customer, legal, security, and cap-table data.

Website
employmenthero.com
Sector
Enterprise Tech / HR, payroll, and workforce management SaaS
Geography
Sydney, Australia; operations and product footprint include Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Malaysia, Singapore, and global employment services
Stage
Private unicorn / late-stage venture-backed startup
Known aliases
Employment Hero Pty Ltd, Employment OS, HeroForce, Employment Hero Work, KeyPay
Report version
1.0
Timezone
Australia/Sydney

Executive summary

Strengths

  • CB Insights lists Employment Hero as a private unicorn at $1.37B, and ABR lists Employment Hero Pty Ltd as active Australian Private Company.
  • Company announced a A$263M Series F led by TCV, total raised over A$650M, and valuation just shy of A$2B.
  • Company product pages verify a broad HR, payroll, recruitment, compliance, employee app, benefits, and AI product suite.

Risks

  • Audited financials, ARR, gross margin, burn, debt, and cap table are not public.
  • Payroll, privacy, sensitive data, and international data-transfer obligations create high diligence priority.
  • HR/payroll/workforce software is crowded with global and local competitors, pressuring pricing and retention.
  • Customer concentration, churn, NRR, and major-customer health are not publicly verifiable.

Gaps

  • Audited financials, ARR bridge, gross margin, cash runway, debt, and tax positions.
  • Cap table, financing terms, liquidation preferences, and option/warrant schedules.
  • Revenue concentration, churn, NRR/GRR, top customer contracts, and customer references.
  • Security/privacy attestations, incident history, subprocessor list, payroll compliance audits.
  • Litigation, IP, insurance, material contracts, and regulatory correspondence.

Recommended next steps

  • Proceed to data-room request; do not underwrite valuation from public scale metrics alone.
  • Prioritize finance, cap-table, customer-cohort, privacy/security, and payroll-compliance diligence.
  • Run counsel-led legal/IP/regulatory searches in Australia and operating jurisdictions.
  • Interview reference customers across HR, payroll, recruitment, HeroForce, and Work app modules.

Risk register

high high likelihood

R-004: Crowded HR/payroll/workforce competitive landscape

GetApp and competitor pages show alternatives ranging from SMB HR platforms to global payroll/EOR and enterprise HCM vendors, raising pressure on pricing, retention, and CAC.

Diligence request: Review win/loss analysis, CAC by channel, churn by competitor, pricing concessions, and module attach-rate versus key competitors.

high medium likelihood

R-001: Financial quality and unit economics are opaque

Public research verifies scale and funding but not ARR, gross margin, cash burn, retention, AR aging, debt, backlog, or audited statements.

Diligence request: Request audited financials, monthly KPI pack, revenue waterfall, cohort retention, AR aging, debt schedule, and board-approved plan.

high medium likelihood

R-002: Valuation and financing sensitivity

The company is late-stage with public valuation anchors around CB $1.37B and company-stated just shy of A$2B; currency, preferences, and market multiple compression could materially affect downside.

Diligence request: Review capitalization, liquidation preferences, last-round terms, SAFE/convertible notes, option pool, and runway under conservative growth cases.

high medium likelihood

R-003: Payroll, privacy, and cross-border regulatory exposure

The platform processes payroll, employment, demographic, and potentially sensitive personal data across Australia and international markets, creating privacy, data-transfer, payroll, and compliance obligations.

Diligence request: Request SOC/ISO reports, incident log, subprocessor list, data-flow maps, regulator correspondence, payroll compliance testing, and DPA templates.

medium high likelihood

R-005: Customer concentration, retention, and churn not public

Public case studies and scale metrics do not show top-customer revenue, NRR, churn, cohort retention, or health by customer segment.

Diligence request: Request top-50 customer revenue, churn/NRR cohorts, customer references, pipeline conversion, and logo retention by geography and module.

medium medium likelihood

R-006: AI automation and product-integration execution risk

The company is using fresh capital to build AI/autonomous employment workflows and integrate platform capabilities such as KeyPay; execution and trust failures could affect adoption.

Diligence request: Review roadmap evidence, shipped AI features, model governance, customer adoption, support load, technical debt, and integration milestones.

medium medium likelihood

R-007: International expansion localization complexity

The company operates beyond Australia into New Zealand, the UK, Malaysia, Singapore, and global employment products; local payroll and labor compliance requirements may increase delivery costs.

Diligence request: Request revenue and gross margin by country, local compliance roadmap, regulator interactions, and country-specific product readiness.

medium medium likelihood

R-008: Headcount, hiring plan, and turnover transparency gap

Public sources show active hiring and large profile counts, but exact payroll headcount, function mix, attrition, compensation, and plan-to-hire are private.

Diligence request: Request current org chart, roster by function/location, attrition, open reqs, compensation bands, option grants, and engagement survey results.

Chapter 01

01Financial Information

Public sources verify unicorn status and major financing history, but financial statements, ARR, margin, cash burn, debt, and cap table are not publicly verifiable.

I.A Annual and quarterly financial information for the past three years

not publicly verifiable confidence: high

No audited income statement, balance sheet, cash-flow statement, AR aging, backlog, or product-level gross-profit breakdown was public.

Evidence gaps

  • Audited financials, monthly close pack, ARR bridge, gross margin by product, AR aging, backlog, debt schedule.

Hidden risks

  • Revenue quality, cash burn, and working-capital strain could be materially different from public scale perception.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide audited financials and monthly management accounts for FY2023-FY2026 YTD.
  • Provide ARR/revenue, gross margin, churn, AR aging, and cash runway by month.
Public revenue / ARR / unit-economic signals
metricpublic signalinvestment relevanceverification statusprivate data request
Customers/businesses350,000+ businesses supported globallySupports broad adoption and potential SMB diversificationpartially_verifiedPaid customer count, logo churn, ARPA, geography, and modules
Active users2.5M+ active users on platform per company about page; job-board excerpt claims 3M+ active usersUseful scale signal but definitions conflictpartially_verifiedMonthly active user definition and cohort bridge
ARR/revenue/gross margin/burnNo audited or management financials found publiclyCore valuation and runway inputsnot_publicly_verifiableAudited financials, monthly close, ARR, churn, gross margin, cash burn, AR aging
R&D investment$25M invested into R&D every yearSignals product velocity but may affect burnpartially_verifiedR&D spend detail, capitalization policy, headcount, and roadmap ROI

Public scale signals are not substitutes for revenue quality diligence.

I.B Financial Projections

partially verified confidence: medium

Growth drivers are publicly described as global expansion, AI automation, and SME employment solutions, but projections and assumptions are private.

Evidence gaps

  • Three-year projections, scenario cases, pricing assumptions, capex, working capital, and financing assumptions.

Hidden risks

  • Forecasts may rely on international expansion, AI adoption, and partner-channel growth that cannot be externally validated.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide board-approved plan, pipeline conversion assumptions, and downside case.
  • Reconcile current valuation to currency, market multiples, and latest trading metrics.
Public valuation anchor chart Sparse chart of public valuation anchors and missing points.

At least one public priced anchor; missing points are intentional.

I.C Capital Structure

partially verified confidence: medium

Founders and select investors are public, but shares, preferences, options, warrants, debt, and off-balance-sheet liabilities are not public.

Evidence gaps

  • Cap table, option/warrant ledger, convertible notes, debt instruments, investor rights, off-balance-sheet liabilities.

Hidden risks

  • Preference stack, debt covenants, or option-pool refresh could materially affect common-equity value.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide fully diluted cap table and all financing documents.
  • Provide debt, bank line, warrant, and option schedules with vesting and exercise prices.
Capital structure / ownership snapshot
stakeholderpublic positiondiligence caveatverification status
Ben Thompson and Dave TongNamed as founders in 2014Current shareholdings, vesting, and voting rights are not publicverified founders; ownership not_publicly_verifiable
TCVLed A$263M Series FSecurity type, liquidation preferences, and board rights not publicpartially_verified
OneVentures, AirTree Ventures, AMP New VenturesListed by CB Insights as select investorsHoldings, pro rata, and current ownership percentages not publicpartially_verified
Debt, options, warrants, convertiblesNo public schedule foundRequest full capitalization and debt schedulenot_publicly_verifiable

Cap table cannot be diligence-cleared from public sources.

I.D Other financial information

partially verified confidence: medium

Public financing history includes Series C reference, unicorn/KeyPay period, Series F, CB valuation, and active registry status; tax and accounting policies remain private.

Evidence gaps

  • Tax returns, NOLs, transfer pricing, revenue recognition memo, payroll-funds controls, financing history with investor ownership.

Hidden risks

  • Revenue recognition, payroll funds handling, tax liabilities, and foreign operations could introduce unobserved exposures.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide tax, revenue-recognition, and payroll-funds control memos.
  • Reconcile CB Insights valuation with latest company share price and currency.
Public funding-round history
dateround or eventlead or participantsamountvaluation or post moneyverification status
2019-07-10Series C funding referenceNot fully listed in accessible excerptA$22.5M referenced by company in later Series F postnot_publicly_verifiablepartially_verified
2022Series E / unicorn-status periodnot_publicly_verifiable in accessible public excerptsnot_publicly_verifiable from captured sourcesCompany later references reaching unicorn statuspartially_verified
2023-10-23Series FTCV led; other terms not public in captured sourceA$263MJust shy of A$2B per company announcementpartially_verified
2023-10-18CB Insights unicorn list valuationOneVentures, AirTree Ventures, AMP New Ventures listed by CBnot applicableUS$1.37B reported by CB Insightsverified as third-party database entry

Round legal documents, preferences, and dilution are required for final cap-table diligence.

Funding and corporate timeline Public financing and corporate events relevant to eligibility and valuation.

Several intermediate rounds require confirmation.

Chapter 02

02Products

Employment Hero publicly presents a broad Employment OS spanning HR, payroll, recruitment, employee app, benefits, learning, AI, HeroForce, and payroll/compliance; private diligence must verify module economics and technical maturity.

II.A Description of each product

partially verified confidence: medium

Product breadth is well supported by company pages, but revenue by SKU, attach rates, market share, cost structure, roadmap dates, and profitability are not public.

Evidence gaps

  • Revenue by product, attach-rate cohorts, roadmap, product uptime, implementation backlog, support tickets, security attestations, gross margin by SKU.

Hidden risks

  • Broad product scope can create technical debt, implementation complexity, and support burden if modules are unevenly mature.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide module ARR, attach rate, churn, NPS, and gross margin.
  • Provide architecture, security attestations, integration roadmap, and AI governance evidence.
Product / SKU matrix
product or skuaudiencekey features publicly describedpublic evidenceverification status
Employment OS / all-in-one platformSMB employers and employeesHR, payroll, hiring, compliance, and employee workflowsEmployment OS and product navigationverified
HR softwareAustralian SMEs and HR teamsContracts, HR documents/templates, hiring, onboarding, electronic timesheets, leave management, centralised dataHR software pageverified
Payroll / KeyPay-related capabilitiesEmployers running payroll and compliancePayroll portal, STP/payroll links in navigation, KeyPay acquisition referenceProduct navigation and Series F postpartially_verified
Recruitment and AI Recruitment AgentHiring teams and candidatesATS, branded careers pages, candidate messaging, AI screening/interviewingPricing/product navigation referencespartially_verified
Work app, benefits, earned wage access, learning, HeroForceEmployees and employers needing employment servicesEmployee superapp, benefits/perks, learning management, earned wage access, employment done-for-you servicesAbout/product navigationpartially_verified

Module-level ARR, attach rate, margin, NPS, and support burden are not public.

Pricing and packaging comparison
offerpublic price signalcomparison or contextverification statusdiligence request
Employment Hero HR/Payroll/Recruitment/HeroForceCompany pricing page exposes categories and feature matrix/request demo; exact contract terms not capturedGetApp lists starting price 10 usage based/per month for Employment Hero in comparison contextpartially_verifiedExport price book, discounts, add-on fees, implementation fees, and billing by module
BambooHRGetApp lists 10 per user/per month for comparison entryHR software to manage people, payroll, and benefitspartially_verifiedRun current competitor price checks by target segment
RipplingGetApp lists 8 per user/per month for comparison entryWorkforce management across HR, finance, and ITpartially_verifiedCompare attach-rate and gross margin to HR/payroll/IT bundles
Deel / Gusto / ADP / WorkdayMixed public pricing; some no-pricing-info entriesGlobal workforce, payroll, HRIS, and enterprise HCM alternativespartially_verifiedCollect win/loss by competitor and price concessions

Pricing comparison should be refreshed using live vendor quotes before any IC memo.

Employment OS product architecture Product and dependency architecture inferred from public pages.

Detailed technical architecture remains private.

Chapter 03

03Customer Information

Public sources support broad adoption and named case studies, but top customers, revenue concentration, churn, customer agreements, supplier spend, and severed relationships are not public.

III.A Top customers by application

partially verified confidence: medium

Employment Hero publishes customer stories and reports 350,000+ businesses, but it does not publish a top-15 customer list or revenue by application.

Evidence gaps

  • Top-15 customers for FY2024-FY2026 YTD, modules used, contract values, tenure, renewal status.

Hidden risks

  • Actual revenue could be concentrated in larger customers or partners despite a broad logo count.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide top-customer schedule by ARR, geography, module, start date, renewal date, and customer health.
Publicly known customers and case studies
customer or case studyuse case public signalrevenue or contract valueverification status
Valiant FinanceCase-study title says Valiant scaled global hiring with HeroForcenot_publicly_verifiablepartially_verified
YFSSearch result says YFS cut recruitment admin and scaled to 260 staffnot_publicly_verifiablepartially_verified
Your Home CareSearch result says HR and compliance were streamlined using Employment Heronot_publicly_verifiablepartially_verified
Skedulo, Smokeball, Gerflor, Bunji, Resonate, YCSS, AquaBlissNamed case-study URLs in public sitemapnot_publicly_verifiablepartially_verified

Case studies are public marketing materials and not a top-customer list.

III.B Strategic relationships

partially verified confidence: medium

The partner network is public, including referral, certified, strategic, and superannuation partner motions, but economics and named strategic partners are not public.

Evidence gaps

  • Partner contracts, partner-sourced ARR, revenue share, SLAs, channel conflict, termination rights.

Hidden risks

  • Partner-sourced revenue may be lower-margin or dependent on a small number of advisors or superannuation partners.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide partner list, revenue contribution, contractual terms, and support responsibilities.
Strategic relationships and partnerships
relationship typenaturepublic evidencegap
Referral partnersReferrers get rewarded for referring Employment Hero solutionsPartner network pageReferral economics, conversion, and concentration not public
Certified partnersPartners can own sale, onboarding, and support of Employment OSPartner network pageCertification controls and support liability not public
Strategic partnersHigh-impact partnership pathPartner network pageNamed strategic partners and revenue contribution not public
Superannuation partnersEmbedded Super/superannuation partner motionPartner network pageRegulatory responsibilities, partner list, and SLAs not public

Request partner contracts and channel contribution.

Public GTM channel signal chart Counts public GTM channel types by disclosed public evidence, not revenue mix.

Chart is a stub because real channel weights are private.

III.C Revenue by customer

not publicly verifiable confidence: high

Revenue by customer and any 5%+ revenue concentration are not public.

Evidence gaps

  • Revenue by customer, NRR, GRR, logo churn, receivables, expansion/contraction by cohort.

Hidden risks

  • Revenue concentration, late renewals, or enterprise downgrades could be hidden by aggregate customer counts.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide revenue by customer and identify customers exceeding 5% of revenue.
Customer concentration disclosure chart Bar chart showing disclosed customer scale and undisclosed top-customer revenue shares.

A private customer-revenue extract is required.

III.D Significant relationships severed within the last two years

not publicly verifiable confidence: medium

No public severed customer, partner, or supplier relationship schedule was verified.

Evidence gaps

  • Lost customers, terminated partners/suppliers, disputes, and churn reasons for last 24 months.

Hidden risks

  • Loss of a payroll processor, superannuation partner, or large customer could affect revenue or compliance.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide lost customer/partner/supplier schedule with revenue impact and root cause.

III.E Top suppliers

partially verified confidence: medium

Public privacy and product materials reveal dependency categories but not spend, SLAs, or top supplier concentration.

Evidence gaps

  • Vendor spend by supplier, SLAs, BCP, incident history, subprocessor list, supplier agreements.

Hidden risks

  • Subprocessor, cloud, payroll, superannuation, or partner outages could affect compliance-critical services.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide top supplier spend and critical vendor contracts for the last two years and YTD.
Top supplier / cloud-and-infra dependency diligence table
supplier or dependencyrolepublic evidenceconcentration riskverification status
Google APIs / reCAPTCHA / AnalyticsIdentity, anti-abuse, analytics, or API data flowsPrivacy policy references Google APIs, reCAPTCHA, and AnalyticsData-processing and privacy dependencyverified as dependency category
Payroll portal / YourPayroll domainBusiness payroll login pathSite navigation links to employmenthero.yourpayroll.com.auPayroll uptime and integration riskpartially_verified
Cloud infrastructure and subprocessorsHosting, storage, support, communicationsPrivacy/DPA materials reference subprocessors and data transfers but accessible page did not enumerate full listHigh if a single cloud provider or critical processor has weak SLAnot_publicly_verifiable
Partner and superannuation ecosystemImplementation, referrals, superannuation flowsPartner network and Embedded Super linksMedium; customer onboarding or compliance may depend on partner qualitypartially_verified

A vendor spend report and BCP pack are required.

Chapter 04

04Competition

Employment Hero competes in a crowded HR/payroll/workforce market spanning SMB HR software, global payroll/EOR, local Australian/NZ compliance tools, and enterprise HCM incumbents.

IV.A Competitive landscape by market segment

verified confidence: medium

Third-party alternatives pages list multiple direct and adjacent competitors; Employment Hero’s differentiation likely depends on local compliance depth, product breadth, AI automation, and channel execution.

Evidence gaps

  • Market share, win/loss, sales cycle by competitor, churn-loss reasons, feature parity, pricing concessions.

Hidden risks

  • Well-funded global platforms can use bundling and aggressive pricing; local incumbents can defend compliance niches.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide competitive win/loss data, churn-loss reasons, and current competitor battlecards.
Competitor comparison matrix
competitorsegmentproduct overlappublic signaldifferentiator or threat
BambooHRSMB HR softwareCore HR, people management, payroll/benefits contextListed by GetApp alternatives with 4.6 rating and 3.4K reviewsHigh SMB HR mindshare; narrower payroll localization than Employment Hero may vary by geography
RipplingWorkforce HR/IT/finance platformHR, payroll, workforce operations, integrationsGetApp lists workforce management across HR, finance, and ITBroad automation and IT bundle may pressure multi-module buyers
DeelGlobal payroll/EOR/HRISGlobal employment, payroll, HR workflowsGetApp lists Deel as end-to-end global workforce platformStrong global employer-of-record positioning may compete with HeroForce/global ambitions
Gusto, Paycom, ADP, Workday HCM, HiBob, PaychexUS SMB payroll through enterprise HCMPayroll, HR, HCM, benefits, workforce dataListed as alternatives/comparisonsLarge installed bases and product breadth; local market fit differs
ELMO Software, Deputy, Xero ecosystemAustralia/NZ HR, rostering, payroll, accounting ecosystemLocal compliance, workforce management, payroll/accounting adjacencyGetApp popular comparisons include ELMO and Deputy; product pages show Employment Hero payroll/HR focusLocal compliance and ecosystem integration likely central to win/loss

Requires customer win/loss and churn-loss reason exports.

Basis-of-competition scoring
axisemployment hero positiontop competitor pressureevidence
Local HR/payroll complianceStrong public Australian HR/payroll positioningADP/Paycom/ELMO/Xero-adjacent tools can compete on payroll depthHR software page and GetApp competitors
Global workforce/EORHeroForce/global expansion public ambitionDeel and Rippling have prominent global workforce brandsCompany product navigation and GetApp alternatives
Pricing transparency/valuePartially public; details require demo/contractsSome alternatives publish or are listed with per-user starting pricesPricing page and GetApp comparison
AI automationManagement highlights AI/autonomous employment roadmapMany HCM competitors are adding AI; product proof requiredSeries F announcement and product navigation

Scores are qualitative and should be replaced with win/loss data.

HR/payroll competitive market map Qualitative positioning of Employment Hero and competitors on local payroll depth and global workforce breadth.

Positioning is qualitative and should be validated by win/loss data.

Chapter 05

05Marketing, Sales, and Distribution

Public GTM evidence shows direct demo/pricing, partner network, case studies, review-marketplace presence, and sales hiring, but pipeline, CAC, sales productivity, quota attainment, and marketing budget are private.

V.A Strategy and implementation

partially verified confidence: medium

The public GTM strategy combines direct online demo flows, partner motions, case studies, review sites, and brand/funding narrative.

Evidence gaps

  • CAC by channel, pipeline source, paid spend, conversion rates, partner-sourced ARR, marketing budget.

Hidden risks

  • Paid acquisition efficiency or partner economics may deteriorate as competition intensifies.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide bookings by channel, CAC/LTV cohorts, marketing spend, and funnel conversion.
Distribution channels and GTM motions
channelregion or segmentpublic evidencegap
Direct website/demo/pricing funnelAustralia and international SMBsPricing and request-demo CTAs across product pagesCAC, conversion, demo-to-close, inbound pipeline not public
Partner networkHR/payroll advisors, referral and certified partnersReferral, certified, strategic, and superannuation partner pagesPartner-sourced ARR and margin not public
Content/case studies/reviewsSMBs evaluating HR/payroll toolsCase-study sitemap and GetApp reviews/alternativesLead attribution and content ROI not public
Recruiting/job-board ecosystemEmployers, candidates, and job seekersRecruitment products, jobs board logins, active sales hiringNetwork-effect KPIs and marketplace liquidity not public

No channel mix or sales productivity metrics are public.

Public marketing-signal summary
signalpublic evidencediligence useverification status
350,000+ businesses and millions of usersAbout page and LinkedIn profileTop-of-funnel and adoption proof point; validate paid basepartially_verified
LinkedIn audience354,220 followers in captured LinkedIn profileBrand/hiring reach signalpartially_verified
Funding/press narrativeSeries F and unicorn claims support category leadership messagingLate-stage credibility but can create growth expectationspartially_verified
Review/alternatives presenceGetApp lists 4.4 rating with 239 reviews and alternativesCustomer sentiment sampling; review representativeness unknownpartially_verified

Request paid-channel spend, funnel conversion, and cohort CAC/LTV.

V.B Major Customers

not publicly verifiable confidence: medium

Customer case studies are public, but major-customer relationship status, growth prospects, and pipeline are private.

Evidence gaps

  • Pipeline by account, renewal dates, customer success health scores, expansion opportunities.

Hidden risks

  • Customer health and expansion may differ sharply by segment or module.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide major-customer pipeline and customer reference list.

V.C Principal avenues for generating new business

partially verified confidence: medium

Direct website, partner network, case studies, review marketplaces, and recruiting/job-board ecosystem are public new-business avenues.

Evidence gaps

  • Bookings by source, channel conversion, partner pipeline, sales cycle.

Hidden risks

  • Overreliance on one channel could be hidden without bookings attribution.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide new-logo bookings by channel and geography.

V.D Sales force productivity model

not publicly verifiable confidence: medium

Public jobs show active sales hiring, but quota, ramp, attainment, compensation, and sales-cycle metrics are not public.

Evidence gaps

  • Sales headcount, quota, attainment, ramp time, comp plan, pipeline coverage.

Hidden risks

  • Expansion hiring may outpace quota attainment, worsening burn.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide sales productivity model and last four quarters of quota attainment.

V.E Ability to implement marketing plan with current and projected budgets

not publicly verifiable confidence: high

Budget capacity cannot be assessed without financial plan and GTM spend.

Evidence gaps

  • Marketing budget, CAC payback, gross margin, growth plan, runway.

Hidden risks

  • Marketing budget may depend on further financing or aggressive payback assumptions.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide GTM budget, CAC payback, LTV assumptions, and sensitivity analysis.
Chapter 06

06Research and Development

The company reports $25M annual R&D investment and an AI/autonomous employment roadmap; public evidence is strategic rather than technical, so product, AI, security, and roadmap diligence remain critical.

VI.A Description of R&D organization

partially verified confidence: medium

Founder background, team scale, and R&D investment are public; product/engineering org structure, key technical leaders, and spend breakdown are not.

Evidence gaps

  • R&D org chart, spend by product, capitalization policy, engineering velocity, defects/security incidents.

Hidden risks

  • R&D spend could be capitalized, inefficient, or concentrated in maintenance/integration rather than net-new innovation.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide product/engineering org chart, roadmap, budget, and technical KPI pack.
Key R&D personnel / leadership and investment signals
person or rolepublic backgroundr and d relevanceverification status
Ben ThompsonEmployment lawyer of 20 years; founded Employment Hero with Dave Tong in 2014Founder market insight into employment compliance and product directionverified
Dave TongCo-founder named on About pageFounder continuity and product/company-building contextverified
R&D/product/engineering organization$25M annual R&D investment and 900+ Heroes noted in public company materialsSignals material product-development capacitypartially_verified
Named CTO/CPO/engineering leadsNot identified in captured primary sourcesKey-person and execution diligence needednot_publicly_verifiable

Request product/engineering org chart and key-person retention plan.

R&D portfolio and AI roadmap architecture Public R&D themes connected to product surfaces and risk controls.

Public roadmap has no delivery dates or adoption metrics.

VI.B New Product Pipeline

partially verified confidence: medium

Public pipeline themes include AI automation, AI recruitment, HeroForce/global employment, and payroll/super compliance updates; delivery status and economics are private.

Evidence gaps

  • Roadmap dates, AI model evaluation, data governance, product adoption, incident history, launch readiness.

Hidden risks

  • AI or payroll errors could create trust, compliance, or customer-liability issues.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide AI governance, roadmap milestones, customer adoption, security reviews, and post-release support metrics.
Public product / research pipeline
project or initiativestatusexpected datesource signalverification status
AI autonomous employment solutionStrategic focus after Series Fnot_publicly_verifiableSeries F announcementpartially_verified
AI Recruitment Agent / ATSPublic product/navigation and pricing matrix referencesavailable/roadmap not fully clearProduct and pricing pagespartially_verified
HeroForce employment done-for-you / global hiringPublic product page and Valiant case-study signalnot_publicly_verifiableProduct and case-study sourcespartially_verified
Payroll and superannuation updates / HeroClearPublic navigation banner says Payday Super and super clearing houseDriven by regulatory timetable; exact product readiness not publicCompany navigation/partner pagespartially_verified

Roadmap, velocity, and customer adoption require product-management artifacts.

Chapter 07

07Management and Personnel

Founder identity and some headcount signals are public, but full leadership roster, org chart, compensation, option plans, employee relations, and turnover are not publicly verifiable.

VII.A Organization Chart

not publicly verifiable confidence: medium

Only founder-level public org information was verified; full reporting lines are private.

Evidence gaps

  • Current org chart by function/location, management reporting lines, board composition.

Hidden risks

  • Key technical/compliance roles may be under-resourced or recently changed.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide current org chart, leadership bios, board roster, and critical-role succession plan.
Senior management roster
name or rolepublic role tenureprior roles or backgroundverification status
Ben ThompsonFounder since 2014Employment lawyer of 20 yearsverified
Dave TongCo-founder since 2014Named co-founder; detailed biography not capturedpartially_verified
Board/investor representativesInvestors include TCV, OneVentures, AirTree, AMP New Ventures in public sourcesBoard seats and observer rights not publicnot_publicly_verifiable
CFO/CTO/CPO/General Counsel/People leadersNot verified in captured primary sourcesRequest biographies and employment agreementsnot_publicly_verifiable

Do not rely on public roster for key-person diligence.

Public management/org-chart stub Publicly verifiable founder-level org chart plus diligence-request nodes.

Full reporting lines are not public.

VII.B Historical and projected headcount by function and location

partially verified confidence: medium

Public signals include 900+ Heroes in 2023, LinkedIn 501-1,000 company size, and 1,827 associated profiles; definitions conflict and projections are private.

Evidence gaps

  • Headcount by function/location, hiring plan, open roles, contractors, attrition.

Hidden risks

  • Rapid hiring could pressure productivity and culture; public profile counts may overstate current payroll headcount.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide historical and projected headcount by function/location and all open requisitions.
Headcount and hiring signals
signalpublic valuesourcediligence caveat
Company team size in 2023 post900+ HeroesSeries F postHistorical and company-authored; not current payroll headcount
LinkedIn company size501-1,000 employeesLinkedIn profileProfile range may lag or use self-selected size band
LinkedIn associated profiles1,827 associated employees/profiles in captureLinkedIn profile/jobs pageMay include subsidiaries, alumni, or non-payroll profiles
Active hiringJobs page showed active sales development and other rolesLinkedIn jobs / SEEK excerptsOpen roles can change daily; hiring plan and quota productivity not public

Need HRIS roster and turnover report.

Public headcount signal trend Sparse headcount/hiring signals from company and LinkedIn sources.

Request HRIS roster to replace this figure.

VII.C Senior management biographies

partially verified confidence: medium

Founders are identified publicly; broader senior-management biographies were not verified in captured sources.

Evidence gaps

  • Executive bios, tenure, prior roles, references, employment agreements.

Hidden risks

  • Undisclosed management turnover or gaps in CFO/CTO/compliance leadership.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide executive biographies, tenure, compensation, references, and employment terms.

VII.D Compensation arrangements

not publicly verifiable confidence: high

Executive compensation, sales compensation, benefits, and employment agreements are not public.

Evidence gaps

  • Employment agreements, comp plans, severance, benefits, commission plans.

Hidden risks

  • Retention risk, change-of-control payments, or unusual commission plans could affect runway and integration.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide compensation plans, employment agreements, severance/change-of-control schedules.

VII.E Incentive stock plans

not publicly verifiable confidence: high

Option plans, equity grants, and vesting are not public.

Evidence gaps

  • Equity incentive plan, grant ledger, exercises, cancellations, acceleration terms.

Hidden risks

  • Option-pool refreshes, acceleration, or underwater equity could affect retention and dilution.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide option plan, grant ledger, 409A/fair-market valuation equivalents, and refresh plan.

VII.F Significant employee relations problems, past or present

not publicly verifiable confidence: medium

No public employee-relations schedule was verified; privacy and HR context makes this a required private diligence request.

Evidence gaps

  • Employee claims, settlements, investigations, union/works council issues, complaints.

Hidden risks

  • HR SaaS provider brand risk if internal employee-relations practices are weak.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide employee relations claims, settlements, investigations, and engagement survey trend.
Departures / turnover signals
categorypublic signalrisk or interpretationverification statusprivate request
Executive departuresNo verified departures found in captured sourcesCannot assess key-person continuitynot_publicly_verifiableExecutive turnover and succession plan
Voluntary attritionNot disclosedImportant given rapid scale and international hiringnot_publicly_verifiableMonthly attrition by function/location/manager
Employee relations issuesNo public issue schedule identified; company processes HR data and has HR advisory productsEmployee-relations risk requires legal/HR filesnot_publicly_verifiableClaims, disputes, engagement surveys, and settlement agreements

Public data is insufficient for turnover diligence.

VII.G Personnel Turnover

not publicly verifiable confidence: high

Turnover and retention metrics are not public.

Evidence gaps

  • Attrition by function/location, regretted attrition, hiring ramp, retention programs.

Hidden risks

  • High turnover in product, sales, implementation, or support could impair growth and customer success.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide attrition and retention data for the last eight quarters and YTD.
Chapter 08

08Legal and Related Matters

Registry and legal/privacy materials verify active private-company status and regulatory exposure categories, but litigation, IP, insurance, contracts, and adverse agency actions require counsel-led and data-room review.

VIII.A Pending lawsuits against the Company

not publicly verifiable confidence: medium

No verified pending lawsuits against Employment Hero were found in accessible public sources, but this is not a legal clearance.

Evidence gaps

  • Litigation schedule, threatened claims, settlements, counsel letters.

Hidden risks

  • Undisclosed litigation, employment claims, customer disputes, or privacy incidents could affect valuation.

Follow-up questions

  • Counsel to provide and independently verify litigation schedule across Australia, UK, NZ, Singapore, Malaysia, US/EU as applicable.
Pending lawsuits against the company
casecourt or docketfiled datestatussource or request
Pending lawsuits against Employment Heronot_publicly_verifiable from accessible public sourcesNo verified public matter identified in this open-source passRequest litigation schedule; counsel to search court databases
Employment/privacy/payroll claimsnot_publicly_verifiablePotential category due business model, not an allegationRequest claims register and regulator correspondence

This table is a diligence-request exhibit, not proof of no litigation.

Legal and regulatory timeline Public legal/regulatory evidence and unresolved diligence items.

Not a legal opinion.

VIII.B Pending lawsuits initiated by Company

not publicly verifiable confidence: medium

No plaintiff-side litigation schedule was public.

Evidence gaps

  • Cases initiated, demand letters, collections, IP enforcement, settlement terms.

Hidden risks

  • Active disputes could signal IP, customer, supplier, or collection issues.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide all proceedings initiated or threatened by the company in the last three years.
Pending lawsuits initiated by the company
defendant or mattercourt or docketfiled datestatussource or request
IP, contract, collections, or employment claims initiated by Employment Heronot_publicly_verifiable from accessible public sourcesNo verified active matter identified in this open-source passRequest litigation schedule and counsel search
Customer/supplier disputesnot_publicly_verifiablePrivate contracts and settlements not publicRequest material disputes, settlement agreements, and AR write-offs

Use counsel-led docket search for final clearance.

VIII.C Environmental and employee safety issues and liabilities

not publicly verifiable confidence: medium

As a software/payroll company, environmental exposure appears lower than industrial businesses, but employee safety, remote-work, and HR claims are private.

Evidence gaps

  • Workers compensation claims, safety incidents, employee claims, remote-work policy.

Hidden risks

  • Remote-work, office, or employee-relations liabilities may be undisclosed.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide safety, workers compensation, employee claims, and workplace policy summaries.
Regulatory / agency actions and material legal exposures
agency or exposuredate or statuspublic evidencediligence request
ABR / ASIC registrationABN active from 23 Aug 2012; ACN 160 047 709ABR current detailsASIC current company extract and subsidiary chart
GST and tax registrationsGST registered from 23 Aug 2012ABR current detailsTax returns, payroll tax, PAYG, superannuation compliance and notices
Privacy and data protectionPrivacy policy covers personal data, special categories, international transfers, Google APIs, DPAPrivacy policy and legal centreIncident register, DPIAs, DPA/subprocessor list, regulator complaints
Payroll/STP/superannuation complianceProduct navigation references STP Phase 2, award interpretation, managed payroll, and Payday Super/Super servicesCompany navigation and partner/legal pagesATO/super clearing compliance evidence, payroll audits, exception reports

No adverse agency actions were verified in accessible sources; this is not a clean legal opinion.

VIII.D Material patents, copyrights, licenses, and trademarks

not publicly verifiable confidence: medium

Brand, platform, and acquired product capabilities are public, but formal IP registrations, assignments, OSS inventory, and third-party licenses are not verified.

Evidence gaps

  • Patent/trademark list, copyrights, IP assignments, OSS inventory, data/model licenses.

Hidden risks

  • Unassigned contractor IP, OSS license conflicts, or M&A integration gaps could impair defensibility.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide IP schedule, trademark registrations, patent filings, OSS scan, and all assignment agreements.
Material IP, trademarks, copyrights, and licenses
asset or licensejurisdictionstatussource or gapverification status
Employment Hero brand/domain/platform copyrightAustralia and international marketsBrand and domain actively usedCompany site and ABR active entity; trademark registrations not verifiedpartially_verified
KeyPay-related payroll capabilitiesAustralia / payroll marketsCompany states KeyPay acquisition strengthened platformPurchase agreement, IP assignments, and integration status privatepartially_verified
Patents/trademarksAustralia, UK, EU, US, NZ, Singapore, Malaysia as applicablenot_publicly_verifiable in this passRun IP Australia/WIPO/USPTO/EUIPO searches and request IP schedulenot_publicly_verifiable
Third-party software/data licensesGlobalnot_publicly_verifiableRequest OSS inventory, licenses, model/data rights, and vendor contractsnot_publicly_verifiable

IP-chain diligence is material for AI, payroll, and M&A integration.

VIII.E Insurance coverage and material exposures

not publicly verifiable confidence: high

Insurance coverage is not public.

Evidence gaps

  • Insurance policies, limits, exclusions, claims history.

Hidden risks

  • Coverage exclusions or inadequate limits could leave material privacy/payroll exposures uncovered.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide certificates and policy schedules for cyber, E&O, D&O, EPLI, crime, and workers compensation.
Risk-register heatmap Severity/likelihood heatmap for the public diligence risk register.

Heatmap is analyst judgment based on public evidence gaps.

VIII.F Material contracts

not publicly verifiable confidence: high

Customer, supplier, subprocessor, partner, financing, and acquisition contracts are not public.

Evidence gaps

  • Customer MSAs, DPAs, vendor agreements, partner contracts, financing docs, M&A agreements.

Hidden risks

  • Termination rights, service credits, data-processing indemnities, partner revenue share, or change-of-control limits.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide material contracts and summarize non-standard obligations, SLAs, indemnities, and change-of-control clauses.

VIII.G Regulatory agency problems

partially verified confidence: medium

ABR confirms active registration; privacy and payroll legal obligations are public; no adverse agency action was verified in accessible sources.

Evidence gaps

  • Regulator correspondence, audit reports, incident logs, compliance testing, privacy assessments.

Hidden risks

  • Privacy incident, payroll calculation error, ATO/super issue, or international data-transfer deficiency could materially harm trust.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide regulator correspondence, privacy/security incidents, payroll compliance audit results, and data-transfer impact assessments.

Evidence

Evidence claims
IDClaimStatusSources
EC-001 Employment Hero is listed by CB Insights as a private unicorn. verified high SRC-001
EC-002 Employment Hero Pty Ltd is active and registered as an Australian Private Company. verified high SRC-004
EC-003 Employment Hero announced a A$263M Series F led by TCV in October 2023 and stated total raised exceeded A$650M with valuation just shy of A$2B. partially verified medium SRC-002
EC-004 Employment Hero reports large customer/user scale, founding details, international footprint, and annual R&D investment. partially verified medium SRC-003
EC-005 Employment Hero sells an integrated HR, payroll, recruitment, compliance, employee app, learning, benefits, and earned-wage-access product suite for SMEs. verified medium SRC-005SRC-007
EC-006 Public pricing visibility is incomplete and should be validated against customer contracts. partially verified medium SRC-006SRC-008
EC-007 Employment Hero publishes customer case studies but does not publicly disclose customer revenue concentration. partially verified medium SRC-010
EC-008 Employment Hero uses a partner ecosystem including referral, certified, strategic, and superannuation partner motions. verified medium SRC-011
EC-009 Employment Hero competes with broad HR/payroll/workforce platforms including BambooHR, Paycom, Rippling, Gusto, Deel, Workday HCM, ADP, ELMO, Deputy, HiBob, and others. verified medium SRC-008
EC-010 Public professional profiles indicate Employment Hero remains privately held and actively hiring, with substantial associated headcount. partially verified medium SRC-009SRC-013
EC-011 Employment Hero processes sensitive HR/payroll personal data and faces privacy, security, payroll, and international-transfer compliance obligations. verified medium SRC-012
EC-012 Audited financial statements, ARR, churn, gross margin, AR aging, backlog, debt, and cap-table details are not publicly verifiable. not publicly verifiable high SRC-001SRC-002SRC-003SRC-004
EC-013 Employment Hero is investing in AI-led automation and product expansion. partially verified medium SRC-002SRC-003SRC-007
EC-014 Employment Hero has used M&A/product integration to broaden its platform, including KeyPay. partially verified medium SRC-002
EC-015 No comprehensive public legal docket, IP portfolio, insurance schedule, or material-contract schedule was verified in public sources. not publicly verifiable medium SRC-004SRC-012
Sources
IDPublisherTitleAccessed
SRC-001 CB Insights The Complete List Of Unicorn Companies 2026-06-12
SRC-002 Employment Hero Series F News: Employment Hero raises $263 million to take its mission global 2026-06-12
SRC-003 Employment Hero About us 2026-06-12
SRC-004 Australian Business Register Current details for ABN 11 160 047 709 2026-06-12
SRC-005 Employment Hero HR Software 2026-06-12
SRC-006 Employment Hero Pricing 2026-06-12
SRC-007 Employment Hero Employment OS for Businesses 2026-06-12
SRC-008 GetApp Employment Hero Alternatives, Competitors & Similar Software 2026-06-12
SRC-009 LinkedIn Employment Hero LinkedIn company profile 2026-06-12
SRC-010 Employment Hero Employment Hero case-studies sitemap and search results 2026-06-12
SRC-011 Employment Hero Employment Hero partner network pages 2026-06-12
SRC-012 Employment Hero Employment Hero Privacy Policy and Trust & Legal Centre 2026-06-12
SRC-013 LinkedIn Employment Hero jobs on LinkedIn 2026-06-12
SRC-014 SEEK SEEK Employment Hero jobs search 2026-06-12

Disclaimer

This report is a public-evidence diligence snapshot, not investment advice. Important financial, legal, technical, and contractual facts remain non-public and should be verified directly with management and primary documents before any investment decision.