What do employees really want?
It’s a question that is top of mind for company executives, office managers, and HR teams. Are accommodating hours a requirement now? What office perks make or break the hiring process?
For startup CEO Tal Clark, it is all about flexibility and optionality. Not just in how and when people come into an office, but also in how and where they get paid.
That is the driving force behind Instant Financial, an Alpharetta-based startup that provides businesses with a fee-free earned wage access platform. Employers sign up to use Instant and then their employees get digital access to up to 50% of their paycheck each day. For tip-heavy industries, Instant also ensures that employees have access to daily tips digitally, something that is particularly important as consumers carry around less and less cash.
That allows for more flexibility and budgeting options than traditional bi-weekly or monthly direct deposit plans. That is crucial for many in the restaurant, retail, hospitality, healthcare, and transportation industries.
Giving paycheck optionality is a key part of the employee retention conversation today, Clark told Hypepotamus.
“In the environment that we’re in today, it’s very competitive to hire good employees and to keep good employees,” he said. “One of the things that employers are looking for — especially as we talk about millennials, and Gen Z which comprise the majority of the workforce today — is that immediate gratification. That applies to payroll as well.”
Navigating Fintech In 2023
Clark led many professional lives before finding his way into fintech.
After starting his career flying helicopters for the US Marine Corps, he found himself in the enterprise world within the agricultural industry. He got into the prepaid financial technology space in 2001 with Money Network (acquired by First Data in 2008).
He ultimately caught the startup bug and started as Instant’s CEO in April of 2021. Today, he oversees the remote-first team that is spread out with offices in Alpharetta, Georgia, Vancouver, Canada and Pensacola, Florida.
Over the last two and a half years, he’s been focused on figuring out how the Instant platform can evolve to help even more employees.
One important way is through helping more workers get access to their tips in a timely manner. That is particularly important as more stores go cashless, meaning the physical tip jars are becoming harder to find.
On top of navigating the changing employee space, Clark is also navigating the evolving world of B2B sales.
“2023 has definitely been a different year,” he said. “I think we’re all still adjusting to post-COVID impacts and how people are going to work. Sales cycles are different than they used to be in regards to engaging with buyers. So much of it is virtual, and I think it’s more difficult for businesses selling to understand buying signals virtually and it’s also more difficult for salespeople to really engage and communicate the way they need to virtually. I think that’s a change that all businesses, especially early stage businesses, are dealing with.”
Even with the tough sales environment, Clark said that Instant had a good year in business. The team raised a round of funding from Atlanta-based TTV Capital over the summer and has noted “double digit growth” over the course of the year.
