Happy employees are the best employees, and Hastee makes sure of that!

Fact: Financial problems are the number 1 leading cause of stress. The uncertainty of not knowing when your next pay is coming can mess up the quality of life beyond recognition.

Well, two people decided to do something about it, enabling workers to get part of their earnings whenever needed.

Hastee is the company that came to be due to the will and determination of James Herbert and Simon Draper to let employees get more financial benefits out of their own pay.

Stick with us and read the inspiring story of Hastee - the app that became working people’s best digital friend.

The People that Ended Financial Haste

The story of Hastee begins in London, England, in 2017.

Simon Draper and James Herbert are the two young men whose knowledge and aspiration led them to free employees of the financial haze they were in.

James was a communicative young boy from an early age. He was curious to explore the technology field and instigated conversations about it. As years went by, James completed his high-school education and moved on to Durham University to earn himself a degree in Economics.

Unlike James, Simon Draper, the other founder of Hastee, was a quiet young boy who liked to spend his free time reading. As a high-school student, Simon became interested in finances and the ways people accessed their money. It was unusual for a young boy like him to dab in conversations for grown-ups, but Simon was fascinated by how money, and essentially the world, worked. While attending Oxford Brookes University, Simon became fully committed to starting a company independently.

James and Simons’ aspirations to bring a positive change in the world and their shared entrepreneurial spirit marked the start of Hastee’s story.

The Idea That Started It All

When James was asked what inspired him to found Hastee, he stated the original idea could be traced back to his university days. While James was attending Durham University, he tried his luck and started a business alongside a few fellow students.

From the very beginning, it became apparent to James that the way the staff was paid was causing liquidity issues, even impairing them from showing up for work. James was determined to do something about it and reinvent the old ways of paying employees.

Because employees receive their pay once a month, most find themselves at a loss of funds, even unable to make ends meet until payment arrives. James was taken aback that workers couldn’t get the money they had earned when they needed it the most.

Confronted with this issue and unsatisfied with the established payment policies, James decided to take charge of this issue. Thus, James began thinking of how he could change the inadequate ways of compensation for workers, and soon an idea was born.

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

Determined to turn his idea into a reality, James needed another enthusiastic business partner that shared his vision and wanted to make a change in the fintech industry.

As faith would have it, James and Simon met through a mutual friend and instantly hit it off. After hanging out for some time, they became friends and started swapping business ideas. Simon was all ears when he heard James’ dream to shapeshift the current payment model for employees.

Since Simon had always been interested in finances, he decided to take the leap and join forces. Soon, the two of them began an entrepreneurial journey that would stir the fintech waters to the benefit of employees worldwide.

Breaking the Payment Cycle

It was 2017, and the time was right to jumpstart Hastee as Simon and James both strongly believed in their dream. Their shared values and desire to change the world for the better wouldn’t let them give up on it, but that’s not to say that Hastee didn’t face any challenges.

One of the major difficulties James and Simon had while starting the company was making employees change their perspectives. James was taken aback by the fact that people were somewhat afraid to break the financial cycle they were in, fearing they might lose money instead of getting their hands on it.

In all fairness, the concept of earnings on demand sounded too good to be true for employees, which is why they were hesitant to believe and accept its benefits.

Hastee offered both employees and employers to take a portion of their earnings available for use without waiting a month to access their money. Although it was initially difficult to onboard clients, once people became familiar with the process, business was booming for James and Simon.

Funding the Dream

To make sure Hastee was up and running, James stepped up and invested all of his savings. But, since such a big idea needed bigger funding, Simon and James turned to investors for help.

Due to the nature of their business, they weren’t eligible for the majority of investment trusts. However, as James believed, investors will come to you when your idea is too good to pass - and that’s precisely what happened.

In 2019, Umbra Capital, IDC Ventures, and a few others invested a whopping sum of £208 million in Hastee. This investment enabled the company to grow, boost the number of partner organizations, and increase employee benefits worldwide.

As Hastee grew its finances in 2020, the management felt confident enough to spread its capital. This led to the acquisition of Typs, another fintech company in Spain that shared Hastee’s mission.

A Helping Hand for International Employees

After securing the funds, Hastee was well on its way to becoming part of the payment cycle of many companies in the UK, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, and Italy.

As of now, over 300.000 international employees have access to Hastee, and all of them can enjoy the money they’ve earned right when they need it.

Thanks to the ground-breaking idea James had when he was still a student at Durham University, workers will no longer have to wait a month to get their hands on the money they’ve worked hard for.

Even though Hastee was considered a pioneer in the fintech industry, today, many companies are trying to do the same. Truework, Skilo, and Benepass are just some of Hastee’s competitors, although they haven’t got the same success level.

What the Future Holds For Hastee

Today, Hastee is an award-winning platform with its headquarters in London, England, and two additional offices in London and Skipton.

Employing around 36 employees across all three locations, Hastee is rapidly becoming the most-trusted earnings-on-demand platform for employers and employees in the UK, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Ireland.

Hastee’s CEO James revealed that the company aims to expand in more locations and provide fintech services to more employees. The goal is to ensure the financial well-being of people around the globe, so they aim to make their platform available worldwide, one country at a time.

Other than financial-wellbeing tools, Hastee offers training courses on money management, ensuring the employees know how their funds can work for or against them.

While James still runs Hastee, Simon continued his business ventures elsewhere and co-founded other companies. In recent statements, Simon and James both shared how proud they are of what they’ve accomplished for the financial well-being of employees and their hopes for the company to keep expanding.

Thanks to forward-thinking entrepreneurs like James, platforms like Hastee will continue to challenge traditional payment methods. The future is bright for Hastee, so expect more great services and offers in the future!