Israeli fintech company Sorbet has announced the completion of a $15 million seed extension financing round, bringing the seed round to $21 million. The seed round was led by Dovi Frances’ Group 11, along with current investors, including: Viola Ventures, Meron Capital and Global Founders Capital.
Sorbet’s platform allows employees to convert their unused Paid Time Off (PTO) into cash. In the US alone, the value of unused PTO totals $270 billion and frequently employees are unable to cash out their PTO until they resign or are fired. From the employer’s perspective, this unused PTO value creates a cash flow liability on the company’s balance sheet.
Sorbet integrates into and syncs with employers’ existing calendar, HR and payroll systems, so it can identify habits and analyze time management patterns.
Sorbet both increases Time Off usage by an average of +15%, and is able to predict the portion of time-off which will never be used by the employee, and will end-up accruing. Once Sorbet offers to buy out the unusable portion of the employees PTO, it is able to refinance these liabilities for employers so they can better manage their cash flows, save on financing costs and increase tax deductions. A clear and quantifiable win-win for all.
At a time when everyone can use some extra cash, employers are able to offer their employees an amazing financial benefit without having to bear the burden of a significant cash expense.
Sorbet is also announcing it is expanding its operation from the US to Australia as well, where labor laws allow employees to accrue PTO indefinitely - a major challenge for Australian employers, which Sorbet can bring value to.
Sorbet was founded in 2019 by CEO Veetahl Eilat-Raichel, CPO Eliaz Shapira and Rami Kasterstein. Veetahl most recently served as Head of Retail Marketing at Bank Hapoalim and Head of Marketing and Customer Experience at Isracard.
Eilat-Raichel said, "It's clear that we’re in the midst of a tectonic shift in employer-employee dynamics."
The company currently has 28 employees, of which 16 are in Israel. Sorbet will be hiring dozens of new employees this year, the majority of which in Israel, with others joining the US and Australian operations.
