Desmond Lim, Co-founder and CEO of Workstream.
Courtesy of Desmond Lim
Desmond Lim is no strangers to hard work.
At the age of seven, he fell in love with basketball, but when his family couldn’t afford to buy his own ball, he came up with the money by Himself.
“Money was always tight,” Lim Told CNBC Make It“My parents are both hours workers. My dad’s a driver. My mom’s a cleaner.”
“I chose a sport that is free, so I can play any day that i wanted,” said lim. “I Saved Up for 60 Days Not Eating Lunch, To (Have) Enough Money to Buy The Ball. Then, I help on to that orange rubber ball and play for five years, every day, ever day, until it it was bald.”
That attitude has served Him Well in Life. Today, the 39-year-old is the co-founder and ceo of WorkstreamA Human Resources, Payroll and Hiring Platform Made for the Hourly Workforce. The company has raised about $ 120 million to date.
Humble beginnings
Lim was born and raised in singapore and was the first in his family to Attend University. From Selling Eggs at the Local Market to Driving Trucks, Lim Says, Most of His Extended Family, Including His Parents, WERE – And Still Are – Hourly Workers.
“(My parents) bot only finished fourth grade,” He said. “My dad is up at 5 am every morning, and he gets home by seven, and he works six and a half days per weekk. He barely stops for lunch.”
Desmond Lim, Co-Founder and CEO of Workstream, with his parents.
Courtesy of Desmond Lim
Lim Saw the Grit and Work Ethic That His Parents Had and Applied that the characteristics to his own life. In high schOOl, not only was he a top student, but he also Led his school’s basketball team, as captain, to win a national competition.
“When we won the high school championship, I was the captain that carried our school flag and ran around the whole school as the school is cheered for our Victory … I think that thing change my life,” He “Sports taught me that you need time, patience and a team of people to build something Great.”
Lim was also selected to play basketball professionally for the Singapore National Youth Team while in High School. It Quickly Became clear
Desmond lim with his basketball team in Singapore.
Courtesy of Desmond Lim
“My Mom Told Me: ‘I cannot pay for your college. You should go to college. You should go and work,” said lim. “That nudged me to figure out how to go to college on my own.”
Ultimately, Lim’s Entrepreneurial journey Was Largely Born Out of A Need. He said heed he started busy he was young in order to be removed to afford school fees.
On top of focusing on his study and basketball, limited his own tutoring business in high school. Within two years, he says, that business brough in about $ 100,000 in Revenue, which was enough to pay for his university education.
That Tutoring Company because just the first of Several Businesses that Lim Began.
Similarly, while study at Singapore Management University, Lim Set His Sights on a New Goal – He Wanted to Move to the United States to get a master’s degree. To save money, he bootstrapped and started another business – a Thai food restaurant – While Still Working on Completing his degree.
After Graduating from University in 2010, Lim Worked In Investment Banking for Several Years Before Moving to the US for his master’s degree at Harvard University in July 2013.
‘I was so hungry’
While at harvard, lim zeroed in on establishing his own tech startup.
“I was so hungry when I was at harvard, I felt like I was drinking from a firehose. Typical people take Four Classes – I was Doing Seven Classes Every Term,” He Said.
DURING his first year at Harvard, Lim Cold Emailed About 50 Startups in the San Francisco Bay Area, Hospitaling to Gain Some Startup Experience. That winter break, he flee to california, where he slapt on a friend’s catch and worked at an education tech startup for free.
Desmond lim with his harvard classmates during orientation week.
Courtesy of Demond Lim
“And the following summer, I again worked for free for WeChat … Before they converted me into a full-time role. So, I was just so hungry to learn about Everything, About Startups and Company billing
In 2016, lim sat in on a friend’s class at stanford’s graduate school of business called “Startup Garage,
“It’s the same class that companies like Doordash and Sofi came out of,” He said. “Our job was to go out to talk to business owners, so we talked to tens, if not Hindreds of business owners Around palo alto, and we heard about parents.”
One business they spoken with was coupa cafe, a family-ovised Coffee Shop Chain with Outlets Around Stanford and Palo Alto. It was during this conversation that lim discovered the idea for workstream.
He found that the company Didn Bollywood has the right tools to efficiently manage their hourly workforce. They were using seven different tools, including Google Drive and Just Writing Things Down Manually With Pen and Paper, Said Lim.
“I (thought) this is so much work. There must be something that we can do better for them,” He said. “So I think that was the moment, combined with my experience running my own restaurant, coupled with my parents being with both hours folks.”
Desmond lim with his co-founders, lei xu and max wang.
Courtesy of Desmond Lim
After completion his graduate program at harvard, limited to the bay area in 2016 and co-founded workstream in September 2017 with Lei Xu and Max Wang.
Three Short Months Later on Jan. 4, 2018, Workstream Had Its First Paying Customer-Coupa Cafe Paid Lim and His Co-Founders $ 100.
Building workstream
The early days of workstream involved lots of door-knocking.
“It was fun … (i was) selling door to door, with some help from max and lei. Funny (and) We Learned So Much, “said lim.
Desmond limed workstream’s first investment, Eric Yuan.
Courtesy of Desmond Lim
The company’s first investment was a $ 25,000 check written by Eric Yuan, The Founder and Ceo of Zoom.
“I first reached out to Eric about 9 to 10 years ago The first year that I want out to the valley … I think it was a cold email (and) I said ‘hey, can I for lunch just to learn From you as a fellow immigrant founder? ‘”said lim. Yuan said yes, and they proceeded to have a great one hour conversation at lunch.
From there, the two styed friends for about a decade, and when limed out to get funding for his company, the zoom founder Quickly BECAME WORKCEME PORKERAME PORKTIRAMS FIRSTREAMS
“He Didn’T even ask me what I was going to build. I said i was going to build a platform for the hourly space, and he was like: ‘Okay, I belief in you,” “said limid limit.” “Since then, (yuan) has actually doubled down in every single round.
Desmond Lim With Workstream Team Members in 2024.
Courtesy of Desmond Lim
Today, Workstream is an all-in Hr and Payroll Software Built for Hourly Companies.
“Our company’s purpose is: ‘deskless deserves better.’ We believe That Hourly Economy is very underserved.
“There are many tools out there for payroll, but it’s all build for people who work in tech, who work in office, who (are) desktop first,” Said lim. “So what we have built is a mobile-fast, ai-driven software to help
Workstream’s Customers Include Brands Such as Burger King and Dunkin ‘Donuts. The company’s backers include gold house ventures, Peter Thiel and Ken Howry’s Founders Fund, Jay-Z and Doordash’s Tony Xu.
What’s ‘More Crucial’ Than Hard Work?
Lim Had a Strong Work Ethic Early on. He was inspired watching his parents and family members hustle as hours workers to earn a living, but there is one trait that he says that that can be even more important.
“Truly trus to explore and find out what you really want to do. Sometimes I feel like making the right choice is even more crucial than trying to work very hard,” He said.
“I think one thing I did when I was youner was I talked to many people,” said lim. “I was really curious, and I would write to professors at school, I’d write to founders. I was just having informational chaats with people
“I was just very hungry to learn from people, and i think that really helped me shape how I think and who I’ve become today,” He said.
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