Loading organizations...
§ Private Profile · Brooklyn, NY, USA
Nowsta is a technology company.
Nowsta provides a comprehensive workforce management platform that centralizes the sourcing, scheduling, management, and payment processes for hourly and contingent workers. The platform efficiently handles diverse labor pools, including W-2 employees, 1099 contractors, and gig workers. This integrated system optimizes labor deployment, ensuring businesses can effectively allocate personnel to shifts and manage their dynamic workforce.
Nicholas Lillios founded Nowsta, identifying a critical gap in managing flexible and hourly labor efficiently. His insight stemmed from the fragmented processes businesses endured for staffing, scheduling, and paying non-traditional workforces. Lillios sought to create a unified solution, bringing structure and efficiency to this expanding segment of the labor market.
The platform serves businesses reliant on substantial hourly or flexible workforces. Nowsta's vision is to foster a more empowering experience for millions of hourly, gig, and flexible workers by consistently placing the right person in the right shift. The company aims to redefine how organizations manage their labor force.
Nowsta has raised $88.0M across 5 funding rounds.
Nowsta has raised $88.0M in total across 5 funding rounds.
Nowsta has raised $88.0M across 5 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $35.0M Series C in November 2023.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 1, 2023 | $35M Series C | VMG Partners | 11, Baukunst, Contrary Capital, Springdale Ventures, Builders VC | Announced |
| Jan 19, 2022 | $41M Series B | Ashok Krishnamurthi | Clocktower Technology Ventures, Green Visor Capital, Metamorphic Ventures, Rally Ventures, Tribe Capital, VMG Partners | Announced |
| Apr 1, 2019 | $8M Series A | — | Chloe Sladden, Atlantic Bridge University Fund, Daffy, KittyHawk Ventures, Mindful Venture Capital, SV Angel, ULU Ventures, Matt Tucker, Steven Trieu | Announced |
| Mar 7, 2018 | $1M Debt Financing | — | — | Announced |
| Apr 1, 2017 | $3M Series U | — | BAM Ventures, Blue Collective, Torch Capital | Announced |
Nowsta has raised $88.0M in total across 5 funding rounds.
Nowsta's investors include VMG Partners, 11, Baukunst, Contrary Capital, Springdale Ventures, Builders VC, Ashok Krishnamurthi, Clocktower Technology Ventures, Green Visor Capital, Metamorphic Ventures, Rally Ventures, Tribe Capital.
# Nowsta: High-Level Overview
Nowsta is a cloud-based workforce management platform that helps businesses hire, schedule, manage, and analyze flexible hourly workers across multiple industries.[1] Founded in 2015 and based in Brooklyn, New York, the company serves as a centralized solution for sourcing and managing W-2 employees, temporary staff, and gig workers.[1] Its mission is to "place the right person in the right shift, every time," enabling flexibility for both employers and employees by consolidating multiple sources of hourly labor into a single platform.[2]
The company primarily serves industries with high demand for flexible staffing, including hospitality and hotels, events and catering, professional sports, warehouses and distribution, colleges and universities, and stadiums and arenas.[1][3] Nowsta's platform addresses a critical operational challenge: the complexity of managing contingent workforces at scale. By automating scheduling, time tracking, payroll, and communications, Nowsta reduces the friction and errors inherent in traditional labor management approaches. The company counts industry leaders like Marriott, Embassy Suites, and other major brands among its customers.[3]
# Core Differentiators
# Role in the Broader Tech Landscape
Nowsta operates within the rapidly expanding on-demand staffing and gig economy sector, where businesses increasingly rely on flexible labor to manage demand volatility and cost efficiency.[1] The company is positioned as a Challenger in the on-demand staffing market, competing alongside platforms like Instawork, Job&Talent, and Ubeya.[1] This positioning reflects a broader market trend: as the gig economy matures, the infrastructure layer—the software that manages contingent workforces—has become as critical as the marketplaces themselves.
The timing is particularly favorable for Nowsta. Labor shortages, rising operational complexity, and the normalization of flexible work arrangements have made workforce management software a strategic priority for enterprises. Additionally, the shift toward data-driven decision-making in HR and operations creates demand for platforms that offer analytics and performance insights alongside core scheduling and payroll functions.[4] Nowsta's focus on this infrastructure layer positions it to benefit from the continued growth and professionalization of the gig economy.
# Quick Take & Future Outlook
Nowsta is well-positioned to capture increasing market share as businesses continue to embrace flexible staffing models. The company's comprehensive platform approach—combining hiring, scheduling, compliance, and analytics—creates switching costs and deepens customer relationships beyond point solutions. Future growth will likely depend on expanding into adjacent verticals, enhancing AI-driven matching and predictive scheduling capabilities, and potentially building out marketplace features that more directly connect workers with opportunities.
The broader trend working in Nowsta's favor is the structural shift toward contingent labor across industries. As traditional employment models continue to fragment, the software infrastructure that makes flexible workforces manageable becomes increasingly indispensable. Nowsta's evolution from a scheduling tool to a comprehensive labor management platform reflects this maturation, positioning the company as a critical backbone for the future of work.