distributed-workforce
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Jacob Hansen and the art of handing over the keys
He helped turn a bug bounty startup into Cobalt, changing jobs as the company grew. Then Jacob Hansen made one more change: he gave up the CEO title and called it a promotion.
Calltend and the call center with no center
A real estate lead is only useful if somebody talks to it. Calltend built a distributed calling service around that awkward little job - and made recruiting callers part of the product.
Multiplier
Multiplier is a global employment platform that lets companies hire, onboard, pay and manage full-time employees and contractors in 150+ countries without setting up local entities. Founded in 2020 in Singapore, it bundles Employer of Record (EOR), Contractor of Record, global payroll, PEO and HRIS tooling into one dashboard, handling local labor contracts, tax, benefits and compliance so distributed teams can operate legally across borders.
Ian Ferguson
Ian Ferguson is the CEO of PINATA, a New York SaaS company that builds an operating system for front-line and distributed workforces - the people setting up trade-show booths, stocking retail shelves and running brand activations far from headquarters. A Yale and Stanford GSB graduate and former Bain consultant, he co-founded the at-home private-chef marketplace Kitchit, helped start the progressive volunteer group Tech for Campaigns, and joined PINATA as COO in 2018 before taking the top job in 2022, the same year the company closed a $10M Series A led by M13 and Bullpen Capital.
Tina Ferguson
Tina Ferguson is a People Practices Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), where she has helped shape the human infrastructure of the venture capital world since 2012. She was the first person hired to build and scale the People Practices function at a16z, advising portfolio founders across consumer, web3, fintech, and gaming on organization design, DEI, executive team integration, talent management, and compensation strategy. With prior stints at Cisco Systems, Morgan Stanley, Opsware, and Trend Micro, she brings a rare blend of enterprise rigor and startup agility to one of the most influential VC firms in the world.