E60: Deel's COO on Scaling to $17.3B Valuation (and Where They Go From Here)

In this episode, Sasha Orloff sits down with Dan Westgarth, COO of Deel, to explore how the company scaled to 37,000 customers, processes $22B in payroll, and recently raised a $300M Series E to power global hiring in 150 countries. They dive into the future of back-office automation, including real-time payroll, AI-driven operations, and the push toward a unified, seamless global HR and accounting stack. -- SPONSORS: Notion Boost your startup with Notion—the ultimate connected workspace trusted by thousands worldwide! From engineering specs to onboarding and fundraising, Notion keeps your team organized and efficient. For a limited time, get 6 months of Notion AI FREE to supercharge your workflow. Claim your offer now at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://notion.com/startups/puzzle⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Puzzle 📈  No more waiting for month's end. No more manual reconciliations, just financials that keep up with you. Puzzle is leading a new movement with an AI first ledger, built for speed, automation, and real time decision making. Join today at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://puzzle.io/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -- RECOMMENDED IN THIS EPISODE: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-westgarth-710650a4/ https://www.deel.com/ -- X/SOCIAL: @DanWestgarth (Dan) @deel (Deel) @sashaorloff (Sasha) -- TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Preview (00:44) Introduction to Tech Finance (01:25) Meet Dan Westgarth, COO of Deel (02:18) Dan's journey with Revolut (06:22) Building Deel's global infrastructure (08:33) Managing global operations (12:06) Expanding Deel's services (19:56) Importance of consolidation (21:15) Sponsors: Notion | Puzzle (22:55) Common mistakes startups make (24:09) Onboarding and implementation challenges (25:46) Customer engagement and feedback (28:23) Recruiting and hiring strategies (31:27) Future of accounting and payroll (40:53) Real-time payroll processing (44:09) Wrap