George Fairhall is anticipating a “huge 2025” for her startup WAC after securing funds from Praetura’s PraeSeed programme.
The Leeds-based founder has developed a mobile app that enables hourly workers to track their hours and easily raise pay disputes.
It was this week named among seven companies receiving a £200k investment from PraeSeed, a six-week cohort investing programme for early-stage businesses led by Praetura Ventures and NPIF II.
Since we last spoke to her in April, Fairhall says, WAC has successfully launched its first revenue stream.
“We’ve also converted a huge portion of our existing user base exceeding market-standard conversion rates for subscription apps,” she tells us. “Our organic growth has seen paying users in 35 countries since launch, and tens of thousands of workers from the biggest employers in the UK use our app to track their hours and recover unpaid wages.”
WAC helps workers across areas like hospitality keep better records of their hours worked and pay received, with tools to manage holidays, days off and extra shifts tailored to everyone from zero-hour contract workers to full-time staff. The app has more than 350,000 downloads.
“2025 is set to be a huge year at WAC: while maximising the initial traction we’ve achieved with our B2C subscription model we are busy developing our B2B offering,” continues Fairhall.
“This extension to the business aims to support agencies and employers with a tool to improve processes and increase efficiency; as well as keeping our core mission in mind – to look after workers and ensure fair pay.”
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WAC’s own research claims that 80% of workers would have increased trust in their employer if they used the platform.
“We will be making crucial hires within our Leeds team to aid the business’s growth, and plans are in place to raise our seven-figure seed round within the next 12 months,” adds Fairhall.
“We’re actively seeking investors for our bridge round to support our growth.”
Fairhall spent years working in hospitality, where she continuously encountered the issue of not being paid correctly – a problem WAC is actively tackling. In a bid to champion low-paid workers and ensure no shift worker experiences the frustration of missed hours and incorrect pay, she also stepped away from a potential career in law.
Carly Gulliver of law firm Addleshaw Goddard said: “We were delighted to support the team at WAC on this investment from PraeSeed. George is a shining example of an ambitious female founder leading the way in the Leeds digital sector, and WAC continues to attract the attention of investors and workers benefiting from the business she has created.”