Crosslink Capital

When we make a new investment, TriNet is one of the first recommendations that we make to our startup founders for their employees."

Bay Area VC firm supports innovative entrepreneurs

Crosslink Capital’s mission is to support the most innovative entrepreneurs through leadership, coaching, resources and financial modeling. Founded as a spin-out from a famous investment bank in 1989, the San Francisco-based venture capital firm has evolved over the years and now focuses on financing start-up companies in the seed, series A and early growth stages. Today, their portfolio ranges from direct consumer commerce to enterprise infrastructure sectors with approximately $2.2 billion of assets under management.

Much like the start-ups and founders they serve, Crosslink has remained nimble and adaptive. To better accelerate companies in their early stages, the VC firm built Alpha, a “founders club for founders.” This exclusive networking organization allows tech entrepreneurs to connect and collaborate with peers in an environment where they can speak candidly and forge deeper professional relationships. Crosslink hosts more than 60 events per year for this 2,000-member-strong community. “If you look at the history of [Silicon] Valley over the years, there's always been these cabals of folks who stick together really tightly, help each other, do great things together, start businesses, start firms and invest in companies. That's what they set out to do with Alpha,” said Joseph Guzel, Principal at Crosslink Capital.

It's hard to make some decisions in a purely digital platform without somebody to pick up the phone and call. I think customer service is where TriNet really shines."

Crosslink encourages their portfolio companies to use TriNet

The early-stage VC firm recognizes the value of putting the right systems, tools and processes in place to enable their start-ups to scale—and TriNet is one of those solutions. “We always encourage our companies to start treating the business like it's a $100 million business from day one, even if they’re not,” said Joseph. To help founders in their portfolio stay focused on business and profitability, Crosslink recommends TriNet as an HR solution to help manage the day-to-day and complex tasks such as payroll processing, benefits administration and risk mitigation from potential HR-related liabilities, to name a few. They believe that outsourcing HR to TriNet at the onset of the investment lays the foundation for rapid scale, minimizing potential HR issues and complexities down the road.

Crosslink values having a team of TriNet HR experts who help their portfolio companies and their employees handle tough HR needs. “It's hard to make some decisions in a purely digital platform without somebody to pick up the phone and call. I think customer service is where TriNet really shines,” said Joseph.

The reason why Crosslink continues to work with TriNet is the quality of the product, and the support that you give entrepreneurs and your venture clients is unprecedented."

TriNet allows Crosslink and their companies to execute their big, bold ideas

In addition to human customer service, the TriNet solution includes a comprehensive self-service platform to manage HR needs in real time. “The TriNet platform makes it so easy to do everything from shift your withholdings on your W2, to having your tax information readily available, to viewing your paychecks in such a detailed, intricate manner so you can understand exactly where everything is going,” said Joseph. He also appreciates the TriNet mobile app which enables employees to view pay details, access benefits cards, request time off and more, from anywhere.

Crosslink outsources their HR to TriNet so their team of over 30 employees can prioritize finding new, cutting-edge companies and supporting their portfolio. “The reason why Crosslink continues to work with TriNet is the quality of the product, and the support that you give entrepreneurs and your venture clients is unprecedented,” said Joseph. TriNet empowers Crosslink Capital and their companies to focus on what matters most—supporting big, bold ideas.