Rewardz Gives Singapore Startup Employees Some Corporate Style Benefits

I’ve always been in startups, and can only listen in envy when friends at large banks or multi-national corporations talk of enjoying some fancy benefits. That sucks. So Rewardz is a new Singapore-based startup that enables employees in startups and small- to medium-sized companies (SMEs) to have the ability to enjoy things like medical benefits.

The idea behind Rewardz first came early this year, and was officially launched in October. I got in touch with co-founder Nicole Seah to find out more. Nicole tells us:

Our motivation was to enable employees in small-scale organisations to be able to enjoy benefits that are typically available in large companies. Many of our friends are in the startup circuit and we hear so often about SMEs not being able to provide better benefits to help retain their talent; that is when we decided that we should do something to bridge that gap.

We also wanted to provide a benefits solution to HR managers, which is holistic – beyond the typical medical and dental packages as well as simple to use and administer. Thus Rewardz was conceived – a simple way to engage your employees.

SMEs should be getting similar benefits to what the big companies have. […] Rewardz will definitely enhance any existing employee packages employers have [provided for their staff].

Rewardz prides itself as one of a kind in Singapore. It leverages on the concept of economies of scale where it consolidates employee numbers across small companies. As the Rewardz employee base becomes even bigger, participating startups would then be able to enjoy even more benefits as it becomes more favorable for merchants to come on board, providing corporate rates that previously could not have been enjoyed by them.

As Nicole gave a run-through of her site over coffee, it was easy to understand given the simple and straightforward Rewardz UI. Once you are logged into your account, you will be able to see the benefits that are available to you (pictured below).

So how does Rewardz generate revenue? Participating companies will be charged S$3 per employee per month, and at the moment it is also extending a three-month free trial of its services to employers. Nicole also tells us that the next version will be integrated with a payment gateway, where employees would be able to make purchases for goods and services through the site.

Co-founder Jaya Maru also reveals that the four brains behind this team hail from corporate banking positions, with one in the IT consulting industry. It is also interesting to note that the first two who were gutsy enough to leave their comfortable corporate banking jobs to embark on this project are women. To both Nicole and Jaya, the choice was pretty straightforward: “Well, someone had to do it, right?”

The team also plans to look beyond Singapore, targeting regional neighbors such as Hong Kong, Jakarta, and Kuala Lumpur.

At present, Rewardz is looking to build up its pool of merchants and provide benefits on corporate travel as well as insurance. And for startups out there, Rewardz is currently offering a three-month trial. If you guys are keen to try out its service, you can visit the website here.