Case Study: Kintsugi scales to 90 people across 13 countries with zero full-time HR using Deel
Key results
The challenge
Kintsugi, an AI company scaling 20–30% month over month after raising nearly $30 million, needed to hire globally without building an HR function or exposing investors to compliance risk. Its VC's lawyers were unfamiliar with global IP and employment contracts.
The solution
Kintsugi consolidated PEO, EOR, Contractor management, HRIS, and SOC 2 compliance automation onto Deel's single platform, integrated with its SSO.
“We scaled to 90 people across 13 countries with zero full-time HR. Deel was our secret weapon; it made what would normally be an 'unthinkable' administrative burden for a founder completely manageable.”
JGJeff GibsonFounder, Kintsugi
The results, in context
With Deel, Kintsugi scaled to 90 people across 13 countries with zero full-time HR staff. Its investors' lawyers returned zero redlines on Deel's global IP contracts, and the company ran PEO, EOR, contractors, HRIS, and SOC 2 compliance from one unified platform.