How Okara saved $120K and scaled faster with Deel

Based in Singapore, Okara’s mission is to deliver private, fast, and secure chat experiences through open-source models and an agents marketplace, built on a foundation of uncompromising data privacy.

Global from day one, Okara quickly ran into the operational challenges of cross-border hiring, with contractors spread across India and Malaysia and plans to expand further across Asia and the United States. Led by a solo founder, the company was bogged down by the manual work of drafting contracts and managing dozens of payments each month, time that should have been spent building the business.

Without the resources for a dedicated HR team, Okara turned to Deel.

Deel automated contracts, onboarding, compliance, and payroll—allowing the founder to onboard contractors in just one day and streamline payroll into a single monthly transfer.

“As a solo founder, I was spending far too much time drafting contracts and managing payments instead of building the company. Deel automated everything, from contracts to onboarding and payroll, so I could onboard contractors in a day, pay them seamlessly, and refocus my time on growing Okara.” - Fatima Rizwan, Founder of Okara

Okara chose Deel over competitors because of the consultative approach and responsiveness of the Deel team, who took time to understand the company’s needs.

The local presence of Deel’s team in Singapore was also a decisive factor, offering immediate support without the delays of working with teams in other time zones. That combination of real guidance and real proximity made Deel the clear choice.

“We chose Deel because they understood our needs and solved real pain points like payroll and compliance. With local support in Singapore, we had the confidence to move fast and expand into new markets and we look forward to continuing our growth journey with Deel.” – Fatima Rizwan, Founder, Okara

With Deel, payroll is now simplified into one monthly transfer, removing the need for manual reconciliation or tracking dozens of payments. Deel also handles background checks and country-specific document collection—processes that used to take over a week.

Contracts are automatically generated. KYC is completed. The entire onboarding process now takes just one day.

These operational efficiencies translate to annual savings of USD $120,000 to $140,000, compared to the cost of hiring dedicated HR and operations staff in Singapore.

“With Deel, payroll is simplified into a single transfer, onboarding takes just one day, and all compliance checks are handled for us. The time and cost savings are enormous – we save over $120,000 a year compared to hiring dedicated HR staff.” – Fatima Rizwan, Founder of Okara

Looking ahead: growth without admin overhead

With Deel handling compliance, payroll, and onboarding at scale, Okara has unlocked the flexibility to expand into new markets, without worrying about local legal complexity or adding headcount.

As the company continues to grow across Asia and the US, Deel remains its single source of truth for contractor management, enabling the founder to stay focused on product, team, and mission—not HR admin.