CyberDyme spun off from parent company Payscout, an Insperity client, in April 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. With Insperity’s HR support, CyberDyme was able to successfully launch the company while keeping its employees happy and inspired.
Number of employees: 3 – 30
Location: Sherman Oaks, CA
Industry: Information technology
Insperity client since: 2015
Value provided: Workforce Optimization®
When the virtual reality (VR) commerce division of Payscout was set to spin off into its own company in April 2020, it wasn’t exactly ideal timing. The COVID-19 pandemic had just begun, and the economy was in a tough spot. However, CyberDyme was poised to create a new market category — VR commerce — and Juan Sotelo, the new company’s president, knew it was time to launch. CyberDyme created a proprietary app where consumers can view products, shop and pay while completely immersed in VR. Its initial target markets were luxury retail, travel and tourism, and nonprofit.
Sotelo previously worked with Insperity at Payscout and knew that continuing that relationship at CyberDyme was crucial to its success as it worked to build up seed money. “For me, it was easy [to bring on Insperity] because my focus, in the beginning, was raising money,” Sotelo says. “Anything outside of that is a distraction from my focus.”
“[With Insperity], it’s not a vendor-buyer relationship; it’s a trusted partner relationship and trusted advisory. And that to me is extremely valuable when you’re starting to grow a business.”
Juan Sotelo
President, Co-founder
CyberDyme
In order to successfully develop CyberDyme, Sotelo wanted to create a solid cultural framework that would inspire current and prospective employees. He knew that a robust HR function, or “people management” as he calls it, would help minimize HR-related risk, improve employee relations and teach leaders how to align with company culture and manage people effectively.
“What I need … is a partner for these other domains I need assistance with – we’re talking about an outsourced [HR] resource,” Sotelo says. “Let me move forward with focus and without concern.”
“The ability to pick up the phone and ask questions at every stage of the journey of building a company allows me to focus on the prize at hand and to be more successful. It’s a good ROI,” he says.
Sotelo wanted to ensure that his employees were well taken care of, happy and inspired as the fledgling company developed. After all, it’s good business to be inspired, he says. When you provide employees with the resources they need, they thrive.
From Sotelo’s perspective, a solid cultural framework needed to be scalable and include resources to support employee empowerment, public acknowledgement of employees as leaders, training and financial rewards. He had a clear vision, mission, cultural attributes and beliefs for CyberDyme.
Insperity, which Sotelo considers to be a cultural management tool that’s key to attracting “A players” and keeping employees inspired, was just what CyberDyme needed. “You’re not going to differentiate yourself in the market if you don’t have A players making A decisions,” he says.
As an Insperity® Workforce Optimization® solutions client, CyberDyme has utilized multiple Insperity services, to the advantage of the company and its employees. In addition to payroll, CyberDyme has worked with Insperity to help set industry-competitive salaries.
Sotelo also looks to help from Insperity to minimize HR-related risk, assist with HR-related compliance, and provide employees with performance management and training.
CyberDyme also covers 100 percent of the costs of medical, dental and vision benefits for its employees. Sotelo says that, because of their small company size, CyberDyme wouldn’t have been able to fully cover this cost without the access to Fortune-500 level benefits that Insperity offers to its employees.
Employees also have access to the Insperity Premier™ self-service platform, where they can see their payroll and benefits information, complete training and more.
“It’s great having a platform where I can see employee details or make salary adjustments easily. It’s a hub where all their performance reviews [and W-2s] are in one place digitally,” Sotelo says. “These little things seem trivial, but I remember the days when I just wanted to get a W-2 from an employer and the hours and days [it took].”
“I’ve been amazed about the under-promise, over-delivery of Insperity. Whenever I have questions, the depth of their resources has been impressive.”
Juan Sotelo
President, Co-founder
CyberDyme
“[With Insperity], it’s not a vendor-buyer relationship; it’s a trusted partner relationship and trusted advisory,” Sotelo says. “And that to me is extremely valuable when you’re starting to grow a business.”
“I’ve always felt that, even at the seed stage, it’s important to have that foundation and support, and I think you’ll flourish because of it,” he says.
Sotelo looked at the options and found that Insperity was the best HR choice for them. He appreciates the number of subject matter experts that he and his employees can call on to help resolve specific issues.
“I love that dealing with Insperity, I can feel their passion for employees,” Sotelo says. “And it’s not just what Insperity says. It’s the tone. It’s the body language. It’s the enthusiasm, especially for tackling the hard problems.”
“I’ve been amazed about the under-promise, over-delivery of Insperity,” he says. “Whenever I have questions, the depth of their resources has been impressive.”
Fill out the form and one of our representatives will contact you within one business day.
