Two alumni from University College London have become multi-millionaires after their home-office equipment delivery start-up, conceived during the Covid-19 pandemic, was acquired.

Michael Ginzo, 30, and Sami Bouremoum, 34, who studied engineering and computer science at UCL, respectively, sold their company, Hofy, to DeeL, a payroll and HR technology firm based in San Francisco with 4,000 employees.

Although the financial terms of the Hofy deal, which employs 120 people, remain undisclosed, it is believed to have valued the start-up at approximately £100 million. Venture capital firms Day One Ventures, 20VC, and Kindred Capital, which collectively invested $30.2 million, are also set to benefit from this sale.

Prior to the pandemic, Ginzo and Bouremoum launched Whip, a business that offered fleets of e-bikes and e-scooters to employers, backed by their personal savings of several tens of thousands of pounds. They pivoted quickly in March 2020, when lockdowns commenced, and launched Hofy, providing fully assembled home office setups to remote workers across the UK within five working days.

Just three weeks into the pivot, they secured their first contract with the Care Quality Commission, a health and social care regulator, worth £100,000 for 500 home-working setups. Ginzo stated that rapid action included locating a warehouse in Stoke via Gumtree and employing builders who had been laid off due to the pandemic. They also struck a deal with AnyVan, a removals business whose operations had slowed during the lockdown, and sourced necessary items such as chairs, desks, and IT peripherals including screens, mice, and keyboards from local suppliers.

In January 2021, the duo revamped their website, allowing new employees to order their home office setups directly. “The aim was to let employers set the terms of what they wanted to offer, and then employees, as part of their onboarding process, could self-serve,” explained Ginzo. They expanded their services internationally, offering a complete remote-working setup, now including laptops, delivered anywhere in the world within ten working days.

Before launching Hofy, Ginzo worked as a product developer at Deel. Once confident in Hofy’s growth and scalability, he reconnected with Deel’s CEO, Alex Bouaziz, to discuss potential collaboration.

“We target a very similar customer base, which is employers hiring globally and remotely. It was a perfect partnership because Deel’s customers often realize they need equipment for their remote hires after handling legal, payment, and other onboarding steps,” commented Ginzo.

Ginzo, who retains a minority stake, described the acquisition as a “full-circle” moment, highlighting that his entrepreneurial inspiration began ten years ago after meeting a founder who had just sold his business to Google for $150 million.

“I remember doing the math and being amazed at how much money he made from his ownership share. Immediately, the idea of starting and growing a business to create significant value made more sense than working for a corporation,” Ginzo shared.

Ginzo plans to use his share of the proceeds to take the honeymoon he and his wife delayed since their marriage in May last year.

Deel’s CEO, Alex Bouaziz, praised Ginzo as “one of the best entrepreneurs in the UK” and expressed excitement about expanding Deel’s UK office. The acquisition of Hofy marks Deel’s eighth since its founding in 2019, with the company valued at $12 billion as of its last funding round in 2022.