Founded in 2025 by Fatima Rizwan, Okara is a Private AI Chat platform with a mission to deliver private, fast and secure chat experiences through open-source models built on a foundation of uncompromising data privacy.
As Fatima explains, she has a strong belief that using AI shouldn’t mean giving up your privacy. “I saw how most chat platforms take your conversations, your work, your ideas, your private thoughts, and use them to train their models,” she says.
“That didn’t sit right. You should be able to use powerful AI without worrying about who’s reading your messages or where your data ends up.”
Okara’s success, growing since October 2025 from a concept into a platform with about 30K users worldwide, is testimony to the strength of its mission. Yet this expansion has not been without challenges: to access the talent they needed, Okara had to be global and hire internationally from day one, a daunting task even for established companies seeking to expand. It achieved this in part through a partnership with Deel, who help handle compliance and payroll for Okara’s distributed workforce.
SMEhorizon speaks with Fatima Rizwan about hiring internationally as the solo founder of a small startup, and how this partnership allowed her to succeed and focus on building the business. Karen Ng, Regional Head of Expansion – Enterprise – North and South Asia, Deel, also discusses the challenges that SMEs like Okara face, and how they can leverage new regulatory and technological developments to achieve cross-border success.
A global company from day one
“From day one, Okara has been a global company,” explains Fatima. “Though we’re based in Singapore, our community and users are distributed worldwide, so it made sense for our team to reflect that reality.
“Working at the frontier of AI infrastructure means finding the right talent for the job, regardless of borders. We currently have contractors spread across India and Malaysia, and we have plans to expand further across Asia and the United States.”
Such a situation would be daunting for an established company, let alone a single founder start up. Ng explains that SMEs face unique operational challenges that limit their ability to scale.
“Unlike large corporations with deep pockets and established infrastructures, SMEs often operate with tighter budgets and smaller teams. Many lack dedicated HR departments, meaning critical functions like recruitment, onboarding, and workforce expansion as well as management fall on the founders or leadership team.
“This stretches leaders thin as they juggle day-to-day operations with strategic growth efforts, often slowing expansion and creating inefficiencies in managing people and processes.”
“When SMEs attempt to enter new markets, the challenges become even more complex,” continues Ng. “Payroll and compliance remain major choke points.”
“According to Deel’s 2025 Singapore Payday Expectations Report, 65% of SMEs report that their payroll teams are not functioning well. They also cited growing compliance complexity that intensifies workloads as a top concern. This “back-office fatigue” can quickly become a barrier to global expansion
“Ultimately, growth for SMEs is often constrained not by ambition, but by limited resources, compliance burdens, and the lack of dedicated operational support needed to scale effectively.”
This was indeed Fatima’s experience. “Hiring internationally as a small company can be complex, from drafting compliant contracts to paying people in different currencies and ensuring we meet local labour laws,” she explains.
“As a solo founder, I was spending far too much time trying to handle legal and payroll logistics instead of growing the business. That’s why I began the search for a partner who could handle compliance and payroll for a distributed workforce.”
Trusting a partner to go further together
Fatima and her team evaluated several providers before selecting Deel for its consultative and responsive approach. “They invested time to understand our specific challenges and priorities instead of offering a one-size-fits-all product,” she recalls.
The payoff has been significant with various tasks from contract creation, onboarding, compliance checks and payroll processes now streamlined on one platform. “We’ve been able to take a huge operational load off our shoulders,” shares Fatima. “Payroll has also become much simpler as it is consolidated into a single monthly transfer, replacing dozens of manual payments.
“We’re saving around US$120,000–US$140,000 annually compared to building an internal HR or ops team in Singapore. But more importantly, it’s freed up time and mental headspace so I can focus on what really matters: building Okara.”
Reaching this point was not an instant achievement. “The biggest adaptation when we began working with Deel was trusting automation and new workflows,” says Fatima. “Moving core operations to a single platform required aligning our internal processes and ensuring our contractors were comfortable with a new system.
“In hindsight, the main challenge wasn’t technical – it was letting go of control and learning to rely on a platform that genuinely simplifies global hiring.”
Moving beyond operational bottlenecks
Ng points out that Singapore’s focus on compliance reform and workforce transformation is paving the way for a more resilient and future-ready labour market, creating new opportunities for SMEs to strengthen their operations. This is good news for both employees and employers like Okara looking to scale.
“This encourages businesses to adopt fairer employment practices, improve workplace safety, and embrace stronger governance, all of which can build trust and credibility with employees and partners alike,” explains Ng.
“While adapting to updated regulations may require additional effort, the broader transformation agenda offers SMEs valuable access to training grants, upskilling programmes, and digitalisation support.
“By leveraging these initiatives, SMEs can enhance productivity, attract and retain skilled talent, and position themselves for sustainable, long-term growth in a more competitive business environment.”
In order to manage their cross-border teams, Ng stresses that for SMEs with limited resources, building scalability from the start is key.
“Adopting integrated HR and payroll solutions that unify contracts, compliance, and payments across borders helps ensure consistency, reduce legal risks, and free up teams to focus on growth.
“According to the same Deel research, many businesses are turning to technology to manage rising administrative complexity – with nearly half already using or planning to adopt AI in payroll, and others prioritising automation, e-submissions, and integrated systems. However, gaps remain, as only half of organisations have real-time payroll integration with HR and accounting platforms, leading to inefficiencies and errors.
“To overcome this, SMEs should focus on connecting their systems and embedding compliance visibility into daily operations.”
Fatima also shares her insights from Okara’s journey. “My advice to other founders: set up systems that save you time and mental capacity. If you plan to hire across borders, invest in the right infrastructure early. It’s the only way to focus on people and product, not paperwork.
“That operational clarity is what allows me to stay focused on building the company.”
