Funding

Persado Pulls in $30 Million in Funding Led by Goldman Sachs

Persado Pulls in $30 Million in Funding Led by Goldman Sachs
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Funding, Persado

PersadoHomepage

Marketing messaging company Persado closed on $30 million in Series C funding this week. The round was led by Goldman Sachs and included an all-star cast of previous contributors, including American Express Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, Citi Ventures, and StarVest Partners.

This is the company’s third round of funding since it was founded in 2012, bringing its total to $66 million.

The New York-based company offers software that uses algorithms to map emotions and create optimal marketing content for emails, websites, social media messages, and push notifications. It uses machine learning to determine the message that will generate the best response from the target audience. Co-founder and CEO Alex Vratskides says, “Persado is revolutionizing how organizations communicate by propelling creativity into the data-driven age, arming brands with ‘smart content’ that resonates with any audience, every time, and inspires them to act.”

At FinovateEurope 2016, the company’s Chief Revenue Officer Lawrence Whittle (below) launched Persado Go, an automated solution that offers business customers persuasive messaging in real-time via a self-service interface. In the demo, Whittle showed how a bank can create a marketing email to persuade dormant credit card clients to resume their relationship with the bank.

PersadoFEUIMG

In a press release, Vratskides said the company will use the funding to invest in product distribution and development. Specifically, he plans to deliver messages in more communication channels and to expand the service into more sectors, such as healthcare messaging and civic engagement.

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Fintech Fundings: 21 Companies Raise $460 Million Week Ending April 1

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Funding

money_keyFirst quarter closed with a bang as 21 companies raised a total of nearly a half-billion of new funding ($458 million), all equity as far as we know.

The total number of deals in first quarter was 334, double last year’s 171.  Total dollars raised in Q1 stands at $6.7 billion, also double the $3.3 billion raised in Q1 2015.

Three Finovate or FinDEVr alums, two of which presented at FinDEVr NYC last week (Betterment, Stratumn), brought in new investments:

Here are the fintech deals by size from 26 March to 1 April 2016:

Ceridian
Human resources, payroll and health insurance platform
Latest round: $150 million Private Equity
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Tags: SMB, healthcare, insurance, payroll, benefits, HR, employees
Source: Crunchbase

Betterment
Consumer online investment platform
Latest round: $100 million Series E ($700 million valuation)
Total raised: $205 million
HQ: New York City
Tags: Consumer, investing, robo-adviser, ETFs, retirement, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

Real Matters
Real estate transaction management technology
Latest round: $76.7 million ($500 million valuation)
Total raised: $136.7 million
HQ: California
Tags: SMB, real estate brokers, home buying, mortgages, insurance, title insurance
Source: FT Partners

Figtree Financing
Financing solutions for energy saving improvements at commercial properties
Latest round: $30 million Series A
Total raised: $30 million
HQ: California City, California
Tags: SMB, commerical real estate, energy conservation, lending, underwriting
Source: Crunchbase

Splitit
PayItSimple consumer credit service
Latest round: $22.5 million ($56 million valuation)
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: New York City
Tags: Consumer, payments, credit, lending, POS, merchants, in-store financing, underwriting
Source: FT Partners

Blispay
In-store financing service
Latest round: $12.75 million
Total raised: $12.75 million
HQ: California
Tags: SMB, consumer lending, loans, POS, merchants, in-store financing, P2P, peer-to-peer, underwriting, personal finance
Source: FT Partners

LoanLogics
Mortgage loan quality and performance-maagement software
Latest round: $10.03 million
Total raised: $22.46 million
HQ: Fort Washington, Pennsylvania
Tags: Financial institutions, mortgage brokers, consumer lending, analytics, underwriting, compliance, regulations
Source: Crunchbase

Swanest
Consumer investing service
Latest round: $10 million Seed
Total raised: $10 million
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Tags: Consumer lending, investing, portfolio management, trading, wealth management, robo-adviser, Andreessen Horowitz (investor)
Source: FT Partners

Branch
Smartphone based alt-credit and underwriting for underbanked
Latest round: $9.2 million
Total raised: $9.2 million
HQ: San Francisco, California
Tags: Consumers, SMB, lending, loans, underbanked, unbanked, emerging markets, credit, credit score, underwriting
Source: Crunchbase

Bluefin Payment Systems
PayConex payment platform
Latest round: $6 million
Total raised: $6 million
HQ: Atlanta, Georgia
Tags: SMB, payments, security, merchants, acquiring, FinDEVr alum
Source: FinDEVr

Wave
Suite of small business tools for payroll, accounting, invoicing, payments
Latest round: $5.07 million
Total raised: $44.77 million
HQ: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Tags: SMB, accounting, bookkeeping, accounts receivables, payables, payments, billing, billpay, invoicing
Source: Crunchbase

Veritas Finance
Banking services for the under- and non-banked
Latest round: $4.5 million Series A
Total raised: $4.5 million
HQ: Guindy, India
Tags: Consumer, lending, deposits, loans, payments, banking, underbanked, non-banked
Source: Crunchbase

Bitt
Bitcoin exchange and remittance platform
Latest round: $4 million Series A
Total raised: $5.5 million
HQ: Hastings, Barbados
Tags: Consumer, payments, bitcoin, cryptocurrency, Overstock (investor), mobile wallet, debit card, funds transfers, remittances
Source: FT Partners

Slice Labs
On-demand insurance
Latest round: $3.9 million Seed
Total raised: $3.9 million
HQ: New York City
Tags: SMB, consumer, insurance, mobile, underwriting
Source: Crunchbase

Homie
Peer-to-peer real estate marketplace
Latest round: $3.76 million
Total raised: $3.76 million
HQ: Salt Lake City, Utah
Tags: Consumer, home buying, residentail real estate, P2P, mortgage
Source: Crunchbase

LandBay
P2P real esate loan marketplace
Latest round: $3.57 million
Total raised: $6.72 million
HQ: London, England
Tags: Consumer, lending, loans, mortgage, investing, peer-to-peer, crowdfunding
Source: Crunchbase

HealthJoy
Consumer healthcare and payments platform
Latest round: $3 million Seed
Total raised: $3 million
HQ: Chicago, Illinois
Tags: Consumer, healthcare, insurance, personal financial management, benefits, spending management, billing, payments
Source: Crunchbase

EDJ Analytics
Analytics platform for financial services and other verticals
Latest round: $2.4 million Series A
Total raised: $2.4 million
HQ: Louisville, Kentucky
Tags: SMB, enterprise, analytics, gamification, trading, investing, big data
Source: FT Partners

Stratumn
Blockchain appliction platform
Latest round: $670,000 Seed
Total raised: $670,000
HQ: Paris, France
Tags: SMB, enterprise, blockchain, bitcoin, infrastructure, developers, FinDEVr alum
Source: Crunchbase

iQapla
platform
Latest round: Not disclosed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Madrid, Spain
Tags: Consumer, investing, trading, robo-adviser, porfolio management
Source: Crunchbase

SwitchME
Loan price comparison portal
Latest round: Not disclosed
Total raised: Unkown
HQ: Mumbai, India
Tags: Consumer, lending, loans, mortgage, personal finance, price comparison, lead gen, discovery,
Source: Crunchbase

 

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Betterment Raises $100 Million Series E; Valuation Boosted to $700 Million

Betterment Raises $100 Million Series E; Valuation Boosted to $700 Million
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Betterment, Funding, Fundings

Betterment2_homepage_Mar2016

Come for the $100 million Series E. Stay for the $700 million valuation.

Betterment, one of the largest robo-advisers in the U.S., has raised $100 million in a Series E round led by Sweden’s Kinnevik, boosting the company’s valuation to $700 million. Also participating in the round were current investors Anthemis Group, Bessemer Venture Partners, Francisco Partners, and Menlo Ventures.

Kinnevik CEO Lorenzo Grab described Betterment as both a fast-growing and “already established” player in the field of online asset management, and credited Betterment for developing “innovative and easy-to-use services.”

Betterment_stage_FF2011

Pictured (left to right): Betterment CEO Jon Stein and COO Eli Broverman demonstrating the Multiple Goals feature of the Betterment platform at FinovateFall 2011.

“Betterment shares many of the principles that have made other Kinnevik investment companies successful,” Grabau said. To this point, Grabau listed Betterment’s commitment to affordability, the company’s entrepreneurial spirit, and the idea of that businesses should contribute to their communities. “Everyone should have access to unconflicted and low-cost financial services that enable them to reach their goals,” Grabau said. Kinnevik reportedly invested $65 million of the $100 million total, taking home a 9.3% of share capital in Betterment.

From the perspective of Betterment CEO Jon Stein, it was love at first sight. “From our first meeting,” Stein said, “it was clear that we shared the same values of what a modern day financial company would look like.”

“Our goal is to become the central financial relationship for our clients,” Stein added. “Over the past year, we’ve made great progress toward that goal with features like RetireGuide and account aggregation, but there’s still work to do.”

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in New York City, Betterment demonstrated the Multiple Goals feature of its investment platform at FinovateFall 2011. Betterment provides investors with a globally diversified portfolio of low-cost index exchange-traded funds, along with personalized, goal-based investment advice. And more than 140,000 customers have invested more than $3.5 billion with Betterment since the company’s inception.

In January, Betterment launched its turnkey 401(k) service, Betterment for Business and, earlier this month, the company announced a new account aggregation feature that would enable Betterment customers to sync accounts at other financial institutions and see their full net worth via Betterment’s platform. In partnership with Quovo, Betterment made its FinDEVr debut at FinDEVr New York this week.

 

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Fintech Fundings: 28 Companies Raise $220 Million Week Ending March 25

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Funding

pig_sunglasses_money_croppedFor the 12th consecutive week, there were 20+ fintech fundings worldwide. Total dollar value was $218 million, which includes $29 million of debt. YTD, the total number of deals stands at 313, double last year’s 158.  Total dollars raised, $6.2 billion YTD, is also double the $3.2 billion at this point last year.

The number of deals was inflated somewhat by the six new fintech companies launched at YC’s demo day that we had not previously covered. In total, there were 13 fintech startups (or 15 by the Bank Innovations definition), 12% of the total YC W16 class of 109.

Three Finovate alums brought in new cash:

Here are the fintech deals by size from 19 March to 25 March 2016:

Open Lending
Automated lending solutions for financial institutions
Latest round: $40 million
Total raised: $50 million
HQ: Austin, Texas
Tags: Enterprise, lending, loans, credit, underwriting
Source: Crunchbase

Edgewater Markets
Foreign exchange aggregation & distribution
Latest round: $30 million Private Equity
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: New York City
Tags: Institutional, SMB, foreign exchange, FX, remittances, treasury
Source: Crunchbase

Flexiti Financial
Point-of-sale financing for retailers
Latest round: $25 million Debt
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Tags: SMB, consumer lending, loans, POS, merchants, in-store financing
Source: Crunchbase

Maxwell Health
Payroll & beneifts platform
Latest round: $22 million Series C
Total raised: $56.4 million
HQ: Boston, Massachusetts
Tags: SMB, payroll, human resources, insurance, HR, benefits, healthcare
Source: Crunchbase

HomeUnion
Real estate investment marketplace
Latest round: $16 million Series B
Total raised: $21.5 million
HQ: Irvine, California
Tags: Consumers, lending, mortgage, credit, underwriting, investing
Source: Crunchbase

FriendSurance
Peer-to-peer insurance provider
Latest round: $15.3 million
Total raised: $15.3 million
HQ: Berlin, Germany
Tags: Consumers, insurance, P2P, crowdfunding
Source: Crunchbase

GoCardless
Recurring billing services for small businesses
Latest round: $13 million
Total raised: $24.8 million
HQ: London, England, UK
Tags: SMB, billing, payments, billpay, ebilling, Y Combinator (investor)
Source: Crunchbase

Kreditech Holding
Banking services for the underbanked
Latest round: $11 million (last part of $103 million Series C)
Total raised: $366 million (includes $215 million debt)
HQ: Hamburg, Germany
Tags: Consumers, lending, banking, underwriting, algorithmic banking, APIs, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

GrouPay
Payment collection services from groups 
Latest round: $10.9 million
Total raised: $19.25 million
HQ: London, England, UK
Tags: SMB,SMB, billing, payments, billpay, ebilling
Source: Crunchbase

CurrencyFair
P2P international funds transfer marketplace
Latest round: $9 million
Total raised: $24.4 million
HQ: Dublin, Ireland
Tags: Consumers, SMB, remittances, FX, currency, payments, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

Eliptic
Blockchain forensics tools
Latest round: $5 million
Total raised: $7 million
HQ: London, England, UK
Tags: Enterprise, SMB, blockchain, bitcoin, virtual currency, cryptocurrency, fraud, security
Source: Crunchbase

CrowdStreet
Commercial real estate crowdfunding marketplace
Latest round: $4.92 million Series A
Total raised: $6.27 million
HQ: Portland, Oregon
Tags: Consumers, lending, loans, credit, underwriting, real estate, commercial mortgage, investing, P2P, peer-to-peer
Source: Crunchbase

Stocard
Mobile wallet
Latest round: $4.5 million
Total raised: $6.66 million
HQ: Mannheim, Germany
Tags: Consumers, SMB, merchants, payments, loyalty, rewards, POS
Source: Crunchbase

Jumio
Authentication services
Latest round: $3.7 million Debt
Total raised: $36.7 million
HQ: Palo Alto, California
Tags: SMB, enterprise, fraud prevention, security, mobile account opening, Finovate alum
Source: Crunchbase, TechCrunch

Airwallex
Online foreign exchange services
Latest round: $2 million Angel
Total raised: $3 million
HQ: Melbourne, Australia
Tags: Consumers, lending, student loans, credit, underwriting
Source: Crunchbase

Fina Zero
Lending portal
Latest round: $1.2 million
Total raised: $1.2 million
HQ: Sweden
Tags: Consumers, lending, credit, price comparison, lead gen, discovery
Source: Crunchbase

Front Desk
Mobile business scheduling, invoicing & payments platform
Latest round: $1 million
Total raised: $15.7 million
HQ: Seattle, WA
Tags: SMB, invoicing, payments, accounts receivables, accounting bookkeeping
Source: FT Partners

RSK Labs
Smart contract platform tied to bitcoin
Latest round: $1 million
Total raised: $1 million
HQ: California
Tags: SMB, security, authentication, bitcoin, contracts, legal, fraud, cryptocurrency, blockchain
Source: FT Partners

Aspire Financial
Connects marketplace lenders to institutional capital
Latest round: $750,000 Seed
Total raised: $750,000
HQ: Toronto, Canada (Twitter)
Tags: Consumers, lending, student loans, credit, underwriting
Source: Crunchbase

Hockeystick
Financial data for private equity funds
Latest round: $600,000 Seed
Total raised: $600,000
HQ: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Tags: Investors, big data, business intelligence, investing, capital markets
Source: Crunchbase

Creditseva.com
Credit management tools
Latest round: $360,000
Total raised: $375,000
HQ: Hyderabad, India
Tags: Consumers, lending, student loans, credit, underwriting
Source: Crunchbase

AlphaFlow
Real estate investing management platform for consumers
Latest round: $120,000 Seed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: California
Tags: Consumers, investing, mortgage, lending, real estate, P2P, Y Combinator (investor)
Source: Techcrunch

Emburse
Debit card with company-driven expense rules
Latest round: $120,000
Total raised: $ million
HQ: San Francisco, California
Tags: SMB, expense management, expense reports, debit card, prepaid, accounting, bookkeeping, Y Combinator (investor), Community Federal Savings Bank (issuer)
Source: Techcrunch

Landed
Crowdfunding down payments for home purchase
Latest round: $120,000
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: San Francisco, California
Tags: Consumers, mortgage, P2P, peer-to-peer, credit, peer-to-peer, real estate, HR, benefits, Y Combinator (investor)
Source: Techcrunch

LendEDU
Student loan refinancing portal
Latest round: $120,000 Seed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Tags: Consumers, lending, student loans, credit, price comparison, discovery, lead gen, Y Combinator (investor)
Source: Techcrunch

Meter Feeder
Payment technology for parking meters
Latest round: $120,000 Seed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Braddock, Pennsylvania
Tags: Government, payments, merchants, acquiring, credit/debit cards, mobile, Y Combinator (investor)
Source: Crunchbase

Paystack
Nigerian online credit card processor
Latest round: $120,000 Seed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: California
Tags: SMB, merchants, acquiring, credit/debit cards, acquiring, Y Combinator (investor)
Source: TechCrunch

LiquidX
Marketplace for trade finance assets
Latest round: Not disclosed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: New York City
Tags: SMB, enterprise, commercial lending, financing, commercial credit
Source: FT Partners

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Kreditech Lands $11 Million to Close Series C Round of $103 Million

Kreditech Lands $11 Million to Close Series C Round of $103 Million
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Funding, Kreditech

KreditechHomepage2016

Underbanked financial services provider Kreditech has closed a Series C funding round of $103 million this week after receiving an $11 million investment from the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), an organization that specializes in the economic development of emerging countries.

The Germany-based company received the first installment of the Series C round, totalling $92 million, in September 2015. That round was led by J.C. Flowers & Co. Other notable investors include HPE Growth Capital, Blumberg Capital, and Peter Thiel. The closing of this Series C round brings Kreditech’s total funding to $151 million.

According to TechCrunch, Kreditech is valued between $279 million to $335 million and the company is in the process of raising “another very large debt round,” which should close in Q3 2016.

Monedo

Kreditech will use the funds to bolster its Monedo platform that offers credit services and digital banking products to the underbanked population. The company’s CEO & co-founder Alexander Graubner-Müller states, “Most of our customers are not able to obtain credit at traditional banks … . Through Kreditech’s technology we can perform a more precise credit rating to offer credit at fair and risk-weighted conditions. With the new funding, we will continue advancing our scoring technology to continuously improve and expand our product offering.”

Kreditech uses 20,000 data points, updated every minute, to offer 24/7 access to credit decisioning for anyone in 35 seconds.

KreditechStageIMG

Kreditech’s founder and former CEO, Sebastian Diemer, and current CEO, Alexander Graubner-Müller, debuted Zaimo, Kredito24 and K24 at FinovateSpring 2014.

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CurrencyFair Raises €8 Million; Names New CMO

CurrencyFair Raises €8 Million; Names New CMO
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: CurrencyFair, Funding, Fundings

CurrencyFair_homepage_Mar2016

P2P currency exchange CurrencyFair raised €8 million ($8.9 million USD) in a funding round led by Octopus Ventures. That brings the company’s total financing to more than €20 million ($22.3 million USD).

Also participating in the round were Proxy Ventures and Frontline Ventures.  CurrencyFair CEO Brett Meyers said, “Working with them will help us further develop our brand and the industry as something people and businesses can trust to save them money.” Meyers added that P2P currency exchange needed a “more mature voice” and that the new round of funding represented a “validation of the brilliant product and marketplace we have built.”

CurrencyFair_stage_FEU2013

Pictured: CurrencyFair co-founder and CEO Brett Meyers demonstrating his company’s iPhone app at FinovateEurope 2013.

In addition to the funding, CurrencyFair announced the hiring of former Unibet Chief Marketing Officer, Nils Andén, as its new CMO. As CMO of one of the largest online gambling businesses in Europe, Andén is credited for the commercial strategy that helped Unibet’s market cap grow from £300 million to £2 billion from 2010 to 2015.

Speaking about the similarities he sees between the P2P currency exchange market today and the online gambling industry when it was in its infancy a decade ago, Andén credited “the extortionate rates of the banks” as helping some of CurrencyFair’s rivals “make a lot of noise at the moment.” However, like Meyers, he said the industry is ready for a “more mature approach” as customers become more comfortable with P2P currency exchanges as an alternative to the banks.

“Style gets you noticed, but substance gets you remembered,” Andén said.

Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, CurrencyFair demonstrated its iPhone app at FinovateEurope 2013 in London. CurrencyFair won Best of Show for its presentation at FinovateAsia 2012.

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Fintech Fundings: 36 Companies Raise $480 Million Week Ending March 18

Fintech Fundings: 36 Companies Raise $480 Million Week Ending March 18
By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Funding

ideas_moneyAt Finovate, we are all about the next new thing. That’s why we love compiling the weekly funding report. Money (usually) flows to the best ideas (or at least the best execution). And if that holds true, 2016 is going to be a banner year as total deals are running double the pace of 2015—285 vs. 139 last year.

Last week, a record 36 companies raised $207 million in equity and $273 million in debt for a total of $480 million. The $6.0 billion total raised YTD is double the $3 billion at this point last year.

It was another busy week for Finovate alums with six raising new funds:

Here are the fintech deals by size from 12 March to 18 March 2016:

Future Finance
Alt-lender to students
Latest round: $170 million ($27 million Equity, $143 million Debt)
Total raised: $170 million (includes $143 million debt)
HQ: Dublin, Ireland
Tags: Consumers, lending, student loans, credit, underwriting
Source: Crunchbase

Wheels Financial (aka LoanMart)
Alt-lender focused on lending against existing automobile titles
Latest round: $100 million Debt
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Encino, California
Tags: Consumers, finance company, vehicle lending, credit, underwriting
Source: Crunchbase

Connecture
Health insurance distribution platform
Latest round: $52 million (post-IPO equity)
Total raised: $75+ million
HQ: Atlanta, Georgia
Tags: SMB, financial institutions, insurance, healthcare, sales, service, policy management
Source: Crunchbase

Cumulus Funding
Personal loans repaid by share of income
Latest round: $31 million ($6 mil Equity, $25 mil Debt)
Total raised: $31.85 million including $25 million debt
HQ: Chicago, Illinois
Tags: Consumers, loans, lending, underwriting, secured, income share agreement (ISA)
Source: Pymnts

Momo
eWallet & mobile payments
Latest round: $28 million Series B
Total raised: $33.75 million
HQ: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Tags: Consumer, SMB, Goldman Sachs (investor), Standard Chartered (investor), payments, p2p transfers, money movement, merchants
Source: Crunchbase

LendInvest
P2P real estate lending marketplace
Latest round: $24.4 million Series B
Total raised: $58.6 million
HQ: London, England, U.K.
Tags: Consumers, lending, peer-to-peer, mortgage, crowdfunding, investing, underwriting, mortgage
Source: Crunchbase

Next Insurance
Insurance products for small businesses
Latest round: $13 million Seed
Total raised: $13 million
HQ: California
Tags: SMB, insurance, Finovate alum (founders)
Source: Crunchbase

Afluenta
Peer-to-peer lending marketplace
Latest round: $8 million Series B
Total raised: $10.8 million
HQ: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Tags: Consumers, lending, credit, P2P, crowdfunding, investing, underwriting, loans
Source: Crunchbase

Floqast
Accounting software
Latest round: $6.5 million Series A
Total raised: $7.85 million
HQ: Los Angeles, California
Tags: SMB, B2B, accounting, financial management, account reconciliation, bookkeeping
Source: Crunchbase

Pave
Alt-lender targeting millennials 
Latest round: $5.6 million Series A
Total raised: $305.6 million (unknown mix of Debt/Equity)
HQ: California
Tags: Consumers, youth market, lending, loans, credit, underwriting
Source: Crunchbase, WSJ

P2Binvestor
Crowdfunded credit lines for small businesses
Latest round: $5 million Debt
Total raised: $6.4 million
HQ: Denver, Colorado
Tags: SMB, lending, P2P, peer-to-peer, underwriting, credit, investing, Finovate alum
Source: Crunchbase

Instarem
International remittances
Latest round: $5 million Series A
Total raised: $5 million
HQ: Gold Coast, Australia
Tags: Consumer, SMB, payments, P2p funds transfers, remittances, fx, currencies
Source: Crunchbase

StreetShares
Crowdfunding small business loans
Latest round: $4.5 million
Total raised: $8.2 million
HQ: Reston, Virginia
Tags: SMB, lending, investing, underwriting, commercial loans, P2P, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

ChartIQ
Stock market charting tools
Latest round: $4 million
Total raised: $4.85 million
HQ: Charlottesville, Virginia
Tags: Consumers, advisors, financial institutions, data, analytics, investing, trading
Source: Crunchbase

SmartAsset
Personal finance information and advice
Latest round: $3.83 million
Total raised: $10.53 million
HQ: New York City
Tags: Consumer, personal financial information, lead gen, home buying, Finovate alum
Source: Crunchbase

CrowdStreet
Commercial real estate crowdfunding
Latest round: $3.5 million Series A
Total raised: $4.85 million
HQ: Portland, Oregon
Tags: Consumer, SMB, lending, P2P, peer-to-peer, REIT, investing
Source: Crunchbase

Qumram
Compliance tools for digital interactions
Latest round: $2.5 million
Total raised: $2.5 million
HQ: Zurich, Switzerland
Tags: Compliance, online banking, session recording, transcribing, archives
Source: Finovate

Avyst
Independent insurance agent distribution platform
Latest round: $2.5 million
Total raised: $2.5 million
HQ: Aurora, Colorado
Tags: SMB, insurance agents, sales, marketing, distribution, service, quotes
Source: FT Partners

IFMR Holdings
Indian financial inclusion platform
Latest round: $1.9 million
Total raised: $26.9 million
HQ: Taramani, India
Tags: Consumers, underbanked, unbanked
Source: Crunchbase

Finomial
Investor servicing platform
Latest round: $1.78 million
Total raised: $5.19 million
HQ: New York City
Tags: SMB, investing, advisors, trading, alternative investments, funds, investor relations, compliance, marketing
Source: Crunchbase

Zlien
Lien rights management
Latest round: $1.3 million
Total raised: $3.5 million
HQ: New Oreans, Louisiana
Tags: SMB, lending, compliance, security, construction loan, home improvement, mortgage
Source: FT Partners

Tradesocio
Community platform for investors
Latest round: $1.2 million Seed
Total raised: $1.2 million
HQ: Nicosia, Cyprus
Tags: Advisers, investing, social, marketing, sales, trading
Source: Crunchbase

Creamfinance
Alt-lender to consumers
Latest round: $1.1 million
Total raised: $7.3 million
HQ: Warsaw, Poland
Tags: Consumer, lending, underwriting, loans, credit
Source: Crunchbase

Expense Check
Smart financial search engine
Latest round: $750,000 Seed
Total raised: $750,000
HQ: Australia
Tags: SMB, B2B, data, analytics, financial management, accounting, suppliers, cost management, accounts payable, Xero (integration)
Source: Crunchbase, Financial Review

Ensygnia
Mobile payments & transactions
Latest round: $600,000
Total raised: $7.2 million
HQ: London, England, U.K.
Tags: SMB, merchants, payments, acquiring, credit/debit cards
Source: Crunchbase

Blockai
Digital rights management platform on the blockchain
Latest round: $547,000 Seed
Total raised: $547,000
HQ: San Francisco, California
Tags: SMB, blockchain, cyrptocurrency, bitcoin
Source: Crunchbase

Cachet Financial Solutions
Remote deposit platform
Latest round: $500,000
Total raised: $24.3 million
HQ: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Tags: Financial institutions, B2B2C, deposits, checking accounts, mobile banking, Finovate alum
Source: Crunchbase

Mobetize
Mobile payments platform for telecom companies
Latest round: $500,000
Total raised: $3.2 million
HQ: Reno, Nevada
Tags: Enterprise, payments, mobile, carrier billing
Source: FT Partners

Wealthy
Investing tools
Latest round: $240,000 Seed
Total raised: $240,000
HQ: Bangalore, India
Tags: Consumers, tax-savings, investing, personal finance, financial planning
Source: Crunchbase

Cover
Insurance quotes via mobile camera
Latest round: $120,000
Total raised: $120,000
HQ: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Tags: Consumer, SMB, insurance, quotes, mobile, photo capture, Y Combinator (investor), YC W16
Source: YCombinator

WorldCover
P2P platform providing insurance for the unbanked
Latest round: $120,000
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: New York City

Tags: Underbanked, insurance, investing, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer, Y Combinator (YC W16)
Source: YCombinator

Orderly Health
Healthcare transaction monitor 
Latest round: $100,000
Total raised: $100,000
HQ: Denver, Colorado
Tags: Consumer, healthcare, spending, health insurance, personal finance management (PFM)
Source: Crunchbase

Ghaio Fintech
Personal finance portal
Latest round: $16,000
Total raised: $16,000
HQ: Brazil
Tags: Consumers, personal finance information, lead gen, advice
Source: Crunchbase

Emailage
Fraud solutions based on email addresses
Latest round: Undisclosed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Phoenix, Arizona
Tags: Financial institutions, enterprises, security, fraud prevention, Wipro (strategic investor), Finovate alum
Source: FT Partners

Dimont
Loan administration services for residential & commercial lenders
Latest round: Undisclosed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Dallas, Texas
Tags: Lenders, loan administration, service, compliance, lending
Source: Crunchbase

TaxTim
Tax preparation technology
Latest round: Undisclosed Seed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Cape Town, South Africa
Tags: Consumers, tax prep, personal financial management
Source: Crunchbase

———-
Graphic licensed from 123rf.com

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StreetShares Raises $4.5 Million in Series A Led by Fenway Summer Ventures

StreetShares Raises $4.5 Million in Series A Led by Fenway Summer Ventures
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Funding, Fundings, StreetShares

StreetShares_homepage_Mar2016

The Series A round for online small business lender, StreetShares, is off to a strong start with lead investor Fenway Summer Ventures putting $4.5 million into the company. The funding news comes just days after StreetShares announced that it had earned Regulation A+ approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), enabling the company to use public investments to back loans to small businesses.

StreetShares’ total funding stands at more than $8 million. Also participating in the financing round, which remains open, are Endeavor Equity Holdings and Pivot Investments.

StreetShares_stage_FEU2015

Pictured (left to right): StreetShares co-founders Mickey Konson, COO, and Mark Rockefeller, CEO, demonstrating their platform at FinovateEurope 2015 in London.

StreetShares, a P2P lending platform, specializes in connecting investors and small business borrowers from within the same community. For StreetShares, the first community it engaged with its affinity group lending approach were small businesses run by veterans and their families. Loan terms range from 3- to 36-months on amounts from $2,000 to $100,000, and the company charges a one-time origination fee of 3.95% or 4.95% based on loan term, risk, and amount.

An Air Force veteran, StreetShares co-founder and CEO Mark Rockefeller was interviewed by American Legion magazine last fall. The company added former SEC commissioner Troy A. Paredes to its board of advisors in November; in October, StreetShares announced a partnership with online marketplace, FedBid.

Founded in July 2013 and headquartered in Reston, Virginia, StreetShares demonstrated its platform at FinovateEurope 2015.

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Qumram Raises $2.5 Million to Bring Website Recording to North America & U.K.

Qumram Raises $2.5 Million to Bring Website Recording to North America & U.K.
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Funding, Qumram

QumramHomepage

Digital recording and archiving software provider Qumram raised $2.5 million (CHF 2.4 million) in funding this week. The funds come from Ariel Lüdi (former CEO of hybris software); Peter Stalder (former CTO of finnova AG); and investment group Zirkonia.

A group of investors from investiere.ch also contributed, furnishing almost 30% of the funds. In a press release, investiere.ch says it invested because the demand for Qumram’s services is growing, the company holds a good reputation, and it has a strong management team.

Qumram CEO Patrick Barnert notes that the company will leverage the funding “to extend the great success in central Europe to the two core financial services markets in the U.K. and U.S., and to further drive innovation within our product suite like Qumram Employee Governance Solution, which was first presented at FinovateEurope in London.”

Barnert added that the upcoming regulations, like MiFID 2 and FFSA, are driving an especially significant need for Qumram in the financial services industry.

The Switzerland-based company enables financial institutions to record their client’s online sessions to gather information for compliance, and to collect usage data to enhance the user experience. At FinovateEurope 2016, the company unveiled Qumram for Employee Governance, a solution that allows banks to carry out compliant, omnichannel communications and transactions with their customers over social media.

QumramSessionRecordAbove, Qumram for Employee Governance used for LinkedIn messaging

Founded in 2011, Qumram has 30+ customers across Switzerland, Germany, and the United Kingdom. The company was included in the FINTECH 100 list published by H2 Ventures and KPMG. Additionally, Qumram received accolades from Accenture’s Swiss Fintech Award, having been placed in the final top three.

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Fintech Fundings: 22 Companies Raise $160 Million Week Ending March 11

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Funding

money_tree_newLast week, 22 fintech companies raised a total of $159 million, of which at least $5 million was debt. It was the tenth week in a row with 20 or more fintech deals. By comparison, in 2015 we hit that mark 13 times during the entire year.

The year-to-date total raised is $5.5 billion, more than double the $2.7 billion invested during the same period last year. And more telling, the number of deals is up 90%—249 vs. 130 in 2015.

It was a busy week for Finovate alums with six raising fresh cash and one being acquired:

Here are the fintech deals by size from 5 March to 11 March 2016:

AlphaSense
Smart financial search engine
Latest round: $33 million
Total raised: $33 million
HQ: San Francisco, California
Tags: SMB, B2B, data, analytics, investing, underwriting, valuations, investment banking, trading
Source: Crunchbase

JustWorks
Payroll, benefits and compliance platform for employers
Latest round: $33 million Series C
Total raised: $53 million
HQ: New York City
Tags: SMB, payroll, HR, insurance, benefits, compliance, employees
Source: Crunchbase

EZBOB
Alt-lender for small businesses
Latest round: $28.8 million
Total raised: $83 million
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Tags: SMB, lending, underwriting, credit, commercial loans, Bank Leumi (investor), Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

Property Partner
Residential real estate crowdfunding
Latest round: $22.6 million
Total raised: $32.4 million
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Tags: Consumers, lending, mortgage, underwriting, investing, REIT, trading, P2P, peer to peer
Source: Crunchbase

TradeShift
Global trade platform
Latest round: $20 million
Total raised: $174 million
HQ: San Francisco, California
Tags: SMB, B2B, financing, underwriting, invoicing, payments, accounts receivables, Finovate alum
Source: Crunchbase

D3 Banking
Personal and small business financial management
Latest round: $4.5 million Debt
Total raised: $16.2 million ($4.5 million is Debt)
HQ: Omaha, Nebraska
Tags: Consumers, SMB, personal financial management (PFM), banking, Finovate alum
Source: FT Partners

Selerity
Content-recommendation engine for financial institutions
Latest round: $4.2 million
Total raised: $12.2 million
HQ: New York City
Tags: Consumers, B2B2C, enterprise, investing, content management, infomation, Citibank (investor)
Source: VentureBeat

Chronicled
Blockchain-based asset tracking
Latest round: $3.43 million Seed
Total raised: $4.83 million
HQ: San Francisco, California
Tags: Consumers, SMB, merchants, cryptocurrency, bitcoin, authentication, trading, collecting
Source: Crunchbase

The Floor
Fintech ideas platform
Latest round: $2 million Seed
Total raised: $2 million
HQ: Tel Aviv, Israel
Tags: SMB, VC, angel, investing, information exchange
Source: Crunchbase

CoverWallet
Insurance management for small businesses
Latest round: $2 million Seed
Total raised: $2 million
HQ: New York City
Tags: SMB, insurance management, price comparison, lead gen, discovery, quotes
Source: Crunchbase

Onslip
Merchant POS system
Latest round: $1.3 million
Total raised: $1.3 million
HQ: Linkoping, Sweden
Tags: SMB, payments, debit/credit cards, merchants, acquiring, point-of-sale
Source: FT Partners

Smart Bill
Invoicing and inventory management for small businesses
Latest round: $1.1 million Seed
Total raised: $1.1 million
HQ: Sibiu, Romania
Tags: SMB, billing, invoicing, payments, accounts receivables, inventory management
Source: Crunchbase

DealFlow
Deal sourcing and marketing platform
Latest round: $1 million Convertible Note
Total raised: $2 million
HQ: Jericho, New York
Tags: Advisers, SMB, investors, deals, equity, trading, discovery, Finovate alum
Source: Crunchbase

Ensygnia
Mobile payments
Latest round: $710,000 Series A
Total raised: $4.1 million
HQ: Cambridge, England, United Kingdom
Tags: Consumers, SMB, merchants, payments, mobile, credit/debit cards, acquiring
Source: FT Partners

SpeedETab
Mobile ordering and payments
Latest round: $650,000
Total raised: $650,000
HQ: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Tags: Consumers, SMB, merchants, payments, mobile, credit/debit cards, acquiring, hospitality
Source: Crunchbase

Anedot
Payment platform for nonprofits
Latest round: $510,000 Debt
Total raised: $1.25 million (including $510,000 debt)
HQ: Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Tags: Consumers, SMB, fundraising, payments, credit/debit cards, merchants, acquiring
Source: Crunchbase

StockViews
Stock market research platform
Latest round: $355,000 Seed
Total raised: $355,000
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Tags: Consumers, advisers, trading, investment, research, information, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

FlexReceipts
Smart receipt technology
Latest round: $120,000
Total raised: $2 million
HQ: Orlando, Florida
Tags: SMB, payments, spending, personal finance, PFM, merchants, point of sale, POS, Y Combinator
Source: VentureBeat

International Payment Processing Network
Payment processor
Latest round: $100,000 Seed
Total raised: $100,000
HQ: Boca Raton, Florida
Tags: SMB, payments, credit/debit cards, merchants, acquiring
Source: Crunchbase

Bond Sheets
Links to bonds for sale
Latest round: $10,000
Total raised: $10,000
HQ: Houston, Texas
Tags: Consumers, debts, investing, bond, discovery
Source: Crunchbase

Algomi
Bond information network
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Tags: Advisers, enterprise, fixed income investing, discovery, Finovate alum
Source: FT Partners

Finomena
Personal finance site in India
Latest round: Undisclosed Seed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Bengaluru, India
Tags: Consumers, SMB, lending, underwriting, investing, credit
Source: Crunchbase

 

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Algomi Gains Investment from Former Thomson Reuters CEO Tom Glocer

Algomi Gains Investment from Former Thomson Reuters CEO Tom Glocer
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Algomi, Funding, Fundings

Algomi_homepage_Mar2016

Tom Glocer, managing partner of Angelic Ventures and former CEO of Thomson Reuters (2008 through 2011), will work with fintech innovator Algomi as a strategic adviser. Glocer also made a significant investment in the company, though the amount of the investment was not disclosed.

“We’re empowering our customers by giving them more actionable intelligence on the data they already hold within their businesses,” Algomi CEO Stu Taylor explained. “Tom’s experience  with Thomson Reuters and his track record of working with other successful financial services businesses will be invaluable for us as we continue to develop our offering.”

Algomi_stage_FF2014

Pictured: Algomi CEO Stu Taylor demonstrated Algomi’s Honeycomb technology at FinovateFall 2014 in New York.

Algomi provides a social networking and market-intelligence platform for professionals working in the fixed-income bond markets. The company’s Honeycomb network connects fixed-income sales forces, traders, and customers with the goal of increasing both the number of trading and investing opportunities as well as the velocity of large transactions in what the company calls a “liquidity-constrained world.” Honeycomb uses custom algorithms to push the best deals and opportunities to fixed-income salespeople in real-time, providing a greater degree of transparency and the lowest level of market disruption when trading and investing in often-illiquid markets.

TomGlocer_AlgomiCalling the lack of liquidity as a major issue plaguing fixed-income investing, Glocer (right) says, “Algomi’s approach of creating a bank balance-sheet based on actual data, and virtualizing the assets in the market is fascinating, and I’m looking forward to working closely with them.”

The company’s current clients include Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Alliance Bernstein, JP Morgan, as well as hedge funds, insurance companies, and sovereign wealth funds. More than 160 buy-side firms, 15 banks, and hundreds of registered users around the world have signed on to be a part of Algomi’s Honeycomb network.

In addition to Glocer, Howard Edelstein will join Algomi’s Board of Directors. Edelstein had served the company as strategic adviser for the past two years, and is the current chairman of REDI Holdings.

“I’ve been working closely with Algomi for two years,” Edelstein said, “and believe the company delivers a second-to-none approach to a bank’s fixed-income, liquidity-sourcing needs.”

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in London, Algomi demonstrated Honeycomb, its buy-side graphic user interface, at FinovateFall 2014.

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Dealflow Closes Million Dollar Convertible Note

Dealflow Closes Million Dollar Convertible Note
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Dealflow, Funding, Fundings

Dealflow_homepage_Mar2016

Dealflow, the multi-asset, deal sourcing and marketing platform for institutional investors and their advisers, has closed a $1 million convertible debt offering.

In a blog post announcing the funding, Dealflow founder and CEO Steven Dresner credited Rule 506(c) for helping make the financing a reality. “It’s because of Rule 506(c)—and specifically the ability to advertise the deal—that I can present our investment opportunity to an active readership of about 11,000—with astonishingly high open rates, I might add!”

Dealflow_stage_FF2015

Pictured: Dealflow Founder and CEO Steven Dresner demonstrated his company’s platform at FinovateFall 2015 in New York.

Dealflow’s technology helps buyers and sellers find deals among actively marketed private-placement opportunities. The company’s software enables investors to query Dealflow’s aggregated database, tracking deals using “recommendation-type” algorithms. The platform’s Signal technology leverages both user preferences and actual user history to provide more accurate and efficient results. Users can be alerted to changes in deals they are watching, forward deals to a colleague, read information about the management, watch video information, and so on.

During their Finovate appearance, Dealflow unveiled its Dealflow 2.0 technology including a new Dashboard feature that leverages Signal to aggregate the most relevant deals. For example, investors looking for potential fintech investments see a dashboard loaded with deals in that sector. At the same time, companies looking to raise capital are shown potential investors who have committed capital to similar projects.

Founded in 2013 and headquartered in New York City, Dealflow introduced its platform at FinovateFall 2015. The company has a number of financial services firms sourcing opportunities on its platform including Cantor Fitzgerald, Societe Generale, RBS, and Goldman Sachs.

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