New York-based Capchase, a fintech company that provides financial solutions to startups in the US and Europe, announced on Thursday that it has raised $80M (nearly €72.82M) in its Series B round of funding.
The investment comes after a year of rapid growth and product expansion for the company. Capchase says that it made $2B available to founders – 25 per cent of which has gone to European startups.
In the first months of 2022 alone, the US-based company expanded its services to the Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Sweden, and Denmark, and launched its new European headquarters in London.
“Founder-friendly financing solution”
Founded in 2020 by Ignacio Moreno, Luis Basagoiti, Miguel Fernandez, and Przemek Gotfryd, Capchase helps SaaS companies finance the growth of their operations with cash tied up in future monthly payments. It claims that the companies that work with them are able to secure funding without having to give up equity.
Miguel Fernandez says, “In this economic environment, founders need new choices when it comes to deciding how to fund their businesses. It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach anymore. In just 18 months of operating, we’ve already seen an increasing appetite for growth capital that’s flexible, fast, and complimentary to traditional funding methods like venture capital. Our mission is to automate everything that touches our customers’ finances.”
Since its inception, the startup has worked with nearly 3,000 companies across the world, making over $2B in funding available to founders and extending runways by over 5,000 months. Capchase estimates that 15 per cent of funding has been extended to female and minority-led businesses – a significant number compared to the limited funding these founders typically receive.
Capchase products
The company’s initial product, Capchase Grow, enables recurring-revenue companies to access future capital upfront. Capchase has now launched two additional products: Capchase Extend, a buy now pay later solution for businesses; and Capchase Earn, a high-yield account that pays a competitive return on companies’ idle cash (such as VC funds), helping to further reduce their overall cost of capital.
The firm also developed the CapScore, a proprietary system that evaluates hundreds of data points (such as subscription rates, growth, cash on hand, etc.) and determines in near real-time a company’s ability to repay a loan, both now and in the future.
Investors in this round
The investment was led by 01 Advisors, a US-based venture and advisory firm that helps founders go from building a product to building a company. The firm was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
The round also saw participation from QED, Caffeinated Capital, Bling Capital, ScifiVC, Thomvest Ventures, Tusk Venture Partners, Invesco, and Gaingels.
Co-founder of 01 Advisors, Dick Costolo, says, “We believe Capchase’s product suite is a game-changer in the startup funding ecosystem. With more flexible financing options, startups around the world will be able to access critical programmatic funding that is designed for the specific needs of their business, and will fuel innovation in ways that haven’t existed before.”
Capital utilisation
Capchase reports that the funds will help the company to launch additional products that will enable founders to focus on what matters most: building and selling their products.
Over the last 18 months, the company has expanded to 10 markets, including seven European countries, and has increased its headcount to over 100 employees. With the raised capital, the company plans to continue this momentum, expand its solutions beyond lending, and hire an additional 100 employees by the end of the year.
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