Startups

Einride founder on building an underlying business to support future tech goals • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 20, 2022Posted in autonomous vehicles, EC AI, EC Founder Interview, EC Mobility Hardware, EC Mobility Software, einride, self driving vehicles, Startups, TransportationNo Comments

Swedish startup Einride was founded in 2016 with a mission to electrify freight transport. Today, that means designing electric trucks and an underlying operating system to help overland shippers make the transition to electric. In the future, it will mean deploying electric autonomous freight — more specifically, Einride’s autonomous pods, which are purpose-built for self-driving and can’t accommodate human drivers. Einride founder and CEO Robert Falck told ZebethMedia a year ago that he felt a moral obligation to create a greener mode of freight transport after spending years building heavy-duty diesel trucks at Volvo GTO Powertrain. On top of that, he saw the need to eventually automate the role of long-haul trucking. Falck, a serial entrepreneur, decided against the route many autonomous trucking companies have taken — doggedly pursuing self-driving technology, even if it meant putting sensors and software stacks on diesel vehicles. Rather, Falck chose a two-step process to bring Einride to market. The first involves working with OEM partners to build electric trucks and partnering with shippers to deploy them and earn revenue. That revenue then goes back into the business for the second step, which is the development of an autonomous system. By the time Einride is ready to go to market with its autonomous pods, it will ideally already have a range of commercial shipping partners in its pipeline. Einride’s current shipping clients across Sweden and the U.S. include Oatly, Bridgestone, Maersk and Beyond Meat. The company said it clears close to 20,000 shipments per day. Over the past few months, Einride has completed a public road pilot of its electric, autonomous pod in Tennessee with GE Appliances, launched its electric trucks in Germany in partnership with home appliance giant Electrolux, announced plans to build a network of freight charging stations in Sweden and Los Angeles, and introduced its second-generation autonomous pod. We sat down with Falck a year after our initial interview with him to talk about the challenges of reaching autonomy when connectivity on the roads is lacking, why the Big Tech crashes are actually healthy for the industry and what consolidation looks like for autonomous driving. The following interview, part of an ongoing series with founders who are building transportation companies, has been edited for length and clarity.

The latest in Plaid’s payments push • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 20, 2022Posted in Fintech, Startups, The InterchangeNo Comments

Welcome to The Interchange! If you received this in your inbox, thank you for signing up and your vote of confidence. If you’re reading this as a post on our site, sign up here so you can receive it directly in the future. Every week, I’ll take a look at the hottest fintech news of the previous week. This will include everything from funding rounds to trends to an analysis of a particular space to hot takes on a particular company or phenomenon. There’s a lot of fintech news out there and it’s my job to stay on top of it — and make sense of it — so you can stay in the know. — Mary Ann Hey, hey, Mary Ann here, feeling all sorry for myself because I have COVID for the first time when I should be grateful that it took so long for me to get it, right? Thankfully you can’t catch my germs through a computer or phone screen. I’ll be okay but as a result…you’re stuck with another slightly abbreviated version of this newsletter! Huge credit to, and gratitude for, ZebethMedia’s Kyle Wiggers, who once again saved the day by writing up all the blurbs (and there were many to cover) here. Kyle, you’re the best. Since Thanksgiving is less than a week away, I’ll take this opportunity to say how truly thankful I am to be given the trust and confidence to draft this newsletter and for you all to take the time to read and share it. I do not take this lightly because without your support, I would not be doing this. I know there are a ton of fintech-focused newsletters out there, so it really does mean the world. Okay, now that I’m done with the cringe part of this newsletter (to quote my children), let’s go straight to the news. Weekly News Image Credits: John Anderson, head of payments / Plaid Plaid announced it has hired John Anderson, a former Meta exec, to serve as its first head of payments. The move comes as the fintech startup leans into payments, both in terms of facilitating them itself and aiming to help others do so better and faster. Our first thought is that it was taking another swing at Stripe, but interestingly the two remain partners — for now. Plaid also announced that its Signal offering is out of beta with early users such as Robinhood, Webull and Uphold. It claims that by using Signal, companies can “unlock instant ACH.” In contrast to crypto, some segments of the lending market appear to be robust — at least presently. Nu Holdings, the Warren Buffett–backed Brazilian banking firm that offers credit cards and personal loans and that is more commonly known as Nubank, posted a nearly threefold jump in Q3 revenue on Monday. While publicly traded Nu has seen its U.S. shares lose over half their value this year, its customer base has grown to over 70 million following a dramatically expanded footprint in Mexico. Nu’s total revenue in Q3 reached $1.3 billion, up 171%, while profit climbed to $427 million, up 90%. Five years ago, Revolut, the British fintech company with an expanding portfolio of banking services, made the news when it reached over a million customers across Europe. That seems quaint now; this week, Revolut hit 25 million customers globally as the firm prepares to expand into new markets, including India, Mexico, Brazil and New Zealand. Revolut was last valued at $33 billion, but as of last year at least, the company wasn’t yet profitable; Revolut reported a £167 million (~$197.94 million) net loss in 2021, its largest ever. Are valuations retreating and the backlog of IPOs growing in fintech, as chatter across the Twitter-verse implies? Silicon Valley Bank says yes on both counts in its State of the Markets report out this week. According to the firm, the steepest declines in valuation have occurred for late-stage fintech companies; “enterprise value” to “next 12 months” revenue multiples for public fintechs have dipped 55% since the market peaked in early January. Meanwhile, since the end of 2021, the number of U.S. fintech unicorns has grown by 38% to 159 — standing at a staggering $656 billion in aggregate valuation, highlighting the massive backlog looking to exit. According to a study by the National Institute of Mental Health, 72% of startup founders are affected by mental health issues. Stepping out of its lane somewhat, fintech giant Brex launched a program, Catharsis, which is designed to provide resources dedicated to mental health. Brex says it’ll facilitate access to therapists via a partnership with Spring Health as well as extend a discount on the sleep-tracking Oura Ring. Seems like a worthwhile cause, but part of us wonders whether the effort is intended to distract from Brex’s poorly received pivot away from supporting small businesses. Charge cards are big business. According to Research and Markets, the segment could be worth over $2 billion by 2026, growing from $1.96 billion this year. That’s probably why banking-as-a-service startup Unit is investing in it — the company on Tuesday launched a service that’ll allow customers to build custom charge cards for their own end users. Unit handles nearly all aspects of the back end, including card printing, compliance and transaction tracking. In this way, it’s a different approach than corporate card issuers Brex and Ramp, Unit CEO Itai Damti argues, which are strictly business-to-business — Unit sees its offering as more “business-to-business-to-consumer.” If you’re itching for reading material on the forecasted economic woes in the tech sector, Ukraine-based fintech investor Vadym Synegin wrote an excellent piece for TC+ on what founders can do to help their companies prosper in times of crises. Among other steps, he suggests that founders double down on developing and proving the quality of their products, manage risk and look for ways to shore up their company’s ranks with high-performing talent. Just over a year ago, Wise — the company formerly known as TransferWise — went public

Gopuff launches scheduled deliveries, gifting and in-store pickup • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 19, 2022Posted in Apps, goPuff, grocery delivery, on-demand delivery, Startups, TransportationNo Comments

Rapid grocery deliver startups like Getir, Gopuff and Gorillas, once heralded as the next big thing in on-demand ordering, are running up against logistical challenges that might very well be insurmountable. Even faced with competition and sky-high operating costs, though, they’re taking what steps they can to stick around. Case in point, Gopuff today launched features aimed at eliminating some of the platform’s biggest pain points, like the inability to schedule orders ahead or pick up orders from nearby stockrooms. Starting today, Gopuff customers can place an order when the Gopuff marketplace closes — the exact hours depend on the market — to have Gopuff deliver the order as soon as it reopens. (Needless to say, this doesn’t apply to locations where Gopuff delivers 24/7.) Alternatively, customers can schedule an order in advance for a specific date and time, similar to most major food delivery apps, or arrange for an order to be picked up where Gopuff offers retail and in-store shopping. The in-store shopping experience remains rather limited. According to Gopuff, only in BevMo! outlets — recall that Gopuff acquired BevMo!, the alcohol retailer, for $350 million in 2020 — and locations in New York City is shopping in-store an option. Strictly pickup of online orders will be offered at “many” locations, however, Gopuff says (it’s unclear just how many), with the hours mirroring that of in-app ordering. Gopuff is also introducing gifting, which will allow customers to add gifts to their cart for recipients both on and off the platform. Once they enter the recipient’s address, name and phone number and a gift message, both the gift recipient and the sender will receive a text message confirming a gift order is being prepared. The recipient will also receive SMS alerts when the order is close by, delivered or canceled. Somewhat concerningly, Gopuff didn’t respond to ZebethMedia’s question about whether gift recipients’ information will be retained for marketing or other purposes. Gopuff, like many app-based products and services, collects a broad swath of personal information that it reserves the right to use for ad targeting and promoting its subscription services, as well as sharing with third parties including business partners and “affiliates and subsidiaries.” The new features are only available via the latest Gopuff app (version 8.1.0), the company notes, which began rolling out nationwide this morning. While Gopuff has partnerships with Uber and Just Eat Takeaway to make its inventory perusable through Uber Eats and Grubhub, respectively, the company says that customers using those platforms won’t be able to take advantage of order scheduling, gifting and pick-up — despite the fact that Uber Eats and Grubhub support those features for most other businesses. Gopuff has had a rough go of it lately, no pun intended. Originally intending to IPO as soon as mid-2022 after tapping ex-Disney CEO Bob Iger as an advisor and investor, Gopuff this summer pulled out of Spain, one of its markets, to slash costs, and laid off 10% of its global workforce. Further cuts hit Gopuff in October — mainly affecting various customer service departments — as the startup reportedly looked to secure a credit line as high as $300 million to buffet against inflationary headwinds.

You shouldn’t skim over gross dollar retention • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 19, 2022Posted in customer retention, Enterprise, openview venture partners, Startups, TechCrunch Exchange newsletter, The ExchangeNo Comments

Welcome to The ZebethMedia Exchange, a weekly startups-and-markets newsletter. It’s inspired by the daily ZebethMedia+ column where it gets its name. Want it in your inbox every Saturday? Sign up here. For SaaS companies, net dollar retention is on investor radar more than ever. But it shouldn’t eclipse gross dollar retention: If you are not tracking both metrics, you could be fighting to add new customers into a leaky bucket. Let’s explore. — Anna Gross dollar retention is “what protects you during really challenging times” “Gross retention really speaks to the true stickiness and health of your customer base. It’s what protects you during really challenging times,” growth stage VC Rene Stewart said in a sponsored talk at ZebethMedia Disrupt in 2021. And yet, the co-head of Vista Equity Partners’ growth-stage Endeavor Fund added, most VCs she talked to “probably only care about net retention.” However, her comments were made in 2021, not 2022. “Challenging times” have come upon us since then, making investors and founders more mindful of business fundamentals. Alex and I have already written about the importance of net dollar retention when efficient growth is the new holy grail. But how does it differ from gross dollar retention, and how has the latter been faring at most tech companies? Let’s dive in.

A love letter to micro funds, the backbone and future of venture capital

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 19, 2022Posted in EC venture capital, fundraising, micro funds, PitchBook Data, Startups, Venture, venture capitalNo Comments

While the Sequoias and the Andreessen Horowitzes of the world continue to swell in size, their influence on venture capital may be heading in the opposite direction as micro funds increase their impact on the industry. Whether you define micro funds as below $50 million or sub-$25 million, these are truly the funds that power the future of the industry. They help venture hubs take off, bring expertise and specialization to the market, and fill a role in the venture capital ecosystem that larger firms simply can’t. They also can be credited with getting a lot of the large unicorn and public companies we know today off the ground, as many of them received some of their first dollars from a micro fund: Robinhood (Elefund), Coinbase (Initialized Capital, which was investing out of a $7 million fund at the time) and Flexport (Anorak Ventures). I’ve written about the rise of micro funds in the U.S. before, but when Sweetwood Ventures reached out to me a month ago about its new fund-of-funds strategy to back nano — sub-$15 million — funds in Israel, I was intrigued. I hadn’t realized that the explosion of micro funds extended beyond the U.S. market, but Sweetwood general partner Amit Kurz told me it was one he had been tracking for a few years now.

TAM takedown, green card layoffs, when to ignore investor advice • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 18, 2022Posted in EC roundup, Layoffs, Pitch Deck Teardown, Startups, tax laws, Total Addressable Market, Venture, venture capitalNo Comments

When the downturn began, many VCs urged founders to slash their marketing spending. On its face, that’s an effective way to extend runway while cutting costs. Several months later, we’ve since learned that cutting marketing budgets doesn’t make early-stage startups healthier, but it is a great way for VCs to reduce burn rates across their entire portfolio. As Rebecca Szkutak reported this week, SaaS startups that ignored this advice outperformed the ones that followed it. If someone offers you free business advice, it’s probably for their own benefit. In business, if someone’s offering you advice, it’s probably for their own benefit. Which is why I take investors at their word when they say most founders cannot properly assess their total addressable market (TAM). Most founders submit a slide with three concentric circles: TAM on the outside, SAM (serviceable addressable market) in the middle, and SOM (serviceable obtainable market) in the center. Full ZebethMedia+ articles are only available to membersUse discount code TCPLUSROUNDUP to save 20% off a one- or two-year subscription “When this slide appears, most investors chuckle (or weep),” writes Bill Reichert, partner and chief evangelist at Pegasus Tech Ventures. Few investors will wire funds based on how many billions you think you’ll make in year 8. Instead, founders must demonstrate that they have a directional plan and a keen understanding of prospective users. “How many customers will you acquire this year? Next year? The year after?” asks Reichert. And just as importantly, “How many can you convert? How will you reach them?” Don’t spend too much time calculating future revenue or reading Gartner studies for factoids that sound authoritative. Instead, build a bottom-up model that focuses on the size of the opportunity, not the market. “Show investors how you are going to build an ever-expanding cadre of delighted customers,” Reichert advises. “Don’t suggest that your focus is on acquiring market share in a large established market.” Have a great weekend, Walter ThompsonEditorial Manager, ZebethMedia+@yourprotagonist How to turn user data into your next pitch deck Investors might enjoy listening to a founder’s well-rehearsed story, but sharing the right customer data “can definitively power up a pitch deck,” says David Smith, VP of data and analytics at TheVentureCity. “Investors need to see that you’re not being blindsided by easy wins that can go up in smoke within weeks, but are using hard data to build a sustainable company that will endure, and thrive, with time.” SaaS startups that ignored VC advice to cut sales and marketing were better off this year Image Credits: Andriy Onufriyenko (opens in a new window) / Getty Images Many VCs advised founders to dial back their sales and marketing outlays to preserve runway this year. And, as it turns out, many VCs have been giving the wrong advice. According to data from Capchase, a fintech that offers startups non-dilutive capital, “companies that didn’t cut spending on sales and marketing were in a better financial and growth position now than those that did when the market started to dip in 2022,” reports Rebecca Szkutak. Of the 500 companies surveyed, bootstrapped firms showed the strongest growth, said Miguel Fernandez, Capchase’s co-founder and CEO. “What we have seen in this case, and what is most interesting, is that the best companies have actually cut every other cost except sales and marketing.” Dear Sophie: My co-founder’s a green card applicant who just got laid off. Now what? Image Credits: Bryce Durbin/ZebethMedia Dear Sophie, My co-founder and I were both laid off from Big Tech last week and it’s the kick we needed to go all-in on our startup. We’re first-time founders, but they need immigration sponsorship to maintain status with our startup. Do we look at an O-1A in the 60-day grace period? Thanks! — Newbie in Newark Pitch Deck Teardown: Sateliot’s $11.4M Series A deck Image Credits: Sateliot (opens in a new window) Cell phone coverage is built to serve people, which is why Sateliot is launching nanosatellites to provide IoT connectivity for ocean buoys and autonomous drones. The company shared its €10 million Series A deck with TC+, which includes all 18 slides: Cover Problem: “90% of the world has no cellular coverage” Team Solution: “To connect all NB-IOT devices from space under 5G standard” Value proposition: “Near real-time connectivity” Product: “Standard protocol” Why us: “Sateliot is the #1 satellite operator” Market size Competition Business model Traction: “MNOs engaged and technical integrations ongoing” Go-to-Market: “Early adopters program” Interstitial slide Benefit Progress NGO program Slogan Conclusion How much tax will you owe when you sell your company? Image Credits: PM Images (opens in a new window) / Getty Images Getting a startup off the ground is hard work, so asking founders to prepare for an acquisition may sound just as silly as telling them to practice their Academy Award speech in the bathroom mirror. Still: if you’re ready to launch a startup, you must also be prepared to sell one. In an explainer for TC+, Peyton Carr, managing director of Keystone Global Partners, offers a framework for calculating taxation upon an exit and lays out the differences between short-term capital gains and long-term capital gains rates. “As a founder, you’ll need to plan for your personal tax situation to optimize the opportunity set that is presented to you.”

recruitment or retention? • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 18, 2022Posted in Equity podcast, FTX, maven, Startups, women's healthNo Comments

Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. This week, Alex and Natasha discussed the latest and greatest of this consuming news cycle. Our goal with the episode, as always, is to go beyond what you may see in a 140 character-take on [insert big story here]. And in today’s recording? That wasn’t hard at all. We started with our good news segment: 1) Maven, now valued at $1.35 billion, is answering a countrywide demand: More fertility benefits and 2) Alibaba eyes logistics growth in LatAm as China commerce slows. We love a chance to talk about growth, despite all odds and even trends! Then, right off the heels of our amazing debut crypto conference, we take a minute to talk about the FTX Fall out. Yep, we’re talking about how one African Web3 startup got screwed over and why SoftBank joined Sequoia in marking down its investment in the crypto exchange. We then turn to the latest in layoffs: Amazon’s 3% cut, cuts at Morning Brew and Protocol, and Musk’s latest attempt to recruit (or retain?) Twitter employees. We still don’t know what’s happening there, don’t ask us. Ok fine, you can. And we’ll end by throwing this gem here, with little to know context: I volunteer as tribute. And that’s wrap. As always you can follow the show @equitypod, leave us a rating on Apple Podcasts and, most importantly, be kind to your people. Talk soon! Equity drops at 7 a.m. PT every Monday and Wednesday, and at 6 a.m. PT on Fridays, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. ZebethMedia also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews founders, one that details how our stories come together, and more!

Fund of funds Sweetwood Ventures bets big on VC’s smallest funds

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 18, 2022Posted in fund of funds, fundraising, Israel, Startups, Sweetwood Ventures, Venture, venture capitalNo Comments

Despite legacy venture capital firms continuing to raise bigger and bigger funds, LPs may have more luck focusing on the small stuff. Amit Kurz, a general partner at Israel-based fund of funds Sweetwood Ventures, thinks so. He told ZebethMedia that last year he started to notice more and more tiny funds he wasn’t familiar with getting on the cap tables of competitive deals. While these “nano” funds wouldn’t fit the thesis for Sweetwood’s $70 million flagship fund, he thought it was worth figuring out a way to back them. “I got really intrigued as to how can we gain exposure to that space,” Kurz relayed to ZebethMedia. “They really generate this access to the most oversubscribed rounds and they invest a small amount, which is a classic win-win situation. You aren’t competing with the main VCs, yet everyone wants you because you are bringing a ton of value.” So, Sweetwood decided to raise a fund dedicated to these investors. Now, the firm is announcing that it raised $20 million for a separate fund to cut checks of up to $2 million into funds that are $15 million in size or smaller, with a focus on funds based in Israel. Sweetwood has backed seven funds thus far. It’s also looking to essentially create nano funds by working with angel investors. For this side of the fund, Sweetwood will work with angels to match their investment into a company while also giving them carry on the money that the firm puts in. While this would mean a hit to the firm’s potential returns compared to just investing directly, they don’t take that type of stake to begin with. They’ve closed on two such deals so far. “It’s a no-brainer for these guys,” Kurz said about approaching angel investors. “[They are] doing these deals anyway and there is this external partner that doesn’t look to be a tech scout but pays them as tech scouts.” The firm started raising the nano-focused fund in the peak of 2021’s craziness and is now looking to deploy into very different market conditions where smaller and less established firms are really struggling to raise. Kurz said that while they were initially apprehensive when the market conditions started to sour, they quickly got over that fear because they realized that the funds they back will now be writing checks to companies at more reasonable valuations and will actually have time to spend on due diligence. Kurz said when evaluating these potential investments the big question they ask, since neither the angel investor nor nano funds are big enough to lead any of the rounds they are in, is, why do startups want to take their money? He said that the firm is looking for funds and individuals that fall under two categories of answers: expertise and access. For some, especially on the angel investor side, access is king. If you are a notable former tech entrepreneur that is well connected, the thinking is that you are just going to hear about more notable deals and be invited to participate over other angels just due to your background. Kurz said this can include angels that were successful or well-known former founders. On the other side, Sweetwood is looking for funds and individuals with expertise and specialization that are going to be sought out by companies to fill out rounds because they bring an outsized value add to the table compared to their check size. “Why are people giving you access? Why are people wanting you on the cap table?” he said. “It’s very much focused about the value add and ability to gain access to the deals more so than your ability to distinguish the deals or do selections on the deal.” While this nano fund is separate from the firm’s flagship series, Kurz anticipated that some of these funds will grow up to be good candidates for the flagship fund down the line. It will also help them get into companies earlier that might end up in the flagship’s fund portfolios as well. “The very small funds tend to outperform,” he said. “The smaller you are the more probable you are to generate outsized returns. I thought, this is really interesting, how do we build something for this?”

How much tax will you owe when you sell your company? • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 18, 2022Posted in Column, EC Column, EC How To, qualified small business stock, Startups, tax lawsNo Comments

Peyton Carr is a financial adviser to founders, entrepreneurs and their families, helping them with planning and investing. He is a managing director of Keystone Global Partners. More posts by this contributor With a Section 1045 rollover, founders can salvage QSBS before 5 years Advanced tax strategies for startup founders When a founder sells their company, its valuation gets a lot of attention. But too much emphasis on valuation often leads to too little consideration for what stockholders and stakeholders pay in taxes post-sale. After an exit, some founders may pay a 0% tax while others pay over 50% of their sale proceeds. Some founders can walk away with as much as two times the money as other founders at the same sale price — purely due to circumstances and tax planning. Personal tax planning can ultimately impact a founder’s take-home proceeds as much as exit-level valuation changes can. How does this happen? Taxes owed will ultimately depend on the type of equity owned, how long it’s been held, where the shareholder lives, potential tax rate changes in the future and tax-planning strategies. If you’re thinking about taxes now, chances are you’re ahead in the game. But determining how much you’ll owe isn’t simple. In this article, I’ll provide a simplified overview of how founders can think about taxes as well as an easy way to estimate what they will owe in tax upon selling their company. I’ll also touch on advanced tax planning and optimization strategies, state tax and future tax risks. Of course, remember that this is not tax advice. Prior to making any tax decisions, you should consult with your CPA or tax adviser. How shareholders are taxed When it comes to minimizing capital gains tax, QSBS (qualified small business stock) can be a game-changer for people that qualify. Let’s assume you’re a founder and own equity or options in a typical venture-backed C-corp. A number of factors will determine whether you will be taxed at short-term capital gains (ordinary income tax rates) or long-term capital gains, also referred to as qualified small business stock (QSBS) rates. It’s essential to understand the differences and where you can optimize. Below is a chart summarizing different types of taxation and when each applies. I further break this down to show the combined “all in” federal + state + city taxation, if applicable. Founders with exits on the horizon that will raise more than $10 million should explore some of the advanced tax strategies I covered in one of my previous articles, since there are opportunities to multiply or “stack” the $10 million QSBS exclusion and minimize taxation further. Image Credits: Keystone Global Partners As you can see above, some of the more common levers that influence how much tax a founder owes after an exit include QSBS, trust creation, which state you live in, how long you’ve held your shares and whether you exercise your options.

Daylight, the LGBTQ+ neobank, raises cash to launch subscription plan for family planning • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 18, 2022Posted in Anthemis Group, Apps, Bank, citi ventures, daylight, Fintech, funding, Gaingels, Kapor Capital, lgbtq, neobank, queer, startup, StartupsNo Comments

A day after a bill that would codify same-sex marriage in the U.S. cleared a key hurdle in the Senate, Daylight, a digital bank that pitches itself as LGBTQIA+-friendly, closed a $15 million Series A round led by Anthemis Group with participation from CMFG Ventures, Kapor Capital, Citi Ventures and Gaingels. Daylight Co-founder and CEO Rob Curtis says that the new capital will be used to, in his words, “build the financial products and services to help queer people live their best lives” — starting with a subscription plan called Daylight Grow designed to help prospective queer families with financial planning. “There are over 30 million LGBTQ+ Americans with a spending power of around $1 trillion and yet the community lacks access to the suite of products and services they need to live their best lives,” Curtis told ZebethMedia in an email interview. “Daylight was created with a single mission: to build the financial products and services to help queer people live their best lives.” Curtis co-launched Daylight with Billie Simmons, a trans woman, and Paul Barnes-Hoggett in early 2020. Prior to starting Daylight, Curtis worked for several organizations supporting the LGBTQ+ lifestyle and causes, including Gaydar, a dating site for gay and bisexual men. He also co-founded Squad Social and Helsa Helps, startups aiming to improve access to mental health for members in the LGBTQ+ community. Daylight is a part of wave of recent neobanks — bank-like fintech companies that operate online, without physical branch networks — organized around aspirational causes and missions. Rapper Killer Mike’s Greenwood aims to help Black and Latinx communities build generational wealth. Majority, which launched the same year as Greenwood (2020), seeks to build banking tools and resources for immigrants. Purpose Banking, Aspiration and One all promise to never let deposits fund fossil fuels. Image Credits: Daylight With the wealth of ethics-forward fintechs out there, why found a neobank for LGBTQ+ people? According to Curtis, most mainstream banking products simply weren’t designed with U.S.-based queer folks in mind. (Pride Bank, a neobank with similarly queer-forward branding, is based in Brazil.) For example, Daylight provides debit cards with customers’ chosen names, which aren’t always the same as what’s on their ID. It offers members 10% cash back every time they spend with a queer and allied business that Daylight has partnered with. And it offers guided goals for gender-affirming procedures like top surgery and facial feminization. Beyond cash management features like a checking account, free ATMs and the ability for members to get paid two days early, Daylight hosts communities where customers can ask questions around “queer financial literacy,” such as family planning, in what Curtis claims is a safe and supportive environment. “At Daylight, our mission has always been to break down the financial barriers that hold LGBTQ+ people back … In this post-Dobbs world, Daylight’s commitment to supporting queer families has never been more necessary,” Curtis said, referring to the Supreme Court case that legalized abortion bans in the U.S. and opened the door to legal challenges of marriage equality. Certainly, members of the LGBTQ+ community face fiscal challenges that many cisgender, straight adults never do. Some suffer the consequences of being kicked out of their homes by unaccepting parents. Others find themselves on the hook for HIV/AIDS treatment, hormone therapy and fertility procedures. Most queer people gravitate toward pricey metro areas because they’re more accepting and progressive, and many queer people lack a safety net — whether because they lack family support or don’t have children who can take care of them. For those reasons and others, LGBTQ+ people frequently earn less, live in poverty and have less in pension savings than their cisgender counterparts. The situation for transgender people is particularly dire, with the poverty rate for the transgender community in the U.S. averaging around 30% — close to double the rate of cisgender adults — according to a 2019 study from the UCLA School of Law’s Williams Institute. Transgender people are also twice as likely to be unemployed and four times as likely to have a household income below $10,000; the 2021 U.S. federal poverty was $12,880. The aforementioned Daylight Grow isn’t a cure-all, but targets the major hurdles many queer couples encounter in starting a family. This is a significant portion of Daylight’s customers. A recent poll by the Family Equality Council found that nearly two-thirds of LGBTQ millennials — 63% — are considering becoming parents for the first time or expanding their family. Image Credits: Daylight When the product launches in early 2023, Simmons says that Daylight Grow will offer a personalized “family creation plan” covering financial, legal and logistical milestones tailored to individual states and needs, “family planning concierges” to provide financial advice and logistical support, a “family-building marketplace” with vetted family attorney networks and recommendations for IVF and surrogacy clinics, and in-person financial and fertility education events. “Family creation is a major life event for queer people and the challenges we face are increasingly more complex than those for non-LGBTQ people,” Simmons told ZebethMedia via email. “The launch of Daylight Grow will help queer people navigate through the complex legal and financial challenges involved with starting a family, making it faster and easier to start a family, and unlocking critical intergenerational wealth for our community.” Daylight Grow will also offer access to family-building loans, a potential game-changer for queer customers who’ve dealt with discrimination from traditional banks. According to a 2019 study, same-sex borrowers were 73% more likely to be denied a mortgage or be approved for a mortgage at a higher-than-average interest rate. Daylight plans to offer hundreds of free Grow subscriptions to low-income, marginalized families in states where LGBTQ+ rights are under significant legal attack, Curtis said. Which states — and Grow’s pricing — are still being decided. Daylight has raised $20 million in capital to date. Curtis wouldn’t answer questions about revenue and hiring plans, preferring, at least for now, to keep the focus on the company’s core mission.