{"id":43298,"date":"2023-10-20T15:27:34","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:27:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/melbourne-startup-promisepay-secures-14-million-in-funding-as-australian-investment-sector-reaches-a-boiling-point-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:27:34","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:27:34","slug":"melbourne-startup-promisepay-secures-14-million-in-funding-as-australian-investment-sector-reaches-a-boiling-point-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/melbourne-startup-promisepay-secures-14-million-in-funding-as-australian-investment-sector-reaches-a-boiling-point-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Melbourne startup PromisePay secures $14 million in funding as Australian investment sector reaches a \u201cboiling point\u201d – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"PromisePay<\/div>\n

Melbourne-based platform payments solution PromisePay has closed a $14 million Series A round led by new investor Carsales.com as the fintech startup looks to ramp up international growth plans.<\/p>\n

The funding round was also backed by existing investors rampersand, Reinventure, Cultivation Capital, 99designs co-founder Mark Harbottle and former ex-CEO at Hitwise Andrew Walsh.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s another large funding round for an Australian startup this year, and PromisePay co-founder and chief executive Simon Lee says it\u2019s proof that the investment sector in the country is coming of age.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we first started out in early 2014 fintech wasn\u2019t cool,\u201d Lee tells StartupSmart<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had to go overseas to get funding \u2013 no-one was interested in talking to us here. When we came back it had changed a bit, and now it\u2019s at that boiling point.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really great to see a real transformation here in Australia, and now we\u2019re set up for success.\u201d<\/p>\n

PromisePay offers a fully managed payment solution targeting the $4 trillion globally platform economy. Initially aimed at online marketplaces, the fintech has now expanded into on-demand and sharing platforms, crowdfunding and job management since launching in 2014.<\/p>\n

The fintech secured $2.59 million in seed funding in June last year<\/a> led by US VC firm Cultivation Capital.<\/p>\n

More than just funding<\/h3>\n

The latest funding round also saw Carsales come on board as a flagship client, with the company now using the PromisePay service on its 20 different platforms.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe came out as the partner of choice and that\u2019s fantastic validation,\u201d Lee says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s exciting for Carsales to be the first mover in this space. Now you\u2019re going to be able to buy a car online and pay securely and safely.\u201d<\/p>\n

The latest cash injection will be split in two, the co-founder says, with half used to build existing partners and establish new ones, and the rest to develop new strategic opportunities in the payments space.<\/p>\n

PromisePay now operates in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US, and Lee says these four major markets will be the main focus for the time being.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe next 18 months we\u2019ll be focused on execution and growth and then we\u2019ll look at strategic plans to go into other countries,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re definitely taking that global approach rather than just focusing on the Australian market.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lee says the startup has enjoyed 25% month-on-month revenue growth across the last year, has doubled the number of signups in each quarter and tripled its internal headcount.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Just getting started<\/h3>\n

Although not revealing the valuation that the Series A round placed on his company, Lee says things are only just getting started for PromisePay.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got some KPIs we want to hit and if we do that we\u2019ll be looking at a ten times valuation next year than what it currently is,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd we\u2019re extremely happy with the valuation now \u2013 investors see the value in our business.\u201d<\/p>\n

And if all goes to plan, the Aussie startup will be looking to raise an even bigger lot of funding in 2018.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe next thing is looking at do we IPO in 2018 or do we complete a massive cap raise?\u201d Lee says.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the moment the focus is on those key KPIs this year and next year and then the funding won\u2019t be a problem. We\u2019ve proven that today.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re executing on what we said and all our investors took up in this round.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we focus on execution and do that right the money will follow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Persisting through the hard times<\/h3>\n

Lee says uncompromising persistence and self-believe was crucial to getting through the tough early stages of building a startup.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest thing for any startup founder is to never give up and believe in yourself,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf someone closes a door on you just keep knocking until they let you in.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was hard for us to raise funds to start with. We chased down everybody and nobody wanted to listen to us. Now with this round we couldn\u2019t let any new investors in apart from Carsales.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ease of the recent funding round and the ability to get the backing of a huge corporate player is all thanks to this early persistence, he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great change but definitely in our early days we had to chase every single opportunity and hound people,\u201d Lee says.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes what people don\u2019t do in a startup is just constantly believe and go after the opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Follow StartupSmart on<\/em> Facebook,<\/em> Twitter,<\/em>LinkedIn <\/em>and <\/em>SoundCloud.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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