Demand for entrepreneur-friendly funding surges

Clearbanc raises $50m in follow-on funding and adds top talent to Board of Directors


  • Added $50m in additional funding from Seamless/Grubhub founder
  • Funding to date totals over $120m USD
  • Clearbanc appoints entrepreneur Rajen Ruparell, Co-Founder Groupon International and Chairman & Founder at Endy to Board of Directors
  • Clearbanc appoints Keri Findley, former Third Point Hedge Fund Partner to Board of Directors
  • Capital to be used to invest in ecommerce entrepreneurs

TORONTO, Dec. 18, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Following their previous announcement of raising $70m USD, Clearbanc, a company that funds marketing for fast-growing ecommerce brands, has seen a surge in interest for its entrepreneur-friendly finance products. This quick and intensive growth has motivated an additional $50 million USD investment from Seamless (now Grubhub) co-founder, Jason Finger’s new fund, Upper90. In addition, Clearbanc is announcing that entrepreneur Rajen Ruparell, Co-founder of Groupon International and Chairman and Co-Founder of Endy, and Keri Findley, former Hedge Fund Partner, joined the company’s Board of Directors earlier this year.

In the last four weeks alone, over 1,000 companies have reached out to Clearbanc representing a demand of up to $1 billion in capital. The high number of qualified businesses approaching Clearbanc caught the attention of Jason Finger, who was impressed by their innovative funding model and offered an additional $50 million to grow.

“Clearbanc is revolutionizing the way that ecommerce brands access growth capital,” said Finger. “So often businesses raise dilutive capital for marketing expenses that can be financed far more effectively through channels like Clearbanc. The efficiency of their funding process enables entrepreneurs to maintain the focus necessary to build world class businesses. I think every company should first explore this form of capital as a fundraising best practice.”

Clearbanc owes much of its current success to the innovative approach of its founders and Board of Directors, which represent a strong team of successful entrepreneurs and finance gurus. The company was co-founded in 2015 by serial entrepreneurs and angel investors Andrew D’Souza and Michele Romanow, a Dragon on Canada’s hit television show Dragons’ Den (Canada’s Shark Tank).

Clearbanc has also added two new board members, Rajen Ruparell and Keri Findley to complement their existing board.

Rajen Ruparell, a serial entrepreneur and one of Canada’s most notorious e-commerce leaders, joined the Clearbanc board this year. Rajen was a co-founder of Groupon International via acquisition of Citydeal, and also founded and led Groupon Goods. Rajen also recently announced the sale of his latest consumer startup Endy, Canada’s leading online mattress brand, for just under $100m this past November. Endy was mainly bootstrapped and took minimal external investment.

“Endy took on very minimal capital which allowed us to move quickly and stay focused on execution instead of fundraising, very different than my previous startups,” Ruparell said. “Giving up equity, especially for something like marketing spend, is a raw deal for entrepreneurs. With Clearbanc’s model, companies can finally grow on their own terms and not sell equity unnecessarily. It truly is the future of startup and e-commerce financing.”

Keri Findley is a former partner at $17B hedge fund Third Point and one of the few females to reach senior executive status in the hedge fund industry. For her, Clearbanc’s approach is the best response to growing demand from founders who want to grow while retaining control of their respective companies. Regarded as one of the smartest minds in fixed income capital markets, Findley has been tapped by many of the top Venture Capital firms to build fixed income programs. Her deep understanding of both investor and entrepreneur needs has already been an outstanding asset to Clearbanc.

“We are witnessing an evolution of the growth capital business - entrepreneurs do not want to be forced to choose between restrictive equity or debt arrangements to fund their business growth,” Keri said. “Clearbanc is building a new asset class that is compelling for entrepreneurs as well as investors looking for strong risk-adjusted returns.”

Unlike current financing and investment options, Clearbanc’s system forgoes paperwork, pitches and personal guarantees. Instead, the fintech company uses an online process that integrates with a business’ existing platforms like Stripe and Facebook. Using data from these accounts, Clearbanc’s algorithm calculates a company’s financial health and revenue trajectory. The resulting offer, which can range from $5k to $10 million, is a capped revenue share deal rather than a traditional investment or loan; businesses repay the capital as they make revenue, without giving up any equity, control or board seats.

According to co-founder and CEO Andrew D’Souza, Clearbanc’s top tier Board of Directors will be critical to achieving these goals. “After successfully growing Groupon into a global, multi-billion dollar company, Rajen has built some of the most successful direct to consumer brands, and backed some of the world’s most successful startups. His experience, combined with Keri’s incredible mind for Capital Markets, is exactly the combination of expertise we need to completely rethink how entrepreneurs access capital globally and create a new asset class along the way.”

Both Findley and Ruparell look forward to supporting Clearbanc through what promises to be a major period of growth for the company.

After deploying over $100M in capital to entrepreneurs in 2018, Clearbanc plans to launch additional growth capital products, secure new partnerships, and expand internationally in 2019.

About Clearbanc
Clearbanc was founded with the mission of providing growth capital for e-commerce businesses, creating an alternative to traditional venture capital. Co-founders Andrew D’Souza and Michele Romanow are successful serial entrepreneurs and angel investors. Clearbanc was part of the first group of entrepreneurs participating in the Y Combinator Fellowship program. The company has raised $120M to date.

For more information on Clearbanc, visit https://clearbanc.com/

Media Contact:
Karman Lee for Clearbanc
pr@clearbanc.com
(647) 898-6833