Announcing Finley's seed fundraise, led by Bain Capital Ventures
We've always loved building things. A secondhand bike shop in Dallas. A restaurant venture in New Orleans. A civic engagement platform in New York.
What we've learned from those experiences (apart from how fun it is to start something new) is that everything starts with getting the right people in your corner. Get the right people on the bus, and everything else falls into place.
That's why we're thrilled to announce today that Finley has raised a $3 million seed round led by Matt Harris and Kevin Zhang of Bain Capital Ventures, with participation from Semil Shah of Haystack, Kurt Ramirez and Paul La Londe of Nine Four Ventures, Katey Caldwell of TwentyTwo VC, and Y Combinator.
Our investors have advised and backed some of today's most audacious and forward-thinking enterprise and financial technology companies, and we're grateful to have the opportunity to learn from them moving forward.
Why debt capital can hold businesses back
Finley is software that helps businesses manage their debt capital.
Today, most companies rely on debt capital to finance expansion and keep their operations running smoothly. Debt capital is a crucial part of the economy (as an asset class, private credit is larger than venture capital), but debt capital also comes with a lot of fine print—especially as companies grow.
Even a run-of-the-mill credit agreement can run into the hundreds of pages and blindside borrowers with compliance and reporting requirements. That means loads of paperwork and spreadsheet drudgery, endless email back-and-forth with capital providers, and the ever-present risk of losing access to funding.
This inefficiency has made debt capital a double-edged sword for businesses: necessary for growth, but also fraught with operational risk.
How Ramp uses Finley to manage $150 million in debt capital and maintain rapid growth
In industry after industry, from restaurants to real estate, debt capital management is the traffic jam on the turnpike of getting things done.
But it doesn't have to be that way.
Just ask Ramp, a spend management startup that was recently valued at $1.6 billion and is the fastest-growing company in New York's history.
After Ramp raised $150 million in debt capital from Goldman Sachs, the company aimed to maintain its unprecedented rate of growth without being slowed down by all the compliance conditions in its credit agreement.
That's why the Ramp team partnered with Finley to automate compliance and reporting operations on its $150 million credit facility. Here's Ramp CEO Eric Glyman on why that matters:
"When we looked for off-the-shelf software solutions that could meet our needs, we couldn't find one that could handle the nuances of our credit agreement. Finley is an exceptional solution, helps us minimize risk, and saves our finance and engineering teams dozens of hours a month."
What's next for the Finley team
Today, the rules of debt capital can make life hard for borrowers. With the right technology, however, we believe all companies can enjoy peace of mind when it comes to their debt capital.
Our software works by tracking all the key terms of your credit agreement, automating reporting to your capital provider, and letting you know if anything needs your attention. The alternative—a sea of Post-it Notes and emailing bloated Excel files back and forth—just doesn't cut it when your company's debt capital funding is on the line.
With our seed funding, we'll be accelerating product development for key customers like Ramp and making sure that we build the right team for the long term. If you're a software engineer looking to join a fast-paced startup and develop key financial infrastructure software, check out our Careers page. If you're a debt capital borrower interested in learning more about an automated debt capital management solution, just schedule a demo or take a self-guided product tour. We'd love to meet you!
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Jeremy, Kevin, and Josiah