Early stage European FinTech deals include ScaleXP, Finary, Wrisk etc. We feature Q&As with Marcus Börner of OptioPay and Daniel Andres and Dr. Teddy Amberg of Spicehouse Partners.
Congratulations to OptioPay, who contributed to our recent publication Scaling Enterprise FinTech | The Handbook, sharing their journey to scale, lessons learnt etc.
Scaling Enterprise FinTech: with Marcus Börner of OptioPay
1. Tell us a bit about yourself and your company.
At the age of 17 I founded my first company – reBuy.com. Today, Germany ́s leading re-commerce platform employing over 500 great people and exceeding $ 200 million in annual turnover .
My entrepreneurial spirit and passion for combining customer-oriented products with data eventually led to the foundation of OptioPay. OptioPay provides Open Banking white label services that empower customers to benefit from value-add campaigns based on their bank account data. As a B2B2C-provider we serve clients from various industries, such as banking, insurance, telco & retail. Comdirect Bank, DZ Bank, HDI or 1&1 are some of our clients that understand the huge potential of open banking for their business and customers. Going forward, any company missing out on the open banking opportunity will struggle with severe strategic disadvantages.
Next to OptioPay, I am a passionate business angel, and have invested in over 50 companies. I love supporting young entrepreneurs who dare to make an impact. I also advise the Federal Ministry of Finance in Germany as part of the “FinTechRat”.
http://www.fintechforum.de/scaling-enterprise-fintech-with-marcus-borner-of-optiopay/
Scaling Enterprise FinTech: with Daniel Andres and Dr. Teddy Amberg of Spicehouse Partners
1. A year since the first lockdowns- is this is a good time to be building or scaling an Enterprise FinTech (/ InsurTech) firm in Europe?
Yes. The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated digitalization throughout industries by a couple of years. This digitalization trend will stay and continue to foster, especially in sectors such as fintech and insurtech. We firmly believe in the potential of start-ups in those (and adjacent) sectors. The resulting new or more efficiently structured business models offer tremendous opportunities.
scaling-enterprise-fintech-with-daniel-andres-and-dr-teddy-amberg-of-spicehouse-partners
These Q&As are part of Scaling Enterprise FinTech | The Handbook, featuring Q&As on the journey to scale, lessons learnt etc. with 16 founders and 10 leading investors.
ScaleXP Raises £600K in Seed Funding
ScaleXP, a London, UK-based automated analytics platform for small businesses to consolidate their financial and sales data, raised £600k in seed funding.
Backers included Cambridge Angels, Angel Academe, Syndicate Room and Founders Factory.
The company intends to use the funds to develop its platform and services, while also accelerating customer acquisition. In conjunction with the funding, Alex Hirsch will take a position on the ScaleXP advisory board.
Founded by Suezann Holmes, Scale XP provides a SaaS platform for small businesses to consolidate disparate financial and sales data, prepare for fundraising and make more informed decisions about their future growth plans.
https://www.finsmes.com/2021/05/scalexp-raises-600k-in-seed-funding.html
French fintech Finary raises €2.2M from Speedinvest, Y Combinator, Kima Ventures, others
Today, French fintech startup Finary announced that it has raised €2.2M in a Seed round funding led by European VC Speedinvest. In addition, the round also saw participation from Y Combinator, Kima Ventures, and angel investors like Raphaël Vullierme (co-founder at Luko).
The raised capital will help the fintech to hire new talents as well as expand its presence across Europe and the US. In addition, the funds will also help Finary in launching its iOS and Android app later this year as it plans to connect thousands of additional financial institutions to the platform.
Founded in 2020 by Mounir Laggoune and Julien Blancher, Finary is a wealth management platform that allows investors to track all of their assets in real-time and maximise their return on investments.
https://siliconcanals.com/crowdfunding/finary-raises-2-2m/
Wrisk Raises £4.6M IN Series A Funding
Wrisk, a London, UK insurtech company, raised £4.6M in funding.
The round was led by QBN Capital with participation from investors Guinness Asset Management and Cell Rising Capital.
The company intends to use the funds to expand operations and its business reach and further scale its platform.
Led by Nimeshh Patel, CEO, Wrisk has created a customizable platform for automotive, retail, telecommunications and other brands, to build mobile-first insurance experiences.
https://www.finsmes.com/2021/05/wrisk-raises-4-6m-in-series-a-funding.html
Paris-based cryptography management software Cryptosense raises $4.8 million, keeps hackers out of corporate breaches
Parisian cybersecurity firm Cryptosense has raised $4.8 million in a funding round led by Amadeus Capital Partnersthat also saw participation from BGV and Elaia Partners. Cryptosense reports that the new funds will be used to further develop the company’s partner programme, blaze deeper trails into the US market and hire senior-level executives in both the product and engineering departments.
“At Amadeus, we like businesses with deep IP in specialist areas that can be the foundation to create large (and valuable) businesses,” comments Amadeus’ Nick Kingsbury.
Germany-Based Open Banking Solution Provider OptioPay Increases Series B Funding Round to €11 Million Secured
OptioPay, a Germany-based open banking solution provider, recently announced it has increased its Series B round, originally closed in September 2020, going from €5.75 million to €11 million. Eos Venture Partners, AB Ventures, and Seed X Liechtenstein are new investors in the round, joining existing backers including NN Group n.V., Avaloq Ventures, Main Incubator, and management.
Founded in 2014, OptioPay describes itself as a fintech provider that specializes in open banking for customer-centric, value-add solutions, and banking data-based campaign.
London-based workplace mental health platform Unmind closes oversubscribed Series B round at $47 million
London’s workplace mental health platform Unmind has raised $47 million in an oversubscribed Series B round. The funding was led by EQT Ventures and saw participation from Sapphire Ventures, Project A, Felix Capital, True, and Christian Angermayer.
Unmind it reporting that the new funds will be used to propel international growth as well as flesh out platform content and features as well as integrations. In so much, the firm is planning on upping the headcount to 200 individuals across offices in London, New York, and Sydney.
https://tech.eu/brief/london-based-workplace-mental-health-platform-unmind-closes-oversubscribed-series-b-round-at-47-million/
Seriengründer Jan Beckers legt eigenen Fintech-Fonds auf
Erst vor zwei Jahren startete der Hitfox-Gründer einen börsennotierten Anlagefonds für Internetunternehmen. Nun kommt ein zweiter hinzu – er soll sich auf Fintechs konzentrieren.
Geld an der Börse anlegen und dabei gezielt auf den Boom junger Finanzfirmen setzen: Das möchte Jan Beckers, Berliner Seriengründer und Kopf der Startup-Schmiede Finleap, mit einem neuen Fonds ermöglichen.
Global Fintech Leaders spezialisiert sich laut dem Branchenportal Finance Forward auf aussichtsreiche Startups in der Finanz- und Versicherungsbranche. Um die Auswahl kümmert sich Beckers gemeinsam mit seinem Team. Infrage kommen demnach beispielsweise Smartphone-Banken, Kreditplattformen oder Kryptobörsen wie Coinbase.
Die BaFin stellt N26 einen Aufpasser zur Seite im Kampf gegen Geldwäsche und Terrorismusfinanzierung
Am Dienstag forderte die Finanzaufsicht (BaFin) die Bank N26 dazu auf, stärker gegen Geldwäsche und Terrorismusfinanzierung vorzugehen. Die Bank soll interne Sicherungsmaßnahmen ergreifen und ihre Sorgfaltspflichten zur Prävention von Finanzkriminalität einhalten. Die BaFin fordert auch, dass die Bank „eine angemessene personelle und technisch-organisatorische Ausstattung zur Einhaltung ihrer geldwäscherechtlichen Verpflichtungen“ sicherstellt.
Wie vor drei Jahren für die Deutsche Bank, stellt nun die Finanzaufsicht auch N26 einen Aufpasser zur Seite. Der Sonderbeauftragte wird die Umsetzung der geforderten Maßnahmen überwachen und an die BaFin berichten.
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