The New York-based FinTech startup Jeeves has launched a non-dilutive alternative to venture capital specifically tailored to startups and small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The startup announced the launch of Jeeves Growth at the Collision Conference in Toronto.
Jeeves Growth offers Canadian companies generating at least $20,000 in monthly revenue the ability to extend their runway with non-dilutive financing that comes with a 12-month term with a one-time fee starting as low as nine percent.
For companies with shorter-term financing needs, such as online direct-to-consumer businesses that make frequent inventory purchases, Jeeves also offers a product it’s dubbed Working Capital with 30/60/90-day terms to match their inventory turnaround cycles. Working Capital starts at a two percent monthly interest rate.
Jeeves is not alone in offering upfront financing to Canadian businesses. It faces competition from a number of Canadian tech companies that offer similar products, including Clearco, Lightspeed, and Shopify.
Both Jeeves Growth and Working Capital offer financing starting at $100,000 with no personal guarantees, covenants, or warrants.
William Lam, Jeeves’ general manager for Canada, said the startup is able to underwrite a business in 48 hours once an application is submitted. Businesses use Jeeves’ expense management platforms to connect to their bank accounts and accounting software for a fast due diligence process.
Lam called Jeeves Growth a natural extension of the startup’s corporate crest card solution, and noted that Jeeves is able to disperse funds in multiple currencies, including both Canadian and American dollars.
“Venture-backed startups can leverage Jeeves Growth to extend their runway and drive enterprise value growth,” Lam said. “SaaS companies can get capital to amplify marketing and e-commerce can buy inventory with the additional capital. These are just a few use-use cases of Jeeves’ new capital products. Jeeves Growth has very broad applicability across industries so we foresee continued rapid uptake from high-growth startups and SMEs in Canada.”
Jeeves claims it launched its latest product to help startups weather the “VC winter.” According to the startup, the timing of its announcement in Canada is significant, with start-ups and SME facing a growing scarcity of capital solutions.
“Turmoil and uncertainty in capital markets coupled with rapid inflation and fast-rising interest rates may put a freeze on venture capital funding, forcing companies to seek out new options to extend their runway,” the startup warned.
Since launching in Canada in 2021, Jeeves claims it has onboarded thousands of startups and fast-growing companies. “Jeeves Growth has very broad applicability across industries so we foresee continued rapid uptake from high-growth startups and SMEs in Canada,” Lam said.
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While Jeeves was launching its latest product, FinTech startup Brim announced a partnership with Air France-KLM in Canada, in which the joint Air France and KLM loyalty program, Flying Blue, will leverage Brim’s end-to-end technology platform and card issuance to launch a unique credit card offering in the Canadian market.
Brim’s partnership with Air France-KLM will offer more targeted rewards to loyal Flying Blue customers, according to the FinTech startup. Flying Blue claims it has 17 million members worldwide.
Brim said its platform offers instant approvals, embedded buy now pay later, interactive spend monitoring, full mobile wallet functionality, and loyalty rewards.
Co-founded in 2017 by Rasha Katabi and Marcius Bansavatar, Brim’s product suite includes credit cards, an end-to-end digital platform, and an embedded loyalty and rewards program. The FinTech firm’s backers include Desjardins Group, EPIC Ventures, Goeasy, White Owl, and Impression Ventures.
Brim raised $25 million CAD in Series B funding, just a month before it also partnered with Canadian Western Bank (CWB) to provide CWB clients access to Brim’s suite of consumer credit cards and integrated digital banking platform.