Why We Invested in Payabli
As investors, we’ve had a front-row seat to the evolution of fintech as new technological advancements have been brought to market. With each new wave of innovation – from the cloud to mobile to AI – we’ve seen the rise of companies that are “version 2.0” of our initial investments. These new entrants are building on the foundation laid by previous first movers to chart a new course forward, solving more complex problems with sophisticated technology.
Payabli, a payments infrastructure company and one of our recent investments, is a great example of how the payments landscape has matured. We were early investors in Bill.com, the financial operations software company founded in 2006, when the shift to cloud-based invoicing and accounting was relatively new. Simplifying, digitizing and automating financial workflows enabled business owners to increase efficiency and profitability, and to focus their time on what they did best – running their company.
Nearly twenty years after Bill.com streamlined complex, back-office financial processes for SMBs, Payabli is helping software companies transform how they accept payments, manage payouts and disbursements, and handle payment operations. Historically, payments have been (i) fragmented between a constellation of various providers, and (ii) resource-intensive, requiring human capital to maintain integration and operations. This makes it difficult for software companies to build payments capabilities directly into their core offering. Owning those transactions would open up additional revenue streams and accelerate growth, but the solution would need to be easy to implement in order to drive adoption.
When we first met Will Corbera and Jo Phillips, we were impressed with their fintech experience, the beauty in the simplicity of their product, and their vision: to make every software company a payments company.
Their approach was different from other payments infrastructure companies we had encountered, and they had built the most in-depth product we had seen. They also complemented each other well; Will had an extensive background in payments and entrepreneurship, and Jo had go-to-market leadership experience at venture-backed companies. We could immediately tell that they were a strong team based on how they worked together to generate early wins for the business.
Most of all, we were impressed with what they had brought to market: a single API that enables software companies to embed and monetize payments – unifying PayIn, PayOut, and PayOps – the latter of which is often overlooked. With Payabli, companies can accept payments online, in person, or by phone that are fully integrated in the product experience; pay vendors, contractors, and customers; and utilize payment operations solutions to gain visibility, control, and security over the merchant experience and protect their book of business.
During those early conversations in 2022, the Payabli product was already on the market and generating revenue, but it was flying under the radar. We saw an opportunity to unlock access to valuable connections in the payments ecosystem and provide resources to help take the business to the next level – and were fortunate that Jo and Will chose to partner with us – which is why we made our first investment in May of that year. Within six months of closing that round, Payabli more than tripled its revenue. That led to a pre-emptive Seed round in March 2023 where we served as lead investor. Each infusion of capital has resulted in more growth; from 2022 up until the end of this year, Payabli is on track to more than triple revenue again!
For each new wave of innovation in fintech, we see a common thread that connects today’s startups with their predecessors. We are truly honored to be on this journey with Will and Jo, and we’re ready to support Payabli at every step of the way.
