Simon Rabin

🚨 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗙𝗹𝗮𝘀𝗵: Monzo Bank is planning to go big on business customers and eyes 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 after doubling the amount of business customers in a year. Monzo, which started rolling out business banking products in March 2020, has now hit 450,000 business customers, up roughly 100% since May 2023. Monzo is currently offering its business accounts only in the UK, but has plans to set them up in other regions soon, Jordan Shwide, general manager of Monzo’s business banking team, tells Financial News. More info: https://lnkd.in/edrFAScz Find this helpful? [ 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 ] Anything to add about this subject? [ 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 ] Nice story, Marcel. Next! [ 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 ] 

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Are you an early-stage company looking for Pre-Seed, Seed and Series A Round funding? ⬇️⬇️ - We cater to startups looking for investment ranging from £150k to £10Mil, specifically within the UK/EU. - Our investor network is eager to delve into diverse sectors, maintaining an open approach to ALL industries. - Particular interest lies in sectors such as: • SaaS • Fintech • Marketplaces & Platforms • Computer Vision & NLP • Enterprise Technology • Industrial Automation • The Transition to Sustainable Energy • Artificial Intelligence & Data Analytics • Software Development Tools 🚀 Jumpstart your funding journey by registering at FundMyPitch.com and create your pitch today to link up with our wide-ranging network of investors. #fundraising #angelinvesting #startups 🤝 Know a startup on the lookout for investment? Help spread the word

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Founders: How confident are you in your valuation game? Valuing a startup is tough - it’s hard to know if you’re leaving money on the table or pricing yourself out. On 27th November, 12:30 PM at The Ministry in Borough, I’m hosting a free session to break down the stuff that actually matters for founders looking to nail their valuation and keep control. Expect straight talk, no fluff, and real tactics that you can use, like: - What makes investors really buy into your valuation - How to avoid rookie mistakes in equity negotiations - Balancing that “big dream” with realistic numbers that work for funding 🗓 When: 27th Nov, 12:30-1.30 PM 📍 Where: The Ministry, 79-81 Borough Road, London 🔗 Register here: https://lnkd.in/d_8cna7z This session is about more than numbers - it’s about building a valuation strategy that aligns with where you want to take your startup. Join us if you want to get this right - grab your free spot! 🙂

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In light of the ruling last week in the Johnson vs Firstrand case, is now the time to consider a change of model? Earlier this year, VLS launched ‘MOO’ – modular outsourced operations, aimed at supporting new lenders in the UK financial services space. MOO enables you, either as a new lending business, or as a broker seeking to transition their business model, to plan, execute, and scale an ‘own book’ offering, without the traditional costs associated to a contract management system, and the operational staff needed to support this structure. 💷 On a typical ‘small ticket’ transaction, say, £10k over 3 years, it is twice as profitable to lend yourself vs. taking a broker commission when you look at an average cost to a transaction. 📈 Interest income received over time is a long-term sustainable way of building a business which has ‘value’ at point of sale (or retirement). ✅ Lending yourself removes commissions, and therefore commission disclosures, providing greater control over your fee income model. ⭐ Positioning yourself as a lender, or more likely a broker-lender hybrid, can enhance your brand offering – you have greater flexibility on funding deals that you want to fund yourself, but retain your ability to place all enquiries with a suitable funder, enabling you to continue to service the best outcome for your customers. Reach out for a no cost discussion – I’d be happy to talk through our solutions and see whether they are a suitable fit.

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***NEW GUIDE NEXT WEEK*** We have another one of our free guides from The Banking Expert coming out next week. In this edition it will be something a little different to banking and payments, having spoke to one of the industries leading technology providers. We hope you find it of use. As ever, it will be out first on The Banking Expert LinkedIn page a couple of days early, so give it a follow to get it first. #thebankingexpert

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Enjoyed sharing my fintech naïveté with Julie VerHage-Greenberg! If you’re exploring a partnership with a large, regulated financial institution (FIs), here are some of my quick tips: ✅ Be prepared for a long process! Any timeline you’re quoted is probably rosier than reality. Be prepared for delays in the process, and don’t let your team get disuaded. Go into any partnership knowing it’s a marathon, and plan accordingly. ✅ Make sure you’ve got a champion! Having a stakeholder who will go to bat for your startup is huge. It also helps to align incentives and find a champion who can make a strong business case for your partnership. Remember that the FI ultimately wants this partnership to be good business, so show how you help enable that. ✅ Have a contingency plan in place! There’s a strong chance that a champion stakeholder leaves, or the team(s) you’re working with are subject to a reorganization (or “re-org” in FI parlance). Don’t let a shift like this lead to defeat! Have a contingency plan that accounts for turnover or org shifts. Find ways to keep momentum going! ✅ Organization and aesthetics matter! I like to use the adage of “punching above your weight class” when working with FIs. in other words, make sure your team is organized and professional, and anything you send to your stakeholders looks polished. Don’t get sloppy with presentations, project management templates, and other docs. ✅ Maintain a communication cadence! In the same vein as staying organized, make sure you have periodic touch points and forcing functions with your champions. I’m a big fan of weekly/bi-weekly stand ups to keep momentum going. I’m also a proponent of short, written updates. Share key updates from your team—product updates, user growth, key hires, etc. Don’t let there be big gaps in communication that will derail your partnership! Not all partnerships are created equal, but I think all points above should be helpful when you’re exploring fintech partnerships with FIs.

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Monday: Janet's Startup Challenge and Solution Overview: Janet's startup, specialising in high-end curtains for middle-class homes, faces issues with incomplete customer data and outdated contact details, leading to missed payments and communication problems. Problems: 1. Incomplete customer data. 2. Changing contact details complicate record-keeping. Solution: - Capture comprehensive data at onboarding. - Verify identity and authorization for payments. - Regularly update customer information. Outcome - Improved efficiency and automation in invoicing and reminders. - Better business operations and cash flow management. Extra Tips: Claim your free 'Top 10 Essential Tips' for managing unpaid invoices. Email '10 Tips' to [email protected]. Don’t miss out! --- Tuesday: GetPaid Makes Debt Collection a Breeze When we designed GetPaid, our goal was simple: make debt collection super easy. Every feature and step in the process was scrutinized for necessity and potential automation. The result? The smartest app on the market. It takes just 6 clicks in less than 30 seconds to get help with an unpaid invoice. Why not give it a try like Alasdair did? Check us out here: [GetPaid App](https://buff.ly/4fiiMgR). Join our community of companies that have said goodbye to unpaid invoices with just a few steps. --- Wednesday: Rick's £12,000 Surprise I had a chat with Rick about an invoice he wanted us to collect. He mentioned he wished he’d known about our services earlier because he had been advised to write off £12,000 two years ago. But guess what? Unpaid invoices can be collected for up to six years, even if they've been written off. Rick was thrilled to hear this, retrieved the invoice, and we’re now working on the case. Luckily, the company that owed him money still exists. Often, creditors wait too long, and the debtor company becomes insolvent in the meantime. So, act fast, folks! --- Thursday: Why Our Clients Love Us No unnecessary questions. No unnecessary uploads. No fuss. Just 6 clicks. Watch how easy it is – you’ll be surprised. We promise. --- Friday: Disney Magic and Debt Collection Magic I have to admit, no matter how old you are, Disney has the ability to captivate you with its magic. Meeting Minnie during dinner brought a huge smile to my face (and needless to say, my daughter and my wife were equally thrilled). However, magic can take on many forms. For our clients, the real magic lies in realizing how effortless it can be to receive assistance in pursuing unpaid invoices. The combination of Xero's automated invoice reminders and GetPaid's 6-click collection process works like magic for them. Have you given it a try? There's no obligation, no charge, and no reason not to find out more! So, why wait? Head over to the Xero App Store now: [GetPaid App](https://buff.ly/4fiiMgR). --- Catch you next week with more updates and success stories! Have a fantastic weekend! Yours Oliver

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Great to see the growth of fintech startups that are growing their customer base while growing their community through equity crowdfunding. Equity crowdfunding can be a great option for fintech startups. 4 of the fintech startups below have completed crowdfunding rounds.

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Pension funds enjoy a very material tax exemption privilege. I wonder if some element of that privilege should be linked to commitment to the sector, increased over time to stop a wall of money, where for example a vehicle like Adam proposes and/or direct investment would qualify. Pension funds free not to participate, might have a size threshold, but if they do not they pay some tax. Link that to whatever regulatory tweaks needed to ensure funds are not penalized for investing a portion in growth - rationally 4% has to be a perverse allocation, someone has got the rules wrong. It feels like it is not in their investors' interests, aside from the societal point of the need to support growth, the no.1 claimed objective of the incoming government.

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Couldn't get to eCom Collab Club™ 🥞 London today? Or you were there but it's all a bit of a blur? Well worry not, the latest episode of Recap from Cogent2 is here to break down the knowledge and share the wealth. The centrepiece of May's session was a panel on Data Driven Decision Making, chaired by Nathan Lomax. Taking part were: Angelica Olszewska from NAYDAYA Andre Brown from Advanced Commerce Valeria Granda from rebuy Hannah Herlihy Lowe from Conjura Iain Coplans from Stok.ly You'll have to watch for the full nine yards, but the WHY (thanks to Hannah's offspring) featured heavily throughout and there were some really interesting and actionable insights from everyone on the panel. That theme of Why fed through into Val's session with Adam Pearce on the Airfryer, which was engaging and thought-provoking as per. And just to prove that dreams do come true, stoked to have bagged a £100 Amazon voucher for my post-event selfie (if a piece to camera counts for that). Already considering far too many data points and in danger of being paralysed into purchasing nothing... Thank you to everyone that puts the eCom Collab Club events on - as per this was really enjoyable and if you're in (or around) eCom and can get to London on 12th June I heartily recommend it. As ever, please leave your thoughts, suggestions and feedback in the comments. #dontbeapancake #ecommerce #data #why #dontlookaroundtheeyes

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WE ARE LIVE WITH SUPERBOARD 🚀 Earlier this year Modern World Business Solutions recieved FCA permissions and in doing so unlocked some processing procedures with Elavon Europe that we were previously not able to utilise. Over the last 3 months we have been working on implimenting and integrating these changes directly into our boarding platform so that we can improve the experience for our resellers. We KNOW that you as a reseller need a frictionless process with as few documents as possible required. We also KNOW that FAST approvals are 🔑 That’s why - from Monday just gone, our new boarding applications process with Elavon Europe integrated the following, 1️⃣ - Site visit form - utilised only for agents that physically visit a premises. 🎉 This will remove the requirement for initial additional Proof of trading address 2️⃣ Certification of ID - our agents must confirm they certify that the ID as of having seen it in person on the platform. 🎉 This will remove the requiremt for proof of home address for directors. Meaning that an field agent that now visits a business can place an application with 🪪 ID + 🏦 Proof of bank We must caveat this with we at MWBS toggle this feature on and off for agents that we KNOW visit the businesses that they board. These changes, combined with the new way queries are raised and answered, as suggested by our superstar Rebekah Coghlin has meant that we are consistently seeing applications boarded via API and approved in less than 24 hours later 🔥 So - now that we have the boarding process on lockdown and released…… It’s about time we released some game changing Merchant facing software right? 👀

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Are you an early-stage company looking for Pre-Seed - Seed funding? ⬇️⬇️ - We cater to startups looking for investment ranging from £150k - £10m, specifically within the UK/EU. - Our investor network is eager to delve into diverse sectors, maintaining an open approach to ALL industries. - Commercial traction is advantageous - Particular interest lies in sectors such as: • SaaS • Fintech • Marketplaces & Platforms • Computer Vision & NLP • Enterprise Technology • Industrial Automation • The Transition to Sustainable Energy • Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Data Analytics • Software Development Tools Register at FundMyPitch.com and add your pitch today to link up with our wide-ranging network of investors. #fundraising #angelinvesting #startups 🤝 Know a startup on the lookout for investment? Help spread the word

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Just opened our Pre-Seed angel round at Quanted — cheers to that! We’ve had a brilliant early response from the market to our new product during our first 2 months, now its finally time to share the news and share your chance to join in the upside. If you've worked with financial data, you know the pain of spending months evaluating new datasets (I've been there way too many times...). We're fixing that. Quick update if interested: → 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁: We're offering an early-bird for Angels who share our vision, offering a compelling chance for value appreciation when we progress to our VC-led round early next year. To learn more, sign-up for our Demo Day and follow-up Q&A here: https://lnkd.in/dXW2Zush → 🇬🇧 𝗨𝗞 𝗧𝗮𝘅 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀: We’re pending for SEIS/EIS approval, which means a substantial tax advantage for you. With SEIS you effectively risk 27.5p per £1 invested, whilst EIS is 38.5p per £1. That turns £50K into £13.8K whilst maintaining all of the upside. →🏦 𝗩𝗖𝘀: If you’re excited at the thought of deploying some capital into a market shaping startup, the round will open to you in January. In the meantime, we’d love to introduce ourselves and what we’re building so feel free to schedule some time here for a 1:1. Here’s a few more reasons to be interested in this opportunity: - We’re tapping into a $40B+ market here, and it's only growing. - We have over 20 data vendors ready to integrate with our platform - Our technology can shrink a 100-hour, 6-month data processing marathon down to a mere 30 minutes for vast datasets. - Plus, our advisory board is made up of industry heavyweights from hedge funds and data firms who’ve been pivotal in guiding our strategy. Charlie Simionescu-Marin and I are extremely proud of what we’ve accomplished these last few months and even more excited about where we’re headed — it would be amazing to have your support. If you’re interested, or just want to chat more about the opportunity, don’t hesitate to reach out. Happy to talk anytime. Cheers, David

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A new SME insights report by Dojo has revealed that an estimated 110,940 SMEs are at risk of going bust due to having no cash left to support business operations. Read more in this Credit Connect UK article here: https://lnkd.in/dVjPm3sc #CreditManagement #SME #Business #News

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Over the past few weeks we have funded the launch of six new tech startups in the West Midlands. It feels like we’re the only ones fighting that fight. The UK mission has swung toward Scale-Ups. This is laudable as a national strategy, but regionally we have a dearth of scaling tech companies. By following a geographically irrelevant strategy the West Midlands has potentially entangled capital in under performing programmes undermining our innovation pipeline. In 2025 Greater Things will continue to follow our own mission to double the number of tech launches in The West Midlands and to ensure that the founders that we work with represent our wonderfully diverse community. Hopefully we can work fast enough to create a pipeline to feed later stage investors. Our current programme is badged as SuperTech WM Seeds and is housed in the wonderful STEAMhouse. Financial support for the programme comes from some scraps of money that someone found down the back of a sofa at the West Midlands Combined Authority and some rather kind private investors. Idea stage tech founders can apply here: https://lnkd.in/eaY68X9Z #tech #westmidlands #startup #mvp

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London-based credit technology company Abound has announced a new financing round which could extend up to £800 million. The funding announcement—one of the largest in Europe so far this year — is a mixture of debt and equity. Abound will use the new funding to expand into prime lending in the UK, and to roll-out Render, its proprietary AI credit technology platform, globally.  Abound is now one of the UK’s fastest-growing FinTechs, having issued over £300m in loans to date and is aiming to double the size of its team from 65 to 130 people this year. It has reached profitability just three years after launch. The new funding includes a multi-year asset backed debt financing arrangement – backed by loan originations – from existing financier Citi, while the Series B equity round component was led by Silicon Valley-based GSR Ventures.  Abound’s AI technology, Render, scans customers’ bank transaction data to understand each person’s unique financial situation and determine how much they can afford to repay each month. This contrasts with traditional credit checks, which rely on statistical averages which may be right on average but are wrong in almost every individual case. According to the company, the Render technology means that Abound sees 75% fewer defaults than the industry standard. As a result, Abound is able to offer lower interest rates to consumers than they can typically find elsewhere. 

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This latest story on Monzo Bank (covered here by Sky News) is obviously great news for the tens of thousands of Crowdcube investors who previously invested in the company. Those that backed the business in 2016 at a pre money valuation of £29m will be especially pleased with themselves. The more interesting story for me is the continued normalisation of large secondary liquidity events for staff while companies continue to remain private. Revolut have done it recently and both they and Monzo have followed their peers in the US in structuring these types of deals. Continued regulatory support with the introduction of things like the Public Offer Platform Regime means companies can turn to both institutional investors AND their customers and retail investors to deliver sizable secondary liquidity events for employees and early investors. Our software coupled with our regulatory permissions in the UK and EU means we can seamlessly manage thousands of sellers at a time for companies. We can also convert your customers and users to buyers of those shares, providing buy side liquidity at the same time. https://lnkd.in/ewAjY_mG

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