SAN FRANCISCO & LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wayflyer, the revenue-based financing and growth platform to eCommerce merchants, today announces a $76m Series A fundraise led by Left Lane Capital, with support from partners of DST Global, QED Investors, Speedinvest and Zinal Growth, the family office of Guillaume Pousaz (founder of Checkout.com).
The equity raise comes just 14 months after Wayflyer launched its first product, confirming its status as one of Europe's fastest growing FinTech startups.
Led by co-founders Aidan Corbett and Jack Pierse, Wayflyer helps eCommerce merchants unlock growth, providing a range of financing and marketing analytics solutions that help them access working capital, improve cash flow and drive sales. By delivering both access to capital and business critical insights, Wayflyer supports its customers by addressing many of the structural challenges eCommerce merchants face as they scale.
Wayflyer’s deep knowledge of the eCommerce sector, coupled with its sophisticated use of big data, has seen the business grow 290% over the past 6 months deploying over $150m of funding across its three core markets; the US, UK and Australia. This impressive growth has been achieved whilst maintaining a negligible default rate.
With eCommerce sales expected to hit $4.2 trillion in 2021, funds from the round will be used to support Wayflyer's product development and international expansion. The business is set to enter multiple new markets in the coming months.
To cope with demand for its cash advance product, Wayflyer has also expanded its debt facilities by an additional $100m and recently signed a major partnership with Adobe Commerce in a move that will further increase its capital deployment capabilities.
Commenting, Aidan Corbett, Wayflyer CEO said: “We exist to help eCommerce businesses grow, and reduce the traditional barriers they face as they scale. Our rapid growth since launch demonstrates the strength of this proposition and our relentless focus on customer service, and we’ve only just scratched the surface of this enormous market. The number of direct-to-consumer brands launching every day continues to amaze us and we’re excited about the next stage of our mission to become the go-to-growth platform for merchants looking to realize their potential.”
Dan Ahrens, Partner at Left Lane Capital added: “Wayflyer has quickly become a key player in the eCommerce ecosystem by solving the biggest challenge facing merchants. They have unlocked growth for many entrepreneurs, and their strong customer reviews show that they are a deeply trusted partner of many leading brands. The Wayflyer team is world-class, and has a differentiated understanding of what drives scale in eCommerce markets. We are thrilled to work with them along this journey."
Yusuf Ozdalga, Partner at QED investors, added: “Wayflyer’s ability to grow impressively whilst maintaining disciplined underwriting has been amazing to watch. Their performance is rewriting conventional thinking on how to finance small and medium sized eCommerce businesses and we look forward to being part of the next phase of their journey.”
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About Wayflyer
Founded in September 2019, Wayflyer helps eCommerce businesses worldwide reach their growth potential by providing a range of financing and analytics solutions that help them access working capital, improve cash flow and drive sales. Through its offering of affordable, non-dilutive, unsecured capital, eligible businesses are given the flexibility to secure advertising space and inventory, paving the way for growth and profitability. Wayflyer’s unique free analytics platform also analyzes marketing performance on a daily basis, equipping eCommerce businesses with world-class data and tangible, tangible insights designed to improve performance. Wayflyer acts as a growth platform for eCommerce businesses, providing them with a one-stop shop for the working capital needed to thrive, as well as the data-driven knowledge and insight to spend their capital in the optimum way.
