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New York-based Neobank, which is built for people building e-commerce brands on marketplaces like Shopify and Amazon, has raised $7 million in seed funding to continue developing banking tools that meet the needs of entrepreneurs.
The year-old fintech startup launched by Sameer Shergill and Gautam Gupta offers banking features, transparent credit and money management insights. It works with Blue Ridge Bank to provide banking services and debit card and The Currency Cloud Ltd. with payment services.
“We are a financial partner to help e-commerce brands scale,” CEO Shergill told TechCrunch. “Banks should help with cash management as a company scale, but they should also be a real financial partner, for example advising on how to get a loan. This is our approach.
Continued profit growth for brands, especially e-commerce growth, has pulled some back as the pandemic hits and stores reopen, Shergill said.
Coupled with changes in advertising and privacy on social media, brands can no longer afford to invest in those channels. Instead, scaling is more complicated, and Shergill believes tools like Hybeam are needed to bridge the gap between selling the business and being the entrepreneur.
Highbeam E-Commerce Banking Product. Image Credits: Hybim
“Brands need to do things like going omnichannel very early,” he added. “Before, you could only grow on Shopify, but now you have to look at retail first.”
Focusing on e-commerce, Shergil Haibim provides a financial view of the business, where money flows in and out, and helps entrepreneurs determine the right loan option and provides insights into common situations. For example, if cash flow drops by 10% or supply chain issues persist, what will it mean to the business?
In addition, Highbeam not only provides those financial insights, but also a software component to collect and analyze data for those who don’t have someone in the role of chief financial officer.
Since launching the product three months ago, Hybim has converted dozens of customers and is now managing tens of millions of dollars, Shergill said.
Now the company is ready to increase the amount. The $7 million seed round, which closed in May, was led by FirstMark and Mayfield, who were joined by a group of individual investors.
Plans for the new capital include strengthening the company’s 10-strong team and strengthening product development through the core bank, investing in better experience and lending offerings. Shergill is investing in marketing and sales.
“We want to add value to these founders and ensure that we are a true financial partner in managing their financing and credit needs,” he added. “We want to build our technology as we build our relationship with them.”
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