Clearbanc, the ecommerce investor changing the way founders grow their business, has launched in the UK to invest £500m into online startups over the next year to help them resource their operations and drive future growth.
The company is also announcing a groundbreaking inventory program, where Clearbanc will purchase directly from inventory suppliers and the company only pays Clearbanc after customers buy their products.
The alternative capital platform, founded by Canadian Dragons’ Den star Michele Romanow and her partner Andrew D’Souza – has invested more than $1B into 3,300+ startups, and already invested £30 million in British startups during beta.
Combining AI and data science, Clearbanc offers UK startups an alternative to venture capital in the form of non-dilutive revenue-share agreements. Users connect their revenue and marketing accounts with Clearbanc’s APIs which shows founders their investment offers.
Offers range between £10,000 to £10million with a 6-12% flat fee. This intelligent algorithm also removes bias from the funding process and as a result Clearbanc has invested in 8x more female founders than traditional VC firms.
The new injection of capital comes at a critical time for UK startups, with the surge in online shopping caused by the COVID-19 pandemic expected to add £5.3bn to UK ecommerce sales this year — bringing the total market up to an estimated £78.9bn.
Clearbanc’s first-of-its-kind inventory funding will buy inventory upfront and companies only pay back the financing with a 6% fee, so founders never have to worry about being on the hook for buying too much inventory and they can spend their money in more efficient ways.
Michele Romanow, co-founder, and president of Clearbanc, explained: “2020 has been incredibly hard for founders, but it’s also brought a ton of opportunities for online businesses. Consumer behaviour has completely adapted to this new way of life, and for companies to succeed in this new wave of shutdowns, it’s critical to capitalise on the rise of online traffic.
“It’s not as easy as building an online store — founders need the funding, data insights, and global network to grow. Clearbanc is the pioneer of alternative capital, backing more than 3,300 businesses, and the best partner to help UK founders reach new customers both at home and globally.
During Beta testing in the UK, Clearbanc funded over 250 companies, 70% of which are based outside of London.
Beyond funding, the launch means UK ecommerce entrepreneurs can now connect to the Clearbanc platform to receive a free weekly valuation of their business, meet reputable investors or buyers, see how their businesses compare to competition in their category, and access funding options.
The platform also adds value by identifying areas of growth that may have been previously overlooked, as well as ideas about where digital marketing spend is not as effective as it could be when compared to the performance of peer companies, making data-led recommendations on what to improve to reach new customers.
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