The Venture Codex

Led · Debt Financing · Aug 2026

Founded in 2014, inKind connects nearly five million guests with more than 7,700 restaurants across the U.S. The company provides restaurants with capital in exchange for food and beverage credits, which it sells to diners via its app while offering users up to 25% back in rewards. To date inKind has provided more than $600 million in funding to restaurants and has rewarded over four million users with more than $175 million in dining rewards. inKind positions its model as an alternative to expensive debt, dilutive equity, and discount-driven marketing for operators. Earlier this year the company raised $450 million to expand the platform to 10,000 additional restaurants and improve its in-app dining experience. The recent Liberty Mutual Investments financing is intended to further expand the restaurant network and support development of AI-native demand-generation tools.

Led · Debt Financing · Sep 2025

EarnIn (Activehours, Inc. d/b/a EarnIn) is an earnings-management company that offers on-demand pay, early paycheck access, credit-building tools, and real-time pay without interest, hidden fees, or credit checks. The company is a pioneer in the earned wage access (EWA) space and launched its Cash Out product more than a decade ago to let workers access a portion of their pay prior to payday. EarnIn is not a bank; banking services are provided by Evolve Bank & Trust or Lead Bank, and the EarnIn Card is issued by Evolve Bank & Trust. The company says its platform enables consumers to take control of their money and build momentum through flexible access to earnings. Recent financing activity—specifically a large credit facility described below—aims to help EarnIn scale its Cash Out product to meet rising demand and expand access to on-demand pay. Earnin, launched in 2014 and headquartered in Palo Alto, provides a mobile app that helps hourly, gig and salary workers track earned wages and move pay to their checking accounts in real time. Users connect their bank account, Earnin infers pay cycles and debits borrowed amounts on payday. The service charges no fees or interest and instead operates a pay-it-forward tipping model where users optionally tip after transactions. The app has been among the App Store’s top 10 financial apps, with more than 1 million downloads and users at over 50,000 companies. Earnin reports its users work more than 15 million hours per week (roughly 375,000 weekly active users by a 40-hour-week estimate). With the new funding, the company plans to expand engineering and product teams across its Palo Alto, Cincinnati and Vancouver offices. Activehours provides consumer-facing cash advances that let workers access accrued pay before payday via an iOS and Android app. The service does not check credit history or require a social security number; anyone with a checking account and a job can request advances. Tips for access are voluntary but capped at roughly 15% and individual advances are limited to $100. Activehours works directly with consumers while also maintaining partnerships with employers and platforms such as Sears Holdings and Uber to simplify access. The company positions its product as a way to avoid traditional payday-lending interest and to give workers control over timing of pay, though Consumerist notes the implied APR on short advances can be very high. With the latest round the company plans to expand the team and further improve the product. Activehours is a mobile payday app that lets users access their pay quickly to pay bills on time and avoid late and overdraft fees. The app is available to anyone who has a checking account, regardless of their employer. Activehours does not charge a fee or interest; instead, each time a person uses the app they are given the opportunity to pay what they believe is fair, with contributions supporting the user community. Since launching in 2014, the company has grown from working with people from 100 companies to individuals from over 12,000 companies. The company intends to use the newly raised capital to grow the team. Activehours is led by founder Ram Palaniappan and is based in Palo Alto, CA. Activehours provides a mobile app that lets hourly workers track hours and access unpaid wages from their smartphones, tapping pay before payday. Led by founder Ram Palaniappan, the service launched to the public in May. The app allows users to track the number of hours they have worked to unlock earned wages prior to payday. As of the article, the service is used by employees from over 250 employers, including large retailers, banks, universities and hospitals. Activehours is based in Palo Alto, California. The company raised $4.1M in seed financing led by Ribbit Capital and Felicis Ventures.

Participated · Equity · Dec 2024

Current serves millions of Americans with integrated consumer fintech products designed to help users access liquidity, manage cash flow, build savings, and improve financial outcomes. The company attributes its growth to investments in technology and AI infrastructure that enable personalized financial experiences at scale and maintain operating leverage. Current has achieved three consecutive years of growth exceeding 70% and said it is advancing toward profitability in 2026. The company plans to use the new capital to invest in product innovation, AI-powered financial services, and to expand its banking, payments, liquidity, and credit offerings. Current has also focused on building operational scale, governance, and a financial profile aligned with public market readiness.

Led · Debt Financing · Dec 2023

Best Egg operates an online lending platform focused on unsecured personal loans aimed at helping consumers consolidate revolving debt or finance significant life events. In the past decade, the company has originated more than $30 billion in personal loans, positioning it as a major player in consumer fintech. Beyond lending, Best Egg offers a suite of budgeting tools and educational resources designed to increase customers’ financial confidence. The business generates revenue by originating and servicing loans that are subsequently purchased by institutional investors. A newly secured $500 million purchase facility expands its capacity to fund additional personal loans without diluting equity. The arrangement allows Best Egg to continue scaling originations while shifting credit risk to capital-markets partners. Management views the facility as critical to serving more borrowers in the current economic climate and deepening relationships with institutional buyers.

Participated · Equity · Jul 2023

Equabli is an Austin, TX–based financial technology company that provides a SaaS solution for optimized, comprehensive, and compliant lifecycle recoveries for lenders and their borrowers. The platform delivers a curated value chain of technology, analytics, and integrated recovery providers, all overseen by Equabli’s team. Led by CEO Cody Owens, the company focuses on improving recovery outcomes through its integrated product and services approach. Equabli recently raised additional funding to support its growth initiatives. The company plans to use the proceeds to accelerate growth, hire talent, expand into new markets, and enhance its debt recovery products and services. No revenue or user metrics were disclosed in the article.