Led · Series A · Apr 2022

Gotrade provides an app enabling international users to buy fractional shares of NYSE and Nasdaq stocks and ETFs from $1, marketed with no commissions. The company monetizes primarily via 0.5%–1.2% foreign-exchange fees on local-currency deposits and offers instant deposits so users can start trading immediately. Its app launched a year ago after receiving clearance from the Labuan Financial Service Authority of Malaysia. Gotrade reports about 500,000 users across more than 140 countries, roughly $400 million transacted and approximately 5 million trades to date. The startup is testing a $2/month premium tier called Gotrade Black with advanced charts and analyst data. Part of the new capital will be used to build localized app versions and payment integrations while the company explores markets across Southeast Asia, including a dedicated Gotrade Indonesia offering. The company has also added Andrew Haryono as a co-founder for its Indonesia operations and partners with local firms to provide fully backed market access to U.S. stocks there. Gotrade provides fractional trading of U.S. stocks to retail investors across roughly 150 countries, enabling users to buy portions of expensive U.S. shares with minimum deposits around $1. The app launched three months prior to the article and is currently invite-only; Gotrade says sign-ups have grown 20% week-on-week and the platform has more than 100,000 users with an average account size of about $500. The company acts as an introducing broker to Alpaca Securities, uses fully-funded cash accounts (no margin), and user accounts receive SIPC protection up to $500,000. Gotrade charges no commission, custody, inactivity or dividend fees and monetizes via small currency-exchange fees on deposits and interest on uninvested cash. It offers in-app educational content and plans to add a premium subscription and a virtual debit card. The newly raised capital will be used for hiring and product development, with a strong focus on expanding in-app content.

Participated · Series C · Jul 2021

Founded in 2013, Yoco built a go-to offline card-payments business for South African merchants using portable card machines and has expanded into online payments. The company serves roughly 150,000 merchants and adds over 500 merchants per day, processing more than $1 billion in card payments annually and over $2 billion since inception. Yoco is transitioning from pure payment acceptance toward a broader financial ecosystem, planning product additions such as mobile money, QR payments and electronic funds transfers. It aims to deepen market presence in South Africa and to replicate growth across Africa and the Middle East, targeting at least one million merchants within four years. To support this, Yoco plans to hire about 200 people across its Cape Town and Amsterdam offices and is investing in product and platform capabilities. Yoco builds tools and services that allow small businesses to accept card payments and manage day-to-day activities, beginning with a smartphone- or tablet-connected card reader launched in late 2015. Its payments offering has expanded to include point-of-sale software, business intelligence, accounting integrations and working-capital financing. The company has grown its merchant base to over 27,000 South African small businesses. Yoco intends to use new funding to grow its network of small business merchants, invest in product development and operational scalability, and hire fintech talent. The business is positioned to deepen its product suite and scale operations with the additional capital. The company is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. Yoco is a South African payments provider whose platform enables SMEs to accept card payments and digitize payments and payments data. Seventy percent of the merchants it currently services had never accepted card payments before Yoco enabled them to do so. The company has previously raised seed capital from backers including CRE Venture Capital and angel investors Robby Hilkowitz and Greg Kidd. It has just concluded a Series A funding round led by US-based Quona Capital and Netherlands-based Velocity Capital; the amount was undisclosed. This Series A is the first time Yoco has raised solely from institutional investors. Yoco says the new capital will be used to expand nationally, broaden its product offering and lay the groundwork for international expansion in 2018.

Participated · Equity · Apr 2021

Bux operates a suite of trading apps that let users invest in stocks, ETFs and cryptocurrencies with low or no commission pricing (flat €1 fees for certain services, no fees for others). The company runs Bux Zero, Bux Crypto and Bux X (CFDs) and says Bux Crypto—formed after its acquisition of Blockport—is ‘‘very profitable.’’ Bux reports roughly 500,000 customers across the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, France and Belgium and emphasizes a full‑stack, modular tech platform it says enables scale across European markets. The startup plans to use new investment to expand its geographical footprint, tech platform and user services. Founder Nick Bortot is stepping away from the CEO role and COO Yorick Naeff is taking over as CEO, while Bortot remains a shareholder. To date Bux had raised about $35M prior to the latest round and did not disclose a valuation for the new financing. BUX operates a gamified trading app that lets users trade CFDs on stocks, indices, forex and other products with limited leverage and generates revenue per trade. The company has acquired ayondo markets Limited (AML), the back-end provider it previously used, bringing brokering in-house along with a brokerage license and back-end technology. BUX says the AML acquisition will allow it to service other AML clients and add to future revenues. It has grown to a base of over 2 million users in just over four years across nine European countries. The newly raised capital will be used in part to launch STOCKS, a commission-free app for mid- to long-term investing in real shares, which currently has a waitlist of over 100,000 users. Netherlands and Germany will get access to STOCKS first, followed by a broader European rollout. Bux operates a community-based trading app targeted primarily at people with no trading experience and has been rolled out across eight European countries. The app enables real-money trading through a partnership with ayondo Markets Ltd, which is licensed by the UK Financial Conduct Authority and provides coverage under the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Bux has more than 200,000 users from the UK alone and opened pre-registration for an inaugural crowdfunding campaign on Seedrs, offering over one million BUX users the opportunity to own shares. The company intends to use the funds to expand its product lineup and create a full suite of apps by 2020, spanning short-term trading to long-term investing. Bux enforces several risk-mitigation measures—including mandatory diversification, capped losses, a virtual-currency onboarding mode (funBUX), limited leverage, and transparent transaction costs—to prevent irresponsible trading. Bux is an Amsterdam- and London-based casual trading app that gamifies stocks and derivatives trading (via CFDs) and emphasizes social engagement. The product features game-like onboarding and lets users trade in virtual currency before switching to real money or indefinitely. Social features include WhatsApp-style groups for sharing tips and Twitter-like channels to follow other traders. Bux reports 330,000 registered users, roughly 20,000 real-money traders, and says users have processed over $3 billion in trade value. The company plans to use new funding to accelerate growth across Europe, specifically expanding into Germany while continuing in the U.K., Netherlands and Austria. Bux also intends to invest significantly in product development, particularly to bolster its social features, which are already seeing increased engagement. Bux is an Amsterdam- and London-based startup offering a casual trading app for iOS and Android that applies game mechanics to stock trading. The app lets users begin with virtual currency, compete with friends, and transition to real-money investing. CEO and co-founder Nick Bortot says the team prioritized hires with gaming backgrounds rather than traditional finance, and only three of the 20 full-time staff have financial experience. In the 12 months since launch Bux signed up 200,000 users, 79% of whom had little or no prior trading experience. Twelve thousand users have opened real-money accounts and users have traded £1.2 billion in transaction value. The company’s stated mission is to make trading accessible to a much larger market by lowering barriers for novice traders.