- Follows 20x increase in SMB customers since Series A in Sept 2023
- Round led by Zinal Growth, a growth-stage focused tech fund backed by the founder of Checkout.com
- Tony Fadell, innovator behind the iPod and iPhone, also participates
- Startup founded by Revolut alumni to use funds to expand product and engineering teams ahead of major expenses management launch and development of product range for larger business customers
London – 25 September 2024 – APRON, the business payments powerhouse, has raised a $30 million Series B funding round to help more small business owners make it by digitising and simplifying the payments process, and bring greater security to these companies’ cash flow.
The investment was led by Zinal Growth, a growth-stage focused tech fund backed by the founder of Checkout.com. Existing investors Index Ventures, who led Apron’s $15 million Series A in September 2023, and Bessemer Venture Partners participated in the round, alongside investor Tony Fadell, inventor of the iPod and Principal at Build Collective.
Receiving and making payments are pain points universally felt and endured by small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). So much so that the average SMB owner spends up to 20% of their working week issuing, paying and managing invoices and the associated admin that exists around them*. Taking time away from serving customers to grapple with these payments is no guarantee of company success. More than four in five small and medium-sized businesses in the UK fail due to cash flow issues**, and two in five SME owners admit to dipping into personal funds to bankroll their businesses when they hit cash flow trouble***.
Countering this status quo, Apron enables business owners and their accountants to receive, sort, approve, pay and reconcile invoices in seconds. By taking a ‘town square’ approach in which suppliers, buyers and their accountants can manage payments between themselves smoothly and seamlessly, Apron helps SMBs reduce precious time and effort spent arranging and chasing payments, and get back to serving their customers and building their businesses.
Through its proprietary payments platform, Apron enables customers to pay anyone, whether its employees or suppliers anywhere in the world. Apron also integrates easily with a business’s existing accounting tools (Xero or Quickbooks) for instant payment reconciliation.
Founded in late 2021 by Bogdan Uzbekov, a former product leader at Revolut, Apron’s customer base of UK-based SMBs is fast-expanding, largely through word-of-mouth. Since securing a $15m Series A in September 2023, the number of SMB customers served by Apron has increased by over 20x. Today, thousands of invoices and millions in payments pass through Apron’s platform daily, helping more businesses save time and get back to doing what they love.
Guillaume Pousaz, Founder of Checkout.com and Chairman of Zinal Growth, comments: “We’ve been deeply impressed by the execution and vision of Bogdan and the Apron team. They have created a delightful product for both SMBs and accountants, and we are excited to continue supporting them on their journey.”
Luca Schmid, Managing Partner of Zinal Growth, comments: “We believe Apron is solving a key pain point that SMB owners know only too well, making managing payments an efficient and enjoyable experience. We are thrilled to deepen our partnership with Apron as they enter the next phase of their journey.”
Bogdan Uzbekov, Founder & CEO of Apron, comments: “Every business we speak to is looking for consumer-grade quality in their B2B software. It doesn’t make sense to them that, in their personal lives, payments can be made and received instantly, but that in business the process is long-winded, siloed and not fit for purpose. With new investment and expertise on board, we’re excited to bring new talent into the team to innovate, design and build the sort of B2B payments experience that truly flips payments from painful to powerful.”
Proceeds of the investment will be used to expand Apron’s engineering and product teams ahead of significant milestones on the startup’s 2025 roadmap. The team will launch a new product that specifically brings Apron to larger suppliers that issue invoices to thousands of SMB customers, helping them eliminate the manual work of collecting revenue and get paid faster. The team will also bring to market a new affordable and accessible, expenses management solution tailored for SMBs to sit alongside its Bill Pay product in response to customer demand for alternatives to market incumbents.
Tony Fadell, iPod inventor and Build Collective principal, adds: “Apron gives any small, even only one person, business the same financial tools as a large size company without the cost or complexity. It’s moving small businesses forward as business owners can now focus on serving their customers and spend their time actually running the business day to day. Apron gives SMBs the tools to do business better and more efficiently.”
Jan Hammer, Partner at Index Ventures, concludes: “Apron has established itself as a powerful force in fintech making so many small business miracles come true. There’s immense value in the network Apron is building between suppliers, buyers and accountants. By taking a relational view of payments, observing the human workflows of how businesses pay and get paid, Apron is creating something unique that delights small businesses.”
About Apron
The biggest threat to small businesses is cash flow, often stemming from a gap between the demand payments put on owners and the aptitude to make the payments effectively. Apron is focused on helping more small businesses to bridge this gap, flipping payments from painful to powerful.
Founded in London in 2021, Apron‘s payments platform helps small businesses digitise and simplify their payments processes. Whether capturing invoices, enabling collaboration for approvals, or combining long lists of invoices into one simple batch pay solution, Apron is their Powertool for Payments.
The startup has raised more than $50m to date and counts Index Ventures, Zinal Growth, Bessemer Venture Partners and Tony Fadell among its investors.
About Zinal Growth
Zinal Growth is a technology investor focused on private growth-stage investments. The fund empowers founders building generational technology companies, making concentrated investments with a long-term perspective. The partnership is a close-knit team that blends entrepreneurial, operational, and investment expertise. Zinal Growth investments include Apron, Creoate, Lead Bank, Pledge, Tema ETFs, Two, Wayflyer, Whop, Yokoy and Ziina.
About Index Ventures
Index Ventures is a global venture capital firm that backs exceptional entrepreneurs. We help founders turn their bold ideas into global businesses and, through the companies they build, have a long-lasting and positive impact on the world around us. Index-backed businesses are supported by an experienced team of investors, strategists, and an extensive global network built over three decades of startup investing. Working side-by-side through the scale-up journey, we forge deep and long-lasting relationships with founders and their teams across many industries and geographies.
About Build Collective
Build Collective, led by Tony Fadell, is a global investment and advisory firm coaching engineers, scientists, and entrepreneurs working on foundational deep technology. With 200+ startups in its portfolio, Build Collective invests its money and time to help engineers and scientists bring technology out of the lab and into our lives. Supporting companies beyond Silicon Valley, Build Collective’s portfolio is based mainly in the EU and US with some companies in Asia and the Middle East. From tackling food security, sustainability, transportation, energy efficiency, weather, robotics, and disease to empowering small business owners, entrepreneurs, and consumers, the startups in Build Collective’s portfolio are improving our lives and prospects for the future. With no LP’s to report to, the Build Collective team is hands-on and advises for the long-term.
