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Hopscotch, the platform bringing a consumer-like experience to B2B payments, announced its emergence from stealth with $3.6M in seed funding led by NOEMIS Ventures and Stellation Capital, with participation from Valar Ventures, Valor Equity Partners, 3KVC, Red & Blue Ventures, NfX, Brightlane Ventures, Switch VC, and The MBA Fund.
Small business expectations are changing, and seamless payments are table stakes. Decision-makers want and deserve rapid payments, simplicity, and greater connectivity. While many small businesses struggled to survive in 2020, record numbers were launched. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that business applications were up 43.3% over the same period in 2019. The full scope of multidisciplinary skills needed to keep a business running can’t be overlooked: this surge of entrepreneurialism needs support. Hopscotch hopes to provide this support and they’re starting by providing instant, fee-free payments to small businesses.
Having previously run small businesses, Reed Switzer, CEO & Co-Founder of Hopscotch, was acutely aware of the intricacies in making payments to service providers and getting paid himself. Existing tools come with unnecessary complexities: feature overload, limited connectivity between users, lengthy waits to receive funds, and often transaction fees. As an avid user of P2P payment platforms, Switzer knew how seamless a payments experience could be. This left him wondering why there wasn’t a better solution in the market for SMBs.
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“We’re in the infancy of a payments revolution. P2P and B2C transactions have evolved significantly over the past decade, but B2B payments have lagged behind. Newcomers to the space are battling on the front of utility,” said Reed Switzer, CEO & Co-Founder of Hopscotch. “We have the opportunity to build an enduring platform that combines utility and connectivity between users. Hopscotch’s stored value accounts and consumer-like business profiles enable us to create an unmatched payments experience. We’re excited about what this means for the future of small business and the new ways entrepreneurs will be able to create and retain value.”
Jumping to the future of business payments
Hopscotch is backed and advised by Finserv and Fintech industry veterans who see enormous opportunity in the B2B payments space going beyond utility. Platforms that embrace the new mental model of celebrating and elevating hardworking creators through connected experiences will drive the most value and loyalty.
“In today’s world, while it’s easy to quickly exchange funds between individuals, the flow of money between businesses remains fragmented and inefficient. There is an enormous opportunity for dynamic Fintechs to disrupt the industry,” said Stanley O’Neal, former Chairman & CEO of Merrill Lynch. “Hopscotch’s approach and vision for the future of commercial payments will transform the way business is done.”
Building for a connected experience
In stealth mode, Hopscotch collaborated with local small businesses to ensure the platform addressed major points of friction while remaining intuitive and enjoyable to use.
Enthusiasm for Hopscotch’s approach and vision is also shared by its investors.
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“All business owners, especially this new generation, want and deserve to pay and get paid with as little friction as possible. Today, there’s a big disconnect: people expect the same speed and ease they experience in their personal transactions to extend to their business ones,” said Peter Boyce II, Founder of Stellation Capital. “Hopscotch is tackling this disconnect with a mission and product aligned with the consumerization of B2B transactions taking place globally. At Stellation Capital, we are excited to co-lead Hopscotch’s first round of funding as they rewrite the way businesses connect, transact, and grow together. I am proud to support and join this journey with Reed, Rick Kleczkowski, and the Hopscotch team.”
“The future of B2B payments is going to be defined by the next generation of small business owners and entrepreneurs. As a member of this generation, Reed has grown up around technology; he’s also founded a company and taken a formative role at another startup in between ventures. His partner, Rick, is an accomplished operator, executive, and founder with over two decades of experience building companies,” said Simeon Iheagwam, Managing Partner at NOEMIS Ventures. “This duo is passionate, razor-sharp, highly product-centric, and possesses a unique vision for the future of B2B payments. NOEMIS is excited to partner with them and their team to transform business payments.”
Hopscotch’s new funds will be used to expand engineering, product, and marketing teams as it continues to build a seamless payments experience for small businesses.
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