Affiniti, a US fintech startup that provides co-branded credit cards for small businesses, has raised US$17 million in a series A funding round led by Signal Fire. This follows a previous US$11 million seed round secured six months earlier.

The funding round included participation from investors such as Contrarian Thinking Capital, Yahya Mokhtarzada, and Austin Rief, along with previous backers Indicator Ventures, LightShed Ventures, and RiverPark Ventures.

The series A funding will support the expansion of the platform’s offerings, including banking, bill payments, cash flow analytics, and integrations with enterprise resource planning and point-of-sale systems. Additionally, Affiniti secured a US$15 million debt facility during its seed round, which may increase to US$50 million.

Founded by Aaron Bai, 20, and Sahil Phadnis, 22, Affiniti offers customizable credit cards and software for businesses, including pharmacies, HVAC companies, and auto dealerships.

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🔗 Source: TechCrunch

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ The evolving fintech landscape reveals room for specialized expense management

Fintech investment has grown dramatically, from $4.05 billion in 2013 to $12.2 billion in 2014, showing massive investor confidence in financial technology solutions 1.

Despite this growth, traditional small businesses have been underserved by early fintech innovations that primarily targeted tech startups with sophisticated financial teams.

The gap is significant, as business credit cards have become the most common source of financing for small businesses since 2023, surpassing personal savings and lines of credit 2.

Affiniti’s focus on specific verticals like pharmacies and HVAC companies addresses a clear market need, as these businesses typically lack dedicated finance teams but face complex cash flow challenges.

The strategy of partnering with industry trade groups not only provides customer acquisition advantages but also deeper insights into sector-specific financial pain points that larger platforms might miss.

2️⃣ Expense management automation addresses critical small business challenges

Companies lose approximately 5% of annual revenue due to fraud, with a significant portion stemming from fraudulent expense reporting and manual processes 3.

Manual expense management creates multiple inefficiencies for small businesses, including data entry errors, problematic receipts, and slow reimbursement processes that impact employee satisfaction 4.

With inflation causing increased expenses of 6% or more for nearly 80% of small business owners, efficient expense tracking and management have become even more critical for survival 5.

The transition from traditional expense tracking (v1) and improved UX design (v2) to analytics-driven expense management (v3) represents a natural evolution addressing these persistent challenges.

Affiniti’s rapid growth to 1,800 customers in 14 months suggests that traditional small businesses are increasingly recognizing the value of specialized financial tools.

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