13books Capital

Today, we’re announcing our second fund to support and fuel the next wave of financial technology founders. Totalling £121m, and focusing on investments from Seed to Series A stages, the fund showcases 13books Capital’s commitment to backing visionary founders reshaping the future of financial services. The fund, backed by British Patient Capital, KfW, Isomer Capital and IPGL, continues 13books Capital’s proven track record of successful investments in 19 fintech companies including hepster, Coincover, Runa, Billhop, Thirdfort, Arbolus, Banxware, Minna Technologies, Wert, Token.io, Roadzen (NASDAQ: RDZNW), getmomo, Crezco, Aria, Lune®, Ramify, DataMarked. As Michael McFadgen, Partner at 13books Capital said: “We believe European fintech is entering a golden period, and we thank our LPs and founders for their trust and look forward to supporting the next generation of pioneering fintech entrepreneurs.” Read more about how our fund will enable 13books Capital to continue supporting the best and boldest founders building tomorrow’s financial technology: https://lnkd.in/dmhNjBHT #fintech #fund #announcement #founders #financialtechnology

And to think that waiting 24 hours for a bank transfer used to be normal… Those days are numbered. ⌛ You might already know that the European Union has thrown down the gauntlet with the Instant Payment Regulation (IPR), mandating all EU banks and PSPs to offer instant payment receiving by January 2025 and full send/receive functionality by October 2025. But here's the kicker: as of Q1 2024, only 17.3% of all #SEPA credit transfers were instant. That's right, we're talking about a massive shift in less than two years. What can this mean for #fintech founders? 🏅 A gold rush of opportunities in instant payment solutions 💡 Potential for disruption in everything from e-commerce to B2B transactions 🥷 A need for innovative fraud prevention tailored to real-time transfers The deadline's approaching – time to make those milliseconds count. 👀 #InstantPayments

No amount of cold kept Slush 2024 ❄️ from bringing the heat 🔥 to the global startup ecosystem last week. Founders and investors from all over made their way to Helsinki and our own Aleksandra Tyurina and Maximilian Bräuninger returned with some important insights: 📈 The market is back with lots of deals happening: Investors have been busy this year across the board, proof that the market is picking up despite broader challenges. 📊 Fintech 2.0 is here to stay: Investors and founders understand how fintech can be a layer embedded across verticals. That doesn't mean traditional fintech is not still happening, but the shift we have been seeing for a while is accelerating quite a bit. 🇫🇮 Slush remains a must-do: With impeccable organisation (including sleeping pods for those pulling all-nighters on side events!) and a high caliber of attendees, Slush went above and beyond to keep the energy up and served as a great reminder of why the European startup scene continues to thrive. Big shout out to Juliette Souliman, Oleksandr (Sasha) Komarevych, Giovanni Calabrese, Clarisse Lam, Richard Würl, Samantha Wulfson, Alix Brunet, Sam Stone, Anna Kalon Yasuhara-Macer, David Linsey, Julien Lézé, 🌟 Temitayo O., Stripe, Valar Ventures LLC, 9900 Capital, Fidelity International Strategic Ventures, and BACKED VC for the great chats and side events. Until the next one! #Slush2024 #fintech #earlystage

💡 Did you know that ignoring “tail spend” could be costing your business big time? Managing small, infrequent supplier transactions might not sound glamorous, but our portfolio company Billhop is proving it’s where real efficiency (and savings) happen. Recently featured on Tech Times, their innovative platform allows businesses to: 💳 Pay any supplier with a credit card—even those that don’t accept them ⏳ Extend payment terms without impacting supplier relationships 💰 Unlock valuable early payment discounts Billhop’s ability to simplify and innovate in a complex space is changing the game for supply chain finance. Shoutout to Sebastian Andreescu, Erik Malm, and team for leading the charge! 👏

The embedded finance (EF) landscape is shaping up into a classic “make or buy” scenario. According to a recent report by McKinsey, there are essentially two ways embedded finance is delivered to customers. Let’s break it down: 1.  ☝️ The DIY Approach: Examples include Volkswagen Credit, leveraging their deep knowledge of car residual values to offer loans and more accurate trade-in pricing; Very Pay (UK), offering payment solutions to Very’s customers for over a decade; and Allegro Pay (Poland), born from 70 million items/month marketplace Allegro. ✅ Pros: Data control, personalization, flexibility. ❌ Cons: Significant investment and potential sunk cost if pivoting later. 2. 🤝 The Partnership Play: Think Amazon Germany + ING with pre-approved SME loans via their seller portal, or eBay + YouLend, with flexible funding repaid as a % of sales. ✅ Pros: Focus on core business, switch providers easily. ❌ Cons: Potentially misaligned incentives, profit distribution headaches, and a lack of harmonized and fully integrated offerings. 🔮 Partnerships may dominate in fragmented markets (hello, fashion e-commerce), while the DIY route should stick with big players in core markets. Are you team “better together” or “go it alone”?

🌟 Big recognitions for two of our portfolio companies last week! 🇫🇷 Aria has been named in the Sifted 50 alongside France’s fastest-growing startups, a testament to their bold vision for B2B payments and the incredible trust they’ve built with clients. Bravo, Clément Carrier and team Aria! 🏆 Infact won the Best Technology as an Enabler Award at the 11:FS Awards, reflecting their groundbreaking work in reshaping the credit bureau landscape. Congratulations to Will Mason, Andy Milligan, and team! We’re proud to support such game-changing companies. Here’s to even greater milestones ahead! 👏

Ready to get 🥶 at Slush next week?! Our investors Aleksandra Tyurina and Maximilian Bräuninger are braving ❄️ Helsinki on Nov 20-21 and happy to meet up! If you’re building something cool in #fintech or adjacent to fintech, give them a shout on the Slush app and let's connect during the event. 👋

New career opportunities just dropped! 🚀 Our portfolio companies are looking for top talent in #fintech. Here are some standout roles: Banxware: Partnerships & Business Development Manager – Berlin 🇩🇪 Briink: Marketing Manager – Berlin 🇩🇪 Crezco: Financial Manager/Director – London 🇬🇧 The Electric Car Scheme: Marketing Manager – Hayes 🇬🇧 hepster: Customer Support and Account Manager – Remote (EU) 🇪🇺 Lune: Account Executive - London 🇬🇧 Najar (formerly Welii): Ops Manager, Partnership Manager, and more – Paris 🇫🇷 Runa: Product Managers, Software Engineers, and more – London and Sofia 🇬🇧🇧🇬 Thirdfort: Revenue Operations Manager – London/Manchester 🇬🇧 Up for a new challenge? Check out the comments for more details!

McKinsey's latest European research on #EmbeddedFinance (EF) is a goldmine of insights for fintech founders. Some findings: 1. 📈 European consumer appetite: In a 2021 survey across six European markets, consumers expected increased use of integrated financing in most retail categories. 2. 🛒 SMEs need options: B2B buyers would purchase 4x more directly from suppliers' websites if EF options were available. 3. 🧑⚖️ Regulatory tailwinds: The proposed EU Financial Data Access (FIDA) framework and third Payment Services Directive will facilitate EF growth, covering mortgages, loans, pensions, savings, and non-life insurance. 4. 🧲 Compelling acquisition economics: In one major European market, EF leads for SME lending are 15-20x cheaper to acquire than traditional leads. 5. ⏳ Sustainability challenges: Many EF value chains are still immature and solutions like "0 percent interest, pay later" are becoming unsustainable with rising funding costs. According to McKinsey's forecasts, revenues from EF could surpass €100 billion in Europe by the end of the decade. The real question is: who'll ride this wave to the shore? The market is primed, but execution is key.

The number of SaaS tools businesses use has skyrocketed—from an average of around 8 in 2015 to a whopping 130 in 2022. Mid-sized businesses in particular (not the giants!) now juggle up to 200 apps. 😮 Keeping track of all that spend, managing renewals, and avoiding shadow IT is a nightmare—especially without a dedicated procurement team. That’s where Najar (formerly Welii) comes in, and here’s why we’re all in: 🚀 They tackle a massive headache: The platform is like an outsourced procurement powerhouse, designed to fit seamlessly into clients’ existing frameworks, keep track of contracts, and spot savings opportunities. 🌍 Proven growth: Already seeing 5x growth, Najar’s momentum is undeniable—and they’re ready to scale across Europe and beyond. 🏆 Grade A team: With co-founders like Vincent Coste, who knows procurement’s pitfalls from his time at Société Générale and at ReachFive, and Killian Buffard, a former pro athlete with unstoppable drive and commercial acumen, Najar’s team has the expertise and grit to lead. We look forward to working with Najar and supporting them on their mission to make procurement transparent and efficient. Curious to learn more? 👉 Dive into the whys in the article by Aleksandra Tyurina: https://lnkd.in/edJ-83MY