Although the e-commerce industry is booming, it is facing several roadblocks on its path to success and growth. Several tech solutions have come up to resolve these challenges and help e-commerce companies grow their sales. One such company is Dublin-based Wayflyer that provides brands with revenue-based funds and free analytics. Now, the company has bagged $76 million (nearly £54 million) in a funding round.
Eyes international expansion
The investment round in Wayflyer was led by Left Lane Capital along with support from partners of DST Global, Speedinvest, QED Investors, and Zinal Growth, the family office of Guillaume Pousaz (founder of Checkout.com).
The funds raised in this round will be used to support marketing, product development and international expansion. To cope with demand for its cash advance product, Wayflyer also expanded its debt facilities by an additional $100 million. Recently, the company signed a major partnership with Adobe Commerce in a move to further increase its capital deployment capabilities.
Notably, the company’s staff are mostly in the UK, its second largest market globally. With eCommerce sales expected to hit $4.2 trillion in 2021, Wayflyer wants to enter multiple new markets in the coming months.
Commenting, Aidan Corbett, Wayflyer CEO said: “We exist to help eCommerce businesses grow, and reduce the traditional barriers they face as they scale. Our rapid growth since launch demonstrates the strength of this proposition and our relentless focus on customer service, and we’ve only just scratched the surface of this enormous market. The number of direct-to-consumer brands launching every day continues to amaze us and we’re excited about the next stage of our mission to become the go-to-growth platform for merchants looking to realise their potential.”
Dan Ahrens, Partner at Left Lane Capital added: “Wayflyer has quickly become a key player in the eCommerce ecosystem by solving the biggest challenge facing merchants. They have unlocked growth for many entrepreneurs, and their strong customer reviews show that they are a deeply trusted partner of many leading brands. The Wayflyer team is world-class, and has a differentiated understanding of what drives scale in eCommerce markets. We are thrilled to work with them along this journey.”
Yusuf Ozdalga, Partner at QED investors, added: “Wayflyer’s ability to grow impressively whilst maintaining disciplined underwriting has been amazing to watch. Their performance is rewriting conventional thinking on how to finance small and medium sized eCommerce businesses and we look forward to being part of the next phase of their journey.”
Among fastest-growing fintechs
Founded by co-founders Aidan Corbett and Jack Pierse in 2019, Wayflyer helps e-commerce merchants unlock growth by providing them with a range of financing and marketing analytics solutions. These help them access working capital, improve cash flow and drive sales. With access to capital and business critical insights, Wayflyer supports its customers by addressing many of the structural challenges e-commerce merchants face as they scale.
The company has deep knowledge of the e-commerce sector along with its sophisticated use of big data. As a result, its business grew 290% over the past 6 months deploying over $150 million funds across three core markets, including the US, UK and Australia. This impressive growth has been achieved whilst maintaining a negligible default rate.
The investment came just 14 months after its first product launch, thereby making Wayflyer one of the fastest-growing fintechs in Europe.