Tomahawk.VC (www.tomahawk.vc) is an entrepreneur-led early-stage venture capital firm founded by serial entrepreneur Cédric Waldburger. We invest in global-first companies in Pre-Seed, Seed and Series A rounds. We give honest and quick feedback and value empathy, execution and clarity. We think that data beats experience beats opinion. Global-first companies are ventures that think and act global from the very start. They hire the best talent from anywhere in the world and build company culture incorporating remote employees from day 1.  Investments range from USD 100k-1M per transaction and up to USD 2M per company. Global focus, based in Switzerland. Get in touch via www.Tomahawk.VC.

Tomahawk.VC

We accelerate Pre-seed B2B SaaS companies to their first £1m ARR and build the infrastructure to get to £10m+. We’re experts in Founder-led-sales and building early sales teams. We operate both SEIS & EIS Funds which invest in B2B SaaS companies solving deep pains in the present and/or creating massive impact for organisations.

Haatch

Ascension is an early-stage VC built by exited entrepreneurs to back the next generation of tech and impact founders. Run by an experienced and diverse team of successful entrepreneurs, we have been relentlessly dedicated to finding the UK’s best Seed-stage startups since 2014. Ascension benefits from the active industry connections essential for the sourcing and development of deal-flow and due diligence. The team has co-invested with the UK’s leading angels and VCs, key to securing follow-on funding as the portfolio businesses move to their next stage of growth. We believe in building an inclusive, community driven brand that can benefit the wider UK tech ecosystem and strive to work with conviction, integrity, humour, and humility.

Ascension

At NBS Ventures, we look for inspirational teams who are developing solutions that could benefit Nationwide’s members and society as a whole. We’re based in London and Swindon, and invest globally in companies at Seed and Series A investment stage. Nationwide Building Society is a mutual organisation, which means we’re not owned by shareholders, but by our customers - we call them our members. We don’t just believe in the power of the collective. We embody it. We are a community of 15 million members and it’s why we invest in start-ups. We invest for the long term, supporting great companies to scale, then do things together that neither of us could alone.

NBS Ventures

Alderville Holding

Nationwide Building Society is a commercial bank that serves as a building society, savings provider, and mortgage lender. The bank provides a diverse range of financial services, including savings, mortgages, current accounts, credit cards, investments, and loans.

Nationwide

The Fair By Design Fund is a partnership between Ascension Ventures, Finance Birmingham, Wayra UK, Nominet Trust, Big Society Capital and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. The Fund will invest in companies seeking loans and equity funding from Seed through to Series A and beyond, and will share Ascension Ventures and Finance Birmingham’s co-investment philosophy, seeking deal-flow and co-investment opportunities from other funds, VC’s and angel investors. The Fund is ready to deploy capital into exceptional businesses designed to make an impact on the poverty premium. These will include for-profit and nonprofit companies; tech startups, Community Interest Companies (CICs), charities and private limited companies.

Fair By Design Fund

Active Private Equity Advisory LLP is a private equity and venture capital firm specializing in investments in mid venture, buyouts, early stage, and growth capital financing.  We partner with innovative entrepreneurs in the consumer, leisure and retail space, providing intellectual and financial capital, operational expertise and a rich network of contacts to help build scalable, successful businesses.

Active Partners

DD Venture Capital (DD = data-driven) is an early-stage investment firm. The company focuses on early-stage European FinTech ventures. The team provides capital, advisory and door opening.

DD Venture Capital

Investing In Vanguard, Visionary, Valiant Founders

Vastly Valuable Ventures

Plend

Plend is building a better way to borrow where consumers are no longer held back by credit history. Built on the belief that one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to credit, Plend was created to enable wider access to truly affordable loans, underpinned by new and innovative advances in open-banking powered credit scoring in order to create a fairer future for borrowers. The company was founded in 2020 and is based in London, England.

Based in the UK, Plend offers lending services to consumers via its online platform. It brands itself as an ethical lender, as it aims to serve customers who can not access credit due to the traditional credit scoring system by utilizing open banking data. To obtain loans from Plend, customers are required to have an active UK open banking account for a minimum of three months. The company provides loans up to GBP 10,000 (~USD 12,000) with repayment terms between one and five years.

Making banking work, without the paperwork

Neobanks

Plend Looks to Expand Access to Credit, Enabling Businesses to Offer BNPL ‘Alternative’ to Users

Based in the UK, Plend offers lending services to consumers via its online platform. It brands itself as an ethical lender, as it aims to serve customers who can not access credit due to the traditional credit scoring system by utilizing open banking data. To obtain loans from Plend, customers are required to have an active UK open banking account for a minimum of three months. The company provides loans up to GBP 10,000 (~USD 12,000) with repayment terms between one and five years.The company claims to process applications within 24 hours and does not charge any hidden fees, early settlement penalties, or additional interest charges. It also offers financial wellbeing and wellness tools to its customers. In addition, Plend offers embedded financial solutions to other UK-based lenders to improve their credit risk and affordability processes.Key customers and partnershipsPlend partnered with MakeMyHouseGreen to support customers with low interest loans to purchase green energy installations such as solar panels and heat pumps. It also selected GoCardless, an online payment processing solutions provider, to add variable recurring payment features to its platform.In April 2024, Plend partnered with Monevo to broaden its lending options. This partnership ensures that if a customer’s loan application is rejected by Plend, they are given an opportunity to reapply for a different loan via Creditspring, a partner of Monevo.Funding and financialsIn November 2022, it raised <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/14272">GBP 40 million (~USD 44.9 million) in seed funding</a>, comprising both debt and equity. The round saw participation from new investors such as Active Partners, Velocity Juice, Sivo, and the founders of Monzo and Starling Bank, alongside existing investors such as Ascension and Tomahawk VC. Plend had geared the funds to scale its operations with a focus on acquiring new customers via new partners and reaching new audiences.Plend launched its operations in July 2022, and it reported to have processed over GBP 43 million (~USD 48.3 million) in loan applications as of November 2022.

Brazil-based Nubank offers banking products and services via a web portal and a mobile app, with the application process being done entirely online. The company serves both B2C and B2B segments and operates in Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia.&nbsp;The company initially entered the neobanking space in 2014 by offering credit cards and focused on providing it at low interest rates, compared to established banks. Since then, the company has grown to offer the full spectrum of banking services, which includes checking accounts, debit cards (with ATM access), credit cards, and loans, following the receipt of its own banking license in Brazil in 2017. Checking accounts and debit cards are offered free of charge, and the company therefore solely generates income from these accounts from ATM and interchange fees.In addition to its banking products, the company also offers life and mobile insurance products and Peer to Peer (P2P) payment options via Pix (a payment platform introduced by Brazil’s Central Bank). The company also offers in-app shopping at retailers such as AliExpress, Dafiti, and Magalu, as well as a rewards program that enables customers to earn and redeem points at selected merchants.Nubank also caters to businesses offering digital business accounts and credit cards (virtual and physical cards). The business account enables customers to automate payments as well as earn points on credit card purchases. The credit cards are also compatible with digital wallets such as Google Pay, Apple Pay, and Samsung Pay. The company also offers a payment solution via its app called NuTap, which allows businesses to accept contactless credit and debit payments.Nubank also provides a trading app–NuInvest–through which its Brazilian customers can trade stocks and cryptocurrency, with the company charging ~0.02% per transaction. In addition, it launched its loyalty program, backed by its native cryptocurrency Nucoin, to customers in Brazil <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/16847">in March 2023</a>. Members will receive a fixed amount of Nucoins for every BRL spent with their debit or credit card as well as on any cryptocurrency purchases through its app. The Nucoins can be converted into cash or frozen and used to advance in the loyalty program and gain access to future incentives such as coinback rewards and lottery tickets. Moreover, Nubank was selected by the Central Bank of Brazil in August 2023, to <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/21164">test Drex</a>, a central bank digital currency (CBDC); the pilot phase is expected to be complete by the end of 2024.Moreover, Nubank has expanded its footprint to Mexico and Colombia. In Mexico, the company provides savings accounts, credit cards, and <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/21583">personal loans</a>. It has also applied for a banking license in Mexico to further broaden its services, including investments, payroll portability, and accounts with higher deposit limits. In Colombia, it only offers credit cards. However, it obtained <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/25297">regulatory approval</a> to operate as a financing company in January 2024, which allows the company to expand its services to provide savings accounts and other financial offerings.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/30850">June 2024</a>, Nubank acquired Hyperplane, a Silicon Valley-based data intelligence company building foundation models for banks, for an undisclosed sum. It planned to utilize Hyperplane's AI and data analytics capabilities to train and develop deep-learning models on first-party data to generate insights and enhance its decision-making processes.In December 2021, Nubank was listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the trading symbol NJ, raising nearly USD 2.6 billion, at a valuation of USD 41.5 billion, making it the most valuable listed financial institution in South America.&nbsp;In 2023, the company reported a total revenue of USD 8 billion, marking a 66.67% YoY increase. It also recorded a net profit of USD 1 billion, a significant improvement from the previous year’s loss of USD 364.6 million.Key customers and partnershipsAs of December 2024, the company served more than 93.9 million customers, with the majority located in Brazil.The company partnered with Brazilian lending platform Creditas (<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/5565">in September 2021</a>) to allow its customers gain access to the latter’s platform to obtain loans, and EBANX (in July 2023) to launch a new alternative payment service for international purchases called NuPay. In addition, it collaborated with insurance provider Chubb to offer <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19597">life</a> and <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/20948">home</a> insurance offerings on its platform.

Nubank

London-based Revolut offers digital banking and lending products to both B2C and B2B segments via a web portal and mobile app. The company holds its own banking license to operate in the UK, Brazil and the European Union.Within its B2C segment, the company offers its products under four tiers. The standard package, which is offered free of charge, enables users to open bank accounts (including joint-accounts), access personal financial management (PFM) tools, make international money transfers and payments, as well as set up bill splitting and recurring payments. The cost for packages with additional features stands between GBP 3.99 to GBP 14.99 per month (for UK customers) and includes features such as insurance, faster money transfers, and disposable virtual debit cards. In addition, Revolut launched <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/15855">a top-tier subscription plan called Ultra</a>, priced at GBP 45 per month. This includes a variety of perks such as those centered around travel and investing. The company also expanded into the InsurTech product vertical by launching a new standalone pet insurance product.Business accounts are offered free of charge with additional features (such as multi-currency accounts, debit/credit cards, and financial management tools) being available at GBP 25-100 per month. Revolut also provides hardware for in-person payments in the UK and Ireland through its <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11502">Revolut card reader.</a> It charges GBP/EUR 0.02 + 0.8% per transaction and a one-off cost or customized pricing for high-volume businesses. It also launched an online checkout payment feature (<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/12934">Revolut Pay</a>) for businesses, which can be set up on merchant websites and mobile checkout pages via plug-ins or APIs. The company also acquired Nobly POS (Nobly) in November 2021, a technology provider for the hospitality industry, to strengthen its business offering.It also launched a dedicated income, payment, and expense management account–<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/13211">Revolut Pro</a>–aimed at freelancers and the self-employed. The account does not charge any monthly fees nor does it require any minimum monthly balance or deposits. In addition to business account features, it also provides a dedicated International Bank Account Number (IBAN) and a 1% cashback debit card to customers. The account can also be used for accepting payments either in-person using the <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11502">Revolut Reader</a> or online with QR codes. In addition, Revolut also offers a streamlined version of its app–<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/14797">Revolut Lite</a>–for customers in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, offering cross-border money transfers for free. Moreover, as an alternative to SWIFT payments, Revolut launched <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/22016">RevTags</a> for business customers and <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/25792">Mobile Wallets</a> for retail individuals, offering a free cross-border payment solution.Revolut also offers a stock trading platform (launched in January 2022) to its US customers, where users can trade over 1,100 securities on the NYSE and NASDAQ, including ETFs and full and fractional shares, at zero commission. It rolled out the platform to EEA customers <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/18513">in May 2023</a>, providing access to over 150 ETFs and European listed stocks. Furthermore, Revolut launched a <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19814">robo-advisory platform</a> in the US (in June 2023) and for <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/26846">EEA customers</a> (in February 2024), allowing them to automate their investments by selecting from five diverse portfolios based on their risk tolerance. It charges an annual fee of 0.25%, and customers can start investing with a monthly minimum of USD 0.25.In addition, it offers cryptocurrency trading services for customers in Singapore and <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/12407">the European Economic Area</a> (through a regulatory approval received from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission). It also received <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/13362?industryIds=59">full registration from the UK FCA</a> to offer cryptocurrency trading services in September 2022. Customers can trade over 100 individual cryptocurrencies or buy collections, which are tokens grouped based on the underlying technology and use case for each token. In addition, customers can stake their tokens within the app (limited to UK and EEA customers) and also use the Revolut Card to make payments in cryptocurrency for ecommerce and in-person purchases. Revolut had also planned to launch its own token–RevCoin, as part of its rewards program. However, it temporarily paused the launch of it in January 2023, owing to the downturn in the crypto markets. Additionally, Revolut used to offer crypto investments in the US but suspended it owing to an uncertain and stricter regulatory environment in September 2023.As of May 2024, the company operated in Australia, Brazil, the European Economic Area (EEA), Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland, the UK, and the US. The company also had plans to launch its services in India. Additionally, the company offers Revolut Lite in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Chile, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Macao SAR, North Macedonia, Oman, Qatar, the Republic of Moldova, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.In 2023, Revolut recorded revenue of USD 2 billion (GBP 1.57 billion), while its net profit was USD 350 million (GBP 275 million).Key customers and partnershipsAs of December 2023, the company served ~35 million retail customers across 38 countries. The UK remains Revolut’s largest market, with over 6.8 million customers, followed by Romania (2.8 million customers), Poland (2.5 million) and France (2.2 million).The company partnered with payments infrastructure provider Stripe to facilitate payments across Europe and the UK, and with Visa to enable instant card transfers for Revolut Business customers across 78 countries in over 50 currencies using only a card number through Visa Direct. The company also collaborated with Upvest, a FinTech infrastructure provider, to launch a trading platform for its customers in the EEA. Upvest was responsible for the brokerage, settlement, and custody infrastructure, as well as obtaining regulatory permissions through its German licenses. Revolut also offers auto insurance in Ireland in partnership with AIG. In addition, <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/32078">Revolut partnered with Paysafe</a> to provide UK customers with cash deposit services, enabling them to deposit cash at over 12,000 locations through the Revolut app.

Revolut

Avant provides personal loans and credit cards to consumers via a web portal. The company focuses on providing loans to underserved segments of the market, which include customers with ‘fair’ or ‘bad’ credit scores who are typically not able to gain access to loans and other forms of credit from traditional financial institutions. Applications for loans are completed online to make the process more accessible and convenient to individuals. The company does not have its own banking license; instead, the company uses its credit products under the license of WebBank. It operates in the US, Canada, and the UK.&nbsp;The company expanded its offering to launch digital banking solutions in December 2021 which include Avant Banking’s offerings include spending accounts (with no minimum balance required), debit cards, and ACH transfers, under the banking license of Evolve Bank &amp; Trust. Avant also allows users with direct deposits to access payday funds up to two days early, along with virtual cards that can be added to Apple Wallet or Google Pay. Avant does not charge fees for account maintenance or foreign transactions.Avant requires a minimum annual income of USD 20,000 to gain approval for a loan. The company’s clientele largely comprises middle-class individuals with annual household incomes in the range of&nbsp; USD 40,000-100,000. Loans approved by the company range between USD 2,000-35,000, with monthly repayment plans of 2-5 years. Given the high-risk nature of the company’s clientele, interest rates charged on loans tend to be on the higher side, with the lowest rate starting at 9.95% APR (Annual Percentage Rate). The company also provides credit cards with credit limits between USD 300 and USD 3,000.The company also uses an in-house formula for calculating credit risk, which the company claims has been more useful than traditional credit scoring methods such as FICO credit scores which are based on a limited number of variables. The company’s formula uses machine learning algorithms and other big data techniques to gather additional data and analyzes about 10,000 variables to determine an individual’s credit score; it also claims that it can predict the likelihood of a customer defaulting on a loan with 57% better accuracy than FICO scores alone.&nbsp;In April 2021, the company acquired Zero Financial, a mobile banking developer, along with its Neobank operations (Level). The acquisition was intended to aid Avant in expanding its product portfolio to provide digital banking solutions to its customers. Key customers and partnerships As of December 2022, the company served over three million customers and had issued more than one million credit cards. Funding and financials Avant secured <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/15154">USD 250 million in corporate debt and redeemable preferred equity</a> from Ares Management’s Alternative Credit funds in December 2022. It had planned to use the fresh funds to expand its credit portfolio and platform. The company generated a total revenue of USD 265 million in 2020. As of December 2022, the company was reported to have provided around USD 9 billion worth of loans.

Avant

Chime provides banking services to its customers via a web portal and a mobile app. The company provides no-fee mobile banking solutions, and offers savings accounts, checking accounts, and debit cards (with ATM access) to its customers. The company does not provide loans and does not charge monthly, foreign exchange, or overdraft fees (for transactions up to USD 200), and therefore primarily generates its revenue from interchange and ATM fees. The company claims that accounts can be created in as little as two minutes, and uses video identification to verify an individual’s identity. The company does not impose minimum balance requirements and mainly focuses on serving individuals who earn between USD 30,000-75,000 per year.&nbsp;In June 2020, the company entered the credit card space by launching ‘CreditBuilder’. Despite being introduced as a credit card, the card has similar functionality to a debit card, which allows users to transfer funds from their checking accounts, and spend up to the transferred amount where Visa is accepted, reducing the tendency to overspend. At month’s end, CreditBuilder automatically pays off the credit card balance using the transferred funds and reports the payment to credit bureaus. The CreditBuilder card is primarily targeted at millennials and Gen Z customers, to aid in developing and building up their credit history.&nbsp;In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/30853">June 2024</a>, Chime acquired enterprise employee rewards company Salt Labs for an undisclosed sum. Following the transaction, it planned to launch a new division called “Chime Enterprise,” which will include Salt's products and focus on expansion through employer channels. This move will grant Chime an additional revenue stream and access to Salt’s enterprise clients to promote Chime MyPay, its earned wage access platform.&nbsp;In January 2022, Reuters reported that Chime was to go public led by investment bank Goldman Sachs. Reports say that the company could aim for a valuation of almost USD 40 billion, which could be launched as early as Spring 2022. However, the company paused its IPO aspirations following the downturn in the IPO market.The company claims that revenue and transaction volumes witnessed threefold growth between January and September 2020, owing to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the same period, the company also stated that it was able to become profitable on an EBITDA basis.Key customers and partnershipsChime stands as the largest Neobank in the digital banking space in the US, with&nbsp; 12 million customers&nbsp; (reported as of February 2021). The company does not own its own banking license and provides its services under the licenses of Bancorp Bank and Stride Bank.

Chime

London-based Starling Bank offers banking products for both the B2C and B2B segments via a web portal and mobile app, and operates under its own banking license.The bank’s B2C segment offers current accounts, debit cards and personal overdrafts. The current accounts are provided free of charge, and customers also benefit from free ATM withdrawals and transaction fees when abroad. In addition, Starling offers teen bank accounts for 16- and 17-year-olds, and also allows parents to create debit cards for children aged 6–16 that are linked to their individual current account. Customers can also create up to five virtual cards that are linked to “Saving Spaces,” which are separate accounts for specific savings or expenses that are not connected to a customer’s main account. If a Space budget is used up, the virtual card will be declined instead of drawing funds from a customer’s main account.Its B2B segment provides free business accounts primarily targeted at SMEs, which includes features such as fixed savings, overdraft facilities, and business loans. Additionally, Starling offers multi-currency accounts for individuals (euros) for free, while it charges GBP 2 and GBP 5 per month for Euro and US dollar businesses accounts, respectively. It also offers international money transfer services to 35 different countries at a 0.4% transfer fee and a fixed delivery fee of GBP 5.50. Starling Bank also offers Bills Manager features for personal accounts and small business accounts, which allows users with direct debit or standing order options and streamline and record finances that also automatically sync with other accounting tools such as Xero and FreeAgent provided through the Starling Marketplace. It also introduced a subscription-based Business Toolkit feature to support payroll, tax and supplier payments, which cost GBP 7 per month.The company has also developed a Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform called <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/20982">Engine</a>. It is an all-in-one platform licensed to other banks to develop their own digital banking services such as checking accounts, savings, loans, and mortgages, rather than building the capabilities from scratch. The company was to use Engine as an alternative to expand internationally rather than launching its own retail bank.In July 2021, Starling Bank acquired buy-to-let mortgage lender Fleet Mortgages in a cash and equity deal of GBP 50 million (~USD 68 million), with plans to leverage its lending operations to enter the mortgage sector, becoming the first entirely digital bank in the UK to do so. The acquisition (its first) is in line with the bank’s strategy to expand its line of credit products through strategic forward-flow arrangements, organic lending, and targeted M&amp;A activity. In November 2021, Starling Bank purchased the mortgage book worth around GBP 1 billion (~USD 1.3 billion) from Kensington Mortgages. This was followed by the purchase of another loan book worth roughly GBP 500 million (~USD 607 million) from the defunct UK-based banked Masthaven in a bid to diversify its portfolio beyond government-backed Covid-19 loans, which accounted for GBP 1.9 billion (92.5%) of its GBP 2.0 billion SME loan book as of March 2022.Key customers and partnershipsAs of June 2024, Starling served over 4.2 million customers.Funding and financialsIn April 2022, Starling Bank raised GBP 130.5 million (USD 164.4 million) in funding from existing investors such as Fidelity Management and Goldman Sachs. The company aimed to use the funds to support growth and explore more acquisition opportunities.In FY2024 (ended 31 March 2024), the company generated total income of GBP 647 million (USD 826.9 million; up 55.9% YoY) and profit after taxation of GBP 220 million (USD 281.1 million; up 54.9% YoY).

Starling Bank

Platforms offering digital checking and savings accounts that target all types of individual consumers

Platforms offering digital checking and savings accounts that target businesses and freelancers

Platforms offering loans and/or other forms of credit to consumers, solely via digital channels

Platforms offering loans and/or other forms of credit to businesses, solely via digital channels

Platforms offering digital checking and savings accounts that target niche consumer segments with specific interests such as kids, teens, and ethnic minority groups

AI/ML is used to process applications, analyze spending habits, and assess creditworthiness

Digital banking (specialized) (B2C) segment caters to underbanked and minority groups

Open banking is an enabler for the neobanking industry

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