In this edition of Localogy’s Local Radar, we examine newly funded companies Mynt, Zimi & Lawhive
1. Mynt
One of the hallmarks of SMB Saas is enabling tech that helps small companies act like big ones. For example, unlocking and democratizing functions that were previously reserved for large businesses. This can be seen in tools like Shopify and Stripe that bring plug & play eCommerce and payment processing, respectively, to down-market endpoints. Elsewhere on that list is spend management, such as corporate expense cards. This is the area that Mynt wants to democratize and bring to SMBs. And it recently closed a $23 million funding round to do so. This brings its total funding to date to about $50 million, and a post-money valuation of $210 million. Its goal is to eliminate the pain points in employee spend management such as complex accounting and approval structures in DIY programs, using Amex cards. These pain points have held the field back from its potential among SMBs. And it addresses a wide swath of businesses given that its software is designed for companies with two to 500 employees. Its average customer size is 50 employees. Meanwhile, its traction speaks for itself with SMB customer growth of 3,000 to 12,000 in the last year alone. That leaves lots of headroom, given the tens of millions of SMBs out there.
2. Zimi
When it comes to SMBs and eCommerce, the capability has been meaningfully democratized given tools like Shopify (as noted above). But there are still gaps. And those gaps represent opportunities. One such gap is international merchants that want to sell cross-borders, especially into the sizable and consumer-shopping-heavy U.S. market. For example, among other issues, merchants face cost-prohibitive shipping costs and lengthy delivery windows. This is the pain point that Zimi is looking to solve. the company recently raised $2 million from Fearless Fund, Y Combinator, and others, to simplify cross-border eCommerce. That includes helping merchants find and establish relationships with localized fulfillment centers that improve their logistics. It also helps in other key areas such as managing tax regulations, currency exchange, and compliance. Altogether, the value proposition is tangible and offers to ease real pain points for international merchants, so it will just be a matter of making itself known to the fragmented world of SMBs.
3. Lawhive
One of the biggest and most lucrative segments of the SMB market is professional services. And a sizable subset of that market is legal services. This is why the vertical has seen a fair number of focused players such as Avvo and LexisNexis. Beyond the vertical’s size and revenue opportunity, it’s highly specialized, nuanced, and regulated… meaning it’s ripe for specialized players to enter. The latest company on that list is Lawhive, which recently raised a $40 million series A round led by Google Ventures. This closely follows the $11.9 million round that it raised in April, and is a strong confidence signal. So what does the company do? In short, it provides a SaaS-based operational software platform that’s purpose-built for “Main Street” law firms. This includes lots of automation functions to help smaller firms scale and tackle all of the admin work they’re forced to complete. These include things like new client onboarding, service, and billing. According to Lawhive, the software can reduce costs for small firms by up to 50 percent. And though these legal-focused platforms are plentiful, Lawhive differentiates by focusing on smaller firms, which it says are underserved. That’s especially the case in the highly-litigious U.S. market, to which the U.K.-based Lawhive will use its new cash infusion to expand.
Header image credit: CardMapr.nl on Unsplash
