Upper90 Closes $55 Million Equity Fund Focused on Leading eCommerce Companies
NEW YORK, April 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Upper90, the leading provider of growth credit designed to help founders solve their most-pressing capital needs while maintaining maximum ownership in their respective companies, today announced it has raised a $55 million equity fund dedicated to eCommerce businesses. The new fund will primarily focus on eCommerce aggregators and enables Upper90 to provide equity capital to help earlier-stage, capital-intensive technology businesses optimize their capital structure for long-term success.
Led by CEO Billy Libby, former Head of Quantitative Execution Sales at Goldman Sachs, CIO Alex Urdea, former Managing Director and Director of Risk at Solus Alternative Asset Management, and Chairman Jason Finger, co-founder and former CEO of Seamless (NYSE: GRUB), the firm has backed pioneering online marketplace businesses like Thrasio, the largest acquirer of Amazon FBA brands globally, and Clearbanc, a leading provider of revenue based financing. In addition, Upper90 has become the preferred hybrid capital partner for innovative eCommerce aggregators globally.
Upper90's new fund will invest equity in approximately 15 eCommerce companies with an emphasis on businesses that are acting as digital franchisors by consolidating subscable brands to provide operating leverage and marketing expertise. While eCommerce is expanding at a 24% CAGR in the US, there is also global growth opportunity with geographies like Latin America growing by 36% in 2020 and European growth of 26% in 2020. The success of Amazon's third party seller model is primed and is being replicated on other platforms, while platforms like Shopify and BigCommerce are enabling businesses to expand a digital footprint.
"The infrastructure developed by Amazon, Google, Facebook, Shopify, BigCommerce and others, has created a golden age for entrepreneurs that can easily start a business online. However, access to growth capital, especially flexible capital, is still scarce," said Billy Libby, co-founder and CEO of Upper90. "Upper90's ability to provide equity and debt helps startups accelerate growth with less dilution. With our eCommerce fund, we can deepen our partnership by investing at the earliest stages as well as support portfolio companies that may require equity capital as they scale."
"Upper90 was the first fund to identify and execute successfully this market opportunity and our investment approach offering credit and equity, along with significant operational support and marketplace expertise, has allowed our portfolio companies to gain market share faster and much more efficiently," said Jason Finger, co-founder and Chairman of Upper90. "It has been very validating to see that the best and brightest entrepreneurs and seed investors appreciate the unique value proposition of Upper90 and have made us the partner of choice for both eCommerce aggregators as well as capital-intensive technology-based businesses building online brands. This new equity fund allows us to deepen our involvement in an ecosystem we helped to pioneer and provide even greater support to the companies with whom we partner. We are excited to help build the online brands of tomorrow."
About Upper90
Upper90 is a hybrid investment firm that provides founder-friendly credit and equity, along with strategic support, to top disruptors in e-commerce, enterprise, and fintech. The firm is backed by over 300 business builders and has provided over $1.5Bn of capital to market-leading businesses like Thrasio, Clearbanc, Crusoe Energy, and Octane Lending, which all secured their first credit facilities and early investments from Upper90.
Contact: Cari Sommer, [email protected]
SOURCE Upper90
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