When it comes to growth financing for your startup, there are a variety of options available. Each has its own benefits and drawbacks, so it's important to understand your options and choose the right type of growth financing for your business. 

In this post, we'll explore the different types of growth financing, discuss the pros and cons of each option, and help you decide which one is right for your business.

Growth financing refers to capital invested in a company in order to fuel its growth. It’s essential for startups as it allows them to scale their businesses and bring their products or services to market. 

It can come in the form of equity financing, when investors provide funds in exchange for an ownership stake in the company, or debt financing, when a lender provides funds that must be repaid with interest. 

There are also non-dilutive growth financing options like Pipe’s recurring revenue financing, which allows you to trade future revenue streams for up-front growth capital. Whatever the source, the common theme is the use of funds to finance the growth stage of your company. 

There are a number of benefits associated with growth funding for businesses. 

The primary benefit is that it can help businesses scale operations and enter new markets faster than they could without external financing, leading to increased profits and improved competitiveness. 

The goal of this expansion is to reach more customers and grow revenue and market share, but it takes time to start bringing in that revenue. Growth financing gives businesses the up-front capital to make the jump to the next level.

For example, if a company is looking to expand into a new geographic area, they may need funds to hire additional staff, launch marketing campaigns targeting that new area, and possibly open a new office. All of this will take place before bringing in new revenue from the area, and growth financing makes this possible. 

Growth financing can also be used to help fund day-to-day operating costs, so founders can focus their attention on the challenges of growing without worrying as much about short-term cash flow.

Are there any risks associated with taking on growth funding?

As with any business venture, there are some risks associated with taking on growth funding. 

One of the main risks is that businesses may struggle to repay the investment if their growth objectives are unsuccessful. This could lead to financial difficulties and potentially put the business at risk. Businesses should be in a healthy position and deploy their funds wisely in a way that will generate predictable revenue increases.

Also, businesses need to be aware of the terms of any funding agreement, as this can have a significant impact on future cash flow and profitability. 

Why is it important to choose the right type of growth capital?

Choosing the right type of growth funding is critical for any company. 

 can provide the capital necessary to scale quickly, but it can also lead to problems down the road if investors want to take the company in a different direction than the founders. Even if the majority of equity is still held by the founders, dilution can have serious impacts on future profits. 

Debt financing is often a more sustainable option, as it doesn't dilute ownership and gives business owners more control, but it may not provide as much capital up front. Companies in the early stages, or those without many physical assets like SaaS companies, may have 

trouble getting traditional debt financing

Ultimately, it's important to weigh the pros and cons of each option carefully before making a decision. Consider how much capital you need, how quickly you need it, how it will be used, and what you’re willing to accept in terms of dilution, restrictions, and warrant coverage. What are the different types of growth funding?

As mentioned earlier, there are many different types of growth financing available. Equity financing can provide a large amount of capital, but the dilution can potentially make it very expensive in the long run. 

For companies that don’t have predictable revenue (or are pre-revenue) equity may be the only option. Equity investors are looking for future value and profits, rather than immediate cash flow, so they don’t expect repayment on the financing right away like other alternatives.

Loans are typically a non-dilutive option (although some do come with warrants), but they can be restrictive and many lenders only work with certain types of businesses. Products like revenue-based financing can also fit under the umbrella of loans, although they are packaged according to the revenue of the company. If your revenue grows, your payments will go up as well, but you’ll also be protected against dips in revenue with a shrinking monthly payment. 

These types of debt financing are non-dilutive, but you’ll need to be in a position to make regular repayments. Lenders will want to see proof of revenue and cash flow sufficient to support a payment schedule. In some cases, lenders also have covenants specifying exactly how you can spend the capital, which can be very restrictive.

How can businesses access growth funding?

There are a number of ways to access growth funding. One option is to approach traditional financial institutions such as banks or 

. However, these options can be difficult to secure, particularly for small businesses. Another option is to utilize government grants or loans specifically designed to support business growth.

Finally, startup founders can access growth funding via modern capital platforms like 

. Pipe helps businesses secure growth funding through a fast, frictionless platform. After signing up, companies can securely connect their bank accounts, accounting software, and billing manager. Pipe provides a trading limit, based on the health of the company’s finances, allowing them to exchange future revenue streams for up-front growth capital. 

You can trade as much, or as little of your revenue as you want, within your trading limit. There is no obligation to trade, no warrant coverage, and zero dilution. Your trading limit is based solely on your company’s health.

How can businesses make the most of their growth funding opportunities?

There are a number of ways in which businesses can make the most of their growth funding opportunities. It’s important to have a clear and concise business plan which outlines the company’s growth strategy. This will give potential investors a better understanding of how their investment will be used, and help to convince them to provide funding. 

Will you use the funds to hire and expand your team?

Will you scale up your marketing efforts to acquire new customers?

Will you bring a new product or service to market?

Whether or not your financing source requires a written plan, it’s important to know how your funding will be used to make sure you get a solid return and can manage repayment schedules and return profiles.

Financing is a critical part of any business, and there are a variety of different ways to finance your company. Growth financing can provide you with the capital you need to grow rapidly while staying healthy. There are both pros and cons to growth financing, so you need to weigh the benefits against the risks before making a decision.

Whether you’re looking to increase sales, hire new employees, or expand into new markets, growth financing can help you grow your company faster.

If you're ready to scale your business and consider growth financing, be sure to 

When it comes to growth financing for your startup, there are a variety of options available. Each has its own benefits and drawbacks.

Learn what growth financing means and what it can mean for your growing business.  

See how growth financing can help scale your business faster

The definitive guide to growth financing

Almost every company on the planet has to market and advertise their services if they want to acquire customers. The cost of this outreach is known as customer acquisition cost, or CAC, and it’s a critical metric that companies (especially SaaS) can use to determine how effective their marketing strategies and advertising campaigns are. 

Our CAC calculator is a helpful tool to make crunching the numbers faster and easier than doing it by hand—and it can help you quickly compare different metrics and look at your data from every angle:

, aka CAC, is the amount of money you spend on attracting new customers. It tells you how profitable your sales and marketing efforts are.

 looks at the expenses associated with paid advertising and helps you identify the most and least profitable channels.

looks at the whole picture—both direct and indirect costs associated with customer acquisition—to get closer to the actual costs of gaining new customers.

is how many months of customer payments it will take to recoup the cost of obtaining that customer.

looks at the lifetime value of a customer in relation to how much it costs to acquire that customer.

Just plug the numbers in above to calculate your CAC or keep reading for more details on CAC.

Calculating and understanding your CAC is crucial for making sound decisions about where to focus your marketing spend. It’s also an important indicator of the current and future success of your company. The idea is to understand how quickly you can afford to acquire new customers and ensure you make more money over the lifetime of the relationship than you spend to attract them. 

A company's ability to acquire new customers at a reasonable cost is a critical performance indicator. When you know how much it costs to bring in a new customer, you can better evaluate the success of your advertising campaigns and decide where to focus your efforts.

Two ways to look at CAC: paid and blended

There are two ways to calculate CAC—paid and blended. The calculation you should use depends on your business's objectives and the details of your desired CAC analysis (and many companies will want to use both).

Paid CAC helps you evaluate the expenses directly associated with advertising, like paid social media campaigns and referral programs. It helps you identify which marketing channels have issues that need to be addressed and which channels provide the best ROI.

By contrast, blended CAC considers both direct and indirect costs, like salaries and commissions, which many companies tend to overlook. Blended CAC offers a more robust picture of the actual cost of gaining a customer. It accounts for all your different marketing channels, whether they’re paid or not, and it gives you a high-level snapshot of your business’s acquisitions.

The customer acquisition cost is determined by totaling all relevant expenses incurred over a given period to bring in new customers and dividing that figure by the total number of new customers gained over the same time frame. Here is the formula used to determine CAC:

CAC = Total Sales & Marketing Expenses / New Customers Obtained

Imagine a SaaS company invested $50,000 in advertising and promotion during a single month, and as a result, it gained 100 new clients. For that month, the CAC would be:

Advertising and promotion costs = $50k / 100 = $500 Per Customer

The CAC payback period is the length of time it takes to break even—i.e., how long it will take to earn income from a client that is equal to the amount of money you spent acquiring that client. The CAC payback period helps you track, monitor, and evaluate any changes you’ve made to your 

as well as the effectiveness of your customer retention programs. 

Knowing the return on your CAC can help you see where you’re overspending, identify how you can improve 

, and determine why customers may be churning before the end of the payback period. Overall, it’s a helpful metric for deciding where to spend your advertising money and how to build your firm sustainably.

CAC payback is easy to determine: Simply divide your CAC by the monthly average revenue per client x your gross margin. The result is the number of months it will take to make a profit once you spend the money. The ideal payback period will vary by industry, but the shorter the better. The longer the payback period, the longer it will be before the customer is profitable for your business.

A low CAC payback period reflects a lower cost of acquiring new customers while still generating a profit. Keeping an eye on your payback period over time will allow you to see patterns and make the most of your marketing and sales initiatives.

The CAC:LTV ratio: what it is and how to calculate it

It’s possible for a business to determine whether its sales and marketing activities are profitable by calculating its CAC and then comparing it to the customer’s lifetime value (LTV). LTV is the total amount they are likely to spend on a business's goods and services throughout their relationship with the company. If the CAC exceeds the LTV, you’re spending more for customers than you’re likely to ever make back, and something needs to change. 

To determine the lifetime value of a customer:

ARPU = Average Revenue Per User (or customer)

GM = Gross margin, the amount of money made from customers after subtracting the cost of goods sold and any other related expenses.

Revenue Churn Rate = (Revenue lost in a specific period – upsells in that specific period) / revenue at the beginning of the period.

To calculate the CAC:LTV ratio, divide the LTV by the CAC. For example, if your average customer spends $100 per transaction, makes two purchases per year, and stays with you for three years on average, their lifetime value (LTV) will be $600. If your cost to acquire that custom is $100 your ratio looks like this:

While it’s useful for showing you whether your marketing is profitable, the CAC:LTV ratio doesn’t offer much direct insight into specifics you may want to address, such as whether your new referral program is working or your content marketing strategy is converting.

The CAC:LTV ratio is most helpful for businesses that have been around for a while. The more years of information you have to work with, the more precise the ratio will be and the better the  decisions you base on it will be.

Both of these metrics have value. The “best” one depends on the insight you’re looking for to better sustain and grow your business.

CAC:LTV is best for getting a general sense of your overall marketing success—is it profitable, or not? Since CAC:LTV is calculated using averages, it’s most accurate for established businesses with several years’ worth of data to work with. 

CAC Payback is a more accurate and detailed look at your marketing efforts, including marketing campaigns and 

. CAC payback is a snapshot that requires less data and can provide more insight into critical business decisions when you're a newer company.

The cost to acquire a new customer is a key performance indicator for any SaaS organization that wants to know how effective their marketing and sales strategies are. Whether you’re a SaaS 

, a growing company in any industry, or looking to scale, knowing how much you’re spending on acquiring new business helps you make better resource allocation decisions and hone your sales and marketing strategies.

With a solid strategy in place to acquire customer, 

 can give you fast, frictionless access to capital to fuel your marketing and sales efforts and help you grow.  

Almost every company on the planet has to market and advertise their services if they want to acquire customers.

Find out how to calculate CAC, why you need to know it, and how it can help you assess your marketing efforts and improve profitability

What is CAC and how do I calculate it? (with formulas) 

What is CAC and how do I calculate it?

As a founder or business owner, you’ve got more than enough on your plate running the day-to-day operations of your business. Financing future growth—whether with equity, debt, or 

—adds an extra layer of complexity that many founders aren’t prepared for. 

 are out there, but coming to the table unprepared can quickly lead to problems getting approved. 

Let’s take a closer look at the most common reasons founders get denied financing and what you can do to fix those problems.  Whether you need financing right away or are planning for the future—which we highly recommend to anyone not actively seeking funds—keep reading. 

The most common reasons startups fail to get financing

Whether your startup is profitable and needs funding to scale faster, or you’re still pre-profit and need outside funding to operate, a denial can be devastating. Traditional bank loans and equity rounds can take a long time and significant energy. If they don’t result in the financing you need, you may be running out of time to try again.

Here are some key reasons why startups struggle to get the financing they need:

It's a measure of how many months you can go without an outside injection of capital. This is one of the key financial terms for startups to understand, because lenders and investor want to know your company will last. This applies to any company that’s not yet profitable, which can take years and is never achieved by over half of startups. 

Runway is how much cash you have divided by your burn rate (your net loss of cash each month).

 can make investors worry about your operational efficiency and signal potential problems in the near future. Lenders and investors are hesitant to finance companies with low runway, out of concern the company may not have enough cash cushion to survive a few bad months. Those who will finance a company with low runway often do so at a much higher cost of capital to offset the risk for themselves. 

For an operationally focused or technical founder, bookkeeping and accounting may be the bain of their existence. All those spreadsheets can look like about as much fun as cleaning out the garage or organizing your closet. This is why so many put it off (along with cleaning out the garage and organizing their closet). For many startups, which have yet to put together an accounting team or hire a CFO, it can get put off even longer.

But timely, accurate accounting is an absolute necessity when you want to secure financing.  Your accounting records are the easiest way for lenders and investors to assess the health and risk level of your company.  Even if your company is in great health, if your accounting is a mess—or you haven't 

 in a few months—lenders and investors won't know. For a financier, it can feel like choosing what's behind door number three.

A startup’s balance sheet is crucial when looking for financing because it shows lenders and investors what you own and what you owe. Cash on hand, existing loans, and other obligations all live on the balance sheet, and these are all important for financial approvals. 

Updating and closing the books is also an important part of having an accurate balance sheet, because many of the adjusting journal entries that are made during the monthly closing process will impact balance sheet accounts. If these aren’t up to date, anyone reviewing the financial statements will have to make the most conservative reasonable assumptions about what those numbers are.

It may be even more important to have an accurate P&L for startups looking to get financed. That’s because a lack of assets on the balance sheet puts even more pressure on a healthy P&L startup companies can use to reflect cash flow, revenue, and expenses. These numbers help potential investors or lenders see your ability to repay as well as the potential for growth in your company (by evaluating things like acquisition costs and profit margins).

One of the most frustrating reasons your startup may struggle to get financing is because it’s, well, a startup. While early-stage equity investors are used to funding brand-new ventures, other forms of financing, like banks, want to see a long history of payments and financial responsibility. While financial 

 is clearly a red flag, many startups are simply too new to have 2-4 years of financial records for a funding application. 

How to improve your chances of getting business funding 

Don’t let the struggles we’ve just mentioned get you down. If you want the best chance of securing financing for your growing business, there’s plenty you can do to increase your chances. 

Banks, equity investors, and alternative financing providers are always looking for companies to finance. But first, they need to ensure those companies are healthy. Here are three steps you can take to maximize your approval odds and reduce your risk profile.

Simply put, cash flow is the measure of cash moving in and out of your company. Cash flow measures only liquid payments, so while it includes things like checks and electronic payments (not only currency), it doesn’t include payments on credit that have yet to be collected. Cash flow is an important measure of a company’s health because a business that makes millions in sales but never collects the cash still can’t pay its bills. 

There’s more than one way to calculate cash flow, but the simplest one (called the direct method) involves subtracting the outflows from the inflows in three areas: operating, investing, and financing. Your cash flow is the sum of all three. It’s also important to know each of these three cash flow numbers separately because you could be losing cash on day-to-day operations and only show a net positive cash flow because of investing activities (like selling equipment) or financing that won’t occur in a typical month.

A lack of cash on hand is a big red flag when you’re looking for financing. It can seem counterintuitive, as the need for cash is one reason you may be looking for financing, but there’s a good reason for it. For example, if you apply for a personal credit card, but you’ve used up most of your currently available credit, you'll be declined. The card company will likely decide you’re living beyond your means and will be a high risk with an extended credit limit. 

The same concept applies to cash on hand and financing. Having no cash cushion can signal to banks and investors that your company is operating with no margin. That’s a big risk if the unexpected comes along. 

Since cash on hand is part of the equation for measuring your runway, you need to have a decent cash balance showing you can operate through a dry spell. You can calculate your burn rate and runway using 

In the above example, you’d likely need to pay down your credit card balances first. As a startup seeking financing, you can improve your chances by tightening your burn rate to save up a cash cushion. You may also strengthen your cash position by seeking friends and family or small-check angel investment first.

A solid cash runway gives you more financial options by showing that your startup can survive to the next funding milestone. Maintaining a certain runway is challenging in tough times, but founders need to know what to shoot for as they secure funding and prune their spending to reduce burn rate.

While many banks and investors use 12-18 months of runway as a standard, it can vary by your industry and the type of financing you’re seeking. Ultimately, the longer your runway, the better off you are when it comes to obtaining capital. A company that has a healthy cushion and sticks to a plan to moderate burn will always be a more attractive financing option, giving you more choices and access to better terms.  

If you’re seeking debt financing, it’s important that your current cash-to-debt ratio is manageable. The cash flow required to service your existing debt will play into your burn rate and impact your ability to service more debt. Lenders will also consider the seniority of your debt and may be hesitant to lend if they’ll be subordinated to more senior debt. 

Issues like runway, cash flow, and burn rate are all important factors to consider when you’re deciding on the type of financing to pursue. While each type has its place, none of them is right for every business in every stage of growth. Next, we’ll take a closer look at the types of financing, and consider which is best for your specific situation.   

Choosing the Right Type of Financing for Your Startup

Now that you have an understanding of why startups may struggle to get financing, how you can prove that your business is healthy, and some of the key financial metrics that lenders and investors look at when deciding whether to extend financing, you need to think about the type of financing that fits your needs. Keep in mind that 

 will have different requirements and be designed for specific stages of the business life cycle.

 rounds throughout the life of the business, it’s especially popular as a way to get started, because equity investors are looking at your future potential. While equity can cost more in the long run, it doesn’t have any up-front cash flow requirements.

Debt financing, including bank loans and revenue-based financing, will be a better fit once your business has consistent revenue. Lenders will want to see that you have the cash flow to service the loan payments, and, once you have that cash flow, you can preserve equity by using a method like this. 

 allows you to access up-front capital with your future revenue streams, without the common limitations of traditional bank loans or the dilution of equity fundraising. It works for a wide variety of companies with diverse types of revenue, and can even be used to extend runway and fund growth between equity rounds. 

Getting the right financing when you need it

Whether you’re looking to grow your business or finance operations to keep your business steady, you need to find the right financing source and make sure you’re in the best position to get approved.

For more information on dilution-free financing from Pipe, 

When it comes to securing financing for your startup, there are a few key steps you can take to improve your chances of getting approved.

Focusing on these three key areas will help you access capital and boost your company's eligibility for growth financing. 

3 Ways Startups Can Improve The Chances of Getting Financing

3 ways startups can improve their chances of getting financing

3 Ways Startups Can Improve Their Chances of Getting Financing

 was already a seasoned door-to-door sales veteran. But today, as CEO of 

, he knocks on far fewer doors and instead is focused on modernizing what he admits is an “outdated industry.”

That’s why he thinks of Brooks as a “sales company that does pest control.” 

When Eric launched Brooks Pest Control in 2018, he made “a decent amount of money”—but was also $30,000 in debt. 

Now in its fifth year, Brooks has branches in three states, generates eight figures in revenue, and is experiencing “crazy fast” growth. But getting here took a series of sharp turns—which 

The challenge: Getting capital to grow—in an "outdated" industry

Dated perceptions about pest control have flowed upstream from the general public to traditional financial services, creating a cycle of slower innovation in the industry and skepticism among institutional investors. Even though “pest control is a need for everyone,” people just don’t see the opportunities, said Eric.

As early growth started to plateau, scaling started to feel “impossible.” Eric and two business partners had poured in their own money to get started, but because they were a young company without collateral—aka few traditional assets—investors just “would[n’t] give them the time of day.”

In fact, when he started looking for funding, it didn’t seem to matter that the company was bringing in hundreds of thousands of dollars a month.

Pest control wasn’t catching anyone’s eye—except one backer who, during the company’s second year, was willing to offer financing, but wanted 40% 

 in return. It left the Brooks team in a bind. 

, Eric and team turned down that very dilutive opportunity—but had no idea what they were going to do. 

The solution: Connecting with recurring revenue financing 

The magic of the internet brought Eric and Pipe together. While Eric and his Brooks partners were on a business trip, they happened upon Pipe via Twitter. Eric read everything he could about the company for the next hour—and then got in touch.

“Initially, we didn’t qualify for Pipe,” Eric says. “But we were in close contact with our revenue manager, and they told us exactly what we had to do to qualify… We made the necessary changes, and once we qualified three or four months later, it was cake.” 

, the company was able to access a  $4 million trading limit—which means Eric and the team could pull forward the funds they needed whenever they chose, and could now grow Brooks Pest Control on their terms. 

The Results: Brooks is exterminating their growth hurdles

The explosive growth fueled by access to capital has led to new opportunities as other companies have taken note of Brooks’ momentum.

 by a 70-year-old company, Clark Pest Control, in California. Brooks’ new mission? Keep growing. They’re aiming to add 20,000 to 25,000 new customers in a six-to-eight-month period, using Pipe to fuel growth.

By partnering with Pipe, the growth potential that Eric and team had all along has been unlocked. Put simply: “Without Pipe, we’d be back to square one again.” 

The explosive growth fueled by access to capital has led to new opportunities as other companies have taken note of Brooks’ momentum.


Now in its fifth year, Brooks has branches in three states, generates eight figures in revenue, and is experiencing “crazy fast” growth. See how Pipe helped out. 

How Brooks Pest Control Financed “Crazy” Growth in an Outdated Industry

How Brooks Pest Control financed “crazy” growth in an outdated industry

PAVE is a credit-building subscription service with a mission to “put a stop to the financial inequality that is spreading in our society.”  

Harnessing state-of-the-art analytics that combines open banking data, credit file data, and data from over 100,000 proprietary lending decisions, 

 aims to put individuals and businesses on a sustainable path to good credit. 

Founded in 2018 (originally Portify), the company has raised several equity rounds. In 2022, Pave launched its B2B service, the 

, which helps businesses make the best lending decisions to increase acceptances, reduce risk, and save time. 

Like many entrepreneurs, Pave co-founder and CEO 

 admits to having a love-hate relationship with fundraising. But after growing up in Japan and working in its social finance sector, working for an NGO in Brazil, and moving to London feeling “inspired by the power of what financial services could do for financial inclusion,” he was committed to Pave’s vision. Which meant he’d need to look for capital to have the biggest impact. 

The challenge: Getting the capital to get the word out about the Pave app

With a strong vision in place, investing in marketing would help the company grow faster. But Sho says Pave’s biggest challenge was getting the word out. “As a founder, you don’t want to be spending time fundraising. You want to be building your company.”

After multiple funding rounds—and all the effort that went into them—Sho and team needed a 

 that would help them reach their goals and stay focused on the business.

The solution: Efficient, streamlined access to capital

In the end, though, Sho’s pavement pounding led to a solution to Pave’s problems—and even opened up opportunities he didn’t know were possible. While preparing for a 

 round, Sho got a message from a colleague who recommended 

Within 48 hours of that call, Pave was on track to trade its recurring revenue for up-front non-dilutive capital on Pipe. 

The results: Faster growth through frictionless financing

Pave was able to access capital to invest directly into marketing. And rather than slowing themselves down by reaching out to investors for funding, they got that capital instantly and were free to focus on running the company. 

“We’re a pretty high-growth business with multi-million revenue,” said Sugihara. Pipe helps Pave feel far more comfortable in its own lane, and forging its own path. “There’s lots of hype on 

, or wherever around large and increasingly larger venture-backed raises… we haven’t raised as much of those types of headlines because, frankly, we haven’t had the need. It’s often quite important not to get distracted by those mega rounds, because that’s not necessarily success.”

Sugihara assumed further dilution was definitely in Pave’s future, but now says “Since we have quite a strong repeatable revenue business, [We’re able] to avoid dilution.” “Pipe’s funding model creates a great alternative structure to retain your interest in your own company longer.”

PAVE is a credit-building subscription service with a mission to “put a stop to the financial inequality that is spreading in our society.

As a founder, you don’t want to be spending time fundraising. You want to be building your company.

How Pave got 7 figures of capital to scale in just 48 hours

Case Study: How Pave got 7 figures of dilution-free capital to scale their business in just 48 hours

How Pave got 7 figures of dilution-free capital to scale their business in just 48 hours

Pipe's founding team are stepping down from executive roles in favour of new CEO Luke Voiles

Pipe Hires New CEO As Founders Make Way For Scale-Up Experience

Pipe, the modern capital platform for fast, frictionless, dilution-free financing, today announced a significant expansion of its senior management team. 

Pipe Strengthens Executive Team as it Prepares to Expand Modern Capital Platform for All Revenue

the modern capital platform for fast, frictionless, dilution-free financing,

 today announced a significant expansion of its senior management team. These additions support the company’s ongoing growth and evolution as the platform for all entrepreneurs to turn their revenue into up-front capital. Namrata Ganatra has been appointed as Pipe’s Chief Product and Technology Officer, Scott Polchleb has joined Pipe as Chief Innovation Officer, Manpreet Dhot as Chief Risk Officer, and Yasmin Moaven, Pipe’s CMO, has been promoted to COO and CMO.

In February, Luke Voiles was appointed CEO of Pipe to scale and expand Pipe’s business, which in just three years has helped fund the growth of businesses in verticals including SaaS, 

direct-to-consumer (D2C) subscriptions and service-based businesses

. Luke has nearly two decades of leadership experience growing technology businesses within innovative industry leaders, including Square Banking at Block, Intuit’s small business lending unit, QuickBooks Capital, and as a distressed asset and credit special situations investor at top-tier funds, including TPG Capital and Lone Star Funds. In his first 90 days at Pipe, Luke quickly identified the proven technology, product development, risk management, and operations experts to help lead Pipe’s continued growth and expansion.

Namrata Ganatra, Chief Product and Technology Officer, is a highly accomplished tech executive with over a decade of experience in fintech, payments, and crypto markets. Prior to joining Pipe, she led Engineering and Product at Autograph, a leading NFT platform, and held senior leadership roles at Coinbase, Meta, and Paypal, where she shaped payment strategy and scaled payment infrastructure to meet the needs of millions of users. She also founded an AI-based e-commerce startup that helped SMBs grow sales across multi-channel e-commerce platforms, which was acquired by Thrasio.

Scott Polchleb, Chief Innovation Officer, is a global design leader who has built and led teams for both start-ups and large tech companies. He was previously the Global Head of Design and Creative at Square Banking, where he led design and strategy across Square Banking and CashApp. He’s also held senior leadership positions in design at Afterpay, WeWork, and Visa. He helped internal partners and clients solve complex problems, pilot projects, and achieve business goals using design thinking and best-in-class product and service design and prototyping.

“I’m excited by the huge opportunities Pipe has to majorly impact alternative and embedded finance across so many industries,” said Ganatra  “The passion and energy of this team, combined with experienced leadership, is going to create amazing outcomes for our customers and shape the way business owners access financing to grow and operate.”

Manpreet Dhot, Chief Risk Officer (CRO), 

has over 20  years of leadership experience in commercial and consumer risk management. He most recently served as the CRO at Imprint, a modern co-branded credit card issuer, where he created a holistic, integrated approach to risk management and helped develop a technology roadmap to support rapid deployment and iteration of risk/pricing models and strategies. He was also the CRO at Funding Circle US, where he conceptualized and deployed credit and fraud risk capabilities that enabled Funding Circle’s US portfolio to grow from $80 million to $1.1 billion in assets under management in five years with no adverse credit outcomes. He previously spent 12 years at American Express in India and the United States in several senior roles.

Yasmin Moaven, Chief Marketing Officer, will expand her role to include Chief Operations Officer. She has been an integral part of Pipe’s early success since its public launch in 2020, where she led the development of the Pipe brand and spearheaded the company’s marketing, communications, and investor relations strategy. 

Yas has helped scale operations and Pipe’s reach across multiple verticals and geographies, and will now further focus on helping expand Pipe’s efforts in its next phase of growth. 

“In just three years, Pipe has defined a new approach to funding the rapid growth of companies in a wide range of markets,” said Voiles. “To take advantage of the enormous opportunity, we have to focus on our core product and expand the impact and value we are delivering. We need proven industry leaders like Namrata, Scott, Manpreet, and Yas, all of whom have successfully and consistently driven massive scale and flawless execution across critical areas such as technology and product development, customer-focused design, risk management, branding, and operations. This is our fintech dream team. Pipe is now well positioned to capitalize on the opportunities in front of us in 2023 and beyond.”

Pipe is the modern capital platform built to connect entrepreneurs and business owners to fast, frictionless, dilution-free financing. Pipe turns all forms of revenue into up-front working capital to help companies improve cash flow, scale operations, and grow on their terms. 

Pipe, the modern capital platform for fast, frictionless, dilution-free financing, today announced a significant expansion of its senior management team.

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