Pipe

In this series, we’re highlighting the talent and knowledge that makes Pipe’s team unique (along with a few great dining and hiking recommendations). 

This time, we’re sitting down with Robert Heitz, a new member of the Data Science team.

How would you describe your role, and how did you get into the field?

I enhance and improve the models that predict default. Before this, I was a data scientist building stock market manipulation pipelines, and before that, I earned my PhD in physics.

Where are you based, and what's one place you always recommend?

Rockingham, Virginia. The hiking at Shenandoah National Park is the thing to do if you're ever in the area — the trails there are hard to beat.

What impact does your field make at Pipe?

We build the models that evaluate the risk of advancing capital to mitigate the risk of default.

What's a trend in your field you find interesting?

This year, AI coding has almost completely replaced my own coding work. It's changed the amount I need to focus on the tactical aspect of how to do something and I have more space for strategy of what should be done.

What's one thing you wish more people understood about your field?

Short flight, window. Long flight, aisle.

The dog park. It's the only way my dog will be reasonable for the rest of the day.

Finish the sentence: "People would be surprised to learn..."

No ice cream flavor has ever managed to improve on vanilla.

In December 2024 The Pipe Data Science Team began testing neural sequence models as a replacement. In May 2025 they deployed a Temporal Fusion Transformer model to production on our largest partner book, and have since extended it across four additional geographies and a second partner. 

This paper documents what changed across that year. 

Get to know the people who build our product, collaborate with our partners, and provide best in class support to merchants.

Meet the team: Robert Heitz

Meet the Team: Robert Heitz, Senior Data Scientist

Meet the Pipe Team: Robert Heitz, Senior Data Scientist

housecall-pro

Traditionally, businesses like the ones served by 

 have struggled to access the financing needed to grow their businesses—running into long application processes, credit checks, and excessive paperwork.  Because Housecall Pro aims to be the only software that their customers, or “Pros,” need to succeed in every facet of their business, they began looking for a solution that would expand the availability of business financing to more of their Pros. Their diverse customer base meant that they required a partner with broad geographic reach that could seamlessly integrate financing options into their existing platform.

The team selected Pipe after a comprehensive review of the major players in the embedded finance space. Pipe stood out not only due to its user-friendly interface, but also for its ability to launch rapidly and scale up quickly. The prebuilt dashboards were also a key differentiator, enabling Housecall Pro to monitor performance and make informed decisions without having to build custom reports from scratch. 

During the pre-pilot stage, Pipe demonstrated a strong ability to pre-qualify Housecall Pro’s customer base—underwriting Pros across multiple industries, exhibiting differing revenue patterns, and possessing a variety of capital needs. Moreover, the Pro community also showed tremendous interest in the offering, indicating that a partnership with Pipe could drive significant business impact. 

“Pipe’s strong leadership and track record of success gave us the confidence in their ability to develop solutions tailored to the unique needs of our industry,” said Valentina Durand, Vice President of Fintech at Housecall Pro.

Once the decision was made to move forward with Pipe, development was complete within just a few weeks. “The collaborative partnership—including real-time support through shared communication channels—enabled a fast go-to-market launch and smooth implementation,” said Durand. 

The partnership with Pipe has delivered significant business benefits for both Housecall Pro and its customers. Now, they’re able to give more Pros access to financing that previously may have been out of reach—cutting down on the time and complexity of traditional financing. This, in turn, enables Pros to invest in growth and resources they wouldn’t have been able to otherwise. 

By offering a simple, fast, and accessible financing option within the existing platform that its Pros use and love, the company is driving increased customer satisfaction and loyalty. “Our mission is to champion our Pros to success, and Pipe allows us to do just that. With just a few clicks, our Pros can secure the funds they need to invest in their business, whether it’s for marketing, new equipment, or covering payroll during slower seasons. This gives them confidence and peace of mind, knowing they can keep their business moving forward,” said Durand. 

Embedded capital solves the biggest problems SMBs face in almost any industry; access to working capital. Ready to unlock growth for your customers, while also growing your GPV and increasing user loyalty? Schedule a demo with us today.

Traditionally, businesses like the ones served by Housecall Pro have struggled to access the financing needed to grow their businesses—running into long application processes, credit checks, and excessive paperwork. 

Housecall Pro unlocks small business growth with embedded financing

gocardless

Small and medium enterprises based in the UK have a range of capital finance needs, from growing their business to covering cash flow gaps caused by late payments. A staggering 52% of them experience late payments—so it’s unsurprising that 1 in 6 are looking for financing. 

The small businesses that GoCardless serves often face significant challenges in accessing the working capital they need to keep their businesses humming—whether that’s paying their employees, acquiring new equipment, or opening up a new location. In particular, micro-businesses and minority-owned businesses often lack the credit history or scores required by traditional lenders. GoCardless sought an embedded capital product that would enable their customers to access capital without personal guarantees or credit checks, while offering a seamless user experience.

GoCardless selected Pipe for its impressive merchant pre-approval rates and its ability to offer capital without personal guarantees. Pipe stood out not only for its fast, easy-to-access financing, but also for the streamlined user experience, which enabled higher conversion rates. After Pipe was selected, GoCardless was able to launch a pilot program with their Pipe-hosted solution in under six weeks. This allowed small and medium business owners to apply for capital from the same platform they were already accustomed to for collecting their payments.

“When assessing a partner integration, we look for a flexible, easily customizable solution, as well as strong support from the team to ensure a seamless process. Pipe checked all the boxes—the code was easy to implement, with clear documentation,” said Will Slater, Director of Growth at GoCardless. “We only needed to embed a few snippets of code, and we were up and running with a capital product. Their expert team supported us every step of the way.”

Given the success of the pilot from the Pipe-hosted experience, GoCardless is transitioning to the embedded UI for a more seamless customer experience.

GoCardless intends to embed Pipe’s capital solutions directly into its own platform, providing seamless capital access for its UK customer base.

Early results exceeded expectations with almost £7m in capital being advanced to GoCardless customers in just three months. Pipe saw attach rates twice as high as benchmark figures. Customers loved how clear and transparent the offering was and how payment aligns with the ebbs and flows of their business. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with an outstanding NPS score of 88. As a result of the strength of the current partnership, GoCardless plans to expand the Pipe offering to other markets.

Bringing working capital to GoCardless merchants

See why GoCardless chose to partner with Pipe to deliver embedded working capital access to their UK-based SMB customers. 

GoCardless reshapes funding access for UK small businesses

boulevard

Historically, traditional financing has been out of reach for many of the self-care businesses that they serve. These brick-and-mortar small businesses often operate on tight margins that severely limit their investment in growth, particularly through avenues like marketing, staffing, equipment upgrades, and new locations. 

This gap is especially pronounced for women- and minority-owned businesses, which make up a significant portion of the self-care industry and are notoriously underserved by banks. With deep understanding of the day-to-day needs of these salon, spa, med spa, and barbershop owners, Boulevard identified a critical need amongst their customers that they could help solve: access to working capital. 

Boulevard sought an embedded solution that offered fast, flexible access to capital based on demonstrated business performance rather than credit history. Moreover, they wanted to work with a true partner that shared their values and was invested in building toward their long-term vision. 

“Pipe delivered the same seamless experience we provide our customers,” said Matt Danna, co-founder and CEO, Boulevard. “The roadmap they shared and the collaboration they demonstrated made our potential partnership a strong mutual fit. In addition, Pipe’s capital product presented a compelling revenue opportunity for Boulevard.” 

Together, the two teams partnered to launch Boulevard Capital in early 2024—a native, branded experience invisibly powered by Pipe’s platform. Pipe’s seamless integration minimized the need for extensive engineering work, and their collaborative approach ensured a swift, efficient implementation. Though Boulevard had initially planned for a slow, phased launch over three months, strong pilot results led to a full, seamless rollout within 30 days.

Today, with Boulevard Capital, the company enables pre-qualified customers to access funding without delays, credit checks, and paperwork that accompanies traditional loans. Pipe’s streamlined process allows Boulevard’s customers to access capital offers based on transaction data. This approach not only democratizes access to capital but also aligns payment with the merchant's sales cycles, so they’re never stuck with a high fixed payment during a slow period. 

The elevated user experience drives increased merchant loyalty and retention to the platform. In just over a year following launch, Boulevard advanced over $25 million in capital to hundreds of unique merchants. 

Merchants who have accepted a capital offer have nearly doubled their average monthly revenue growth rate. The increase in merchant revenue has also provided a significant boost to Boulevard’s gross payment volume. By providing easy access to capital through Pipe, Boulevard empowers underserved small businesses to achieve more, faster. 

For Boulevard users, accessing capital has never been simpler. Pipe’s streamlined process allows them to get pre-approved based on their Boulevard transaction data, so they can access the capital they need without credit checks or lengthy financial histories. This approach not only democratizes access to capital but also aligns payment with the merchant's sales cycles, so they’re never stuck with a high fixed payment during a slow period.

By partnering with Pipe, Boulevard gives the self-care industry:

Expanding Opportunities: Launch Capital in Your Industry

Boulevard is a great example of how vertically focused Payfacs and ISVs can bring capital access to industries that need it most. Pipe’s mission is to expand access to unbiased capital for SMBs. No one knows SMBs better than the vendors that serve them, and there’s no better place for them to access capital than the platforms they use to run their businesses every day. Pipe’s infrastructure is designed to embed seamlessly, offering capital access to your merchants with just a few clicks, all while feeling native to your platform.

Want to see this embedded capital partnership in action? 

Check out Pipe + Boulevard + Swella, an Atlanta braid bar who needed accessible capital to open a second location:

Boulevard is a scheduling, management, marketing, and payment platform serving over 3000 self-care businesses.

Meet the Team: Robert Heitz, Senior Data Scientist

Case studies