Fintech is growing explosively. A suite of companies has disrupted and improved how we operate business daily. These fintech startups are the secret formula to growing your business, receiving capital for key business functions, scaling your business, and protecting the future of your business.
In this guide we’ll go over various fintech tools, apps, services, and software that you can use to launch and grow your business.
Setting Up and Getting Capital
The first step to a great business is a great idea! Once you have decided on your business, it's time to solidify the foundation.
Stripe Atlas is a great tool to form your company. This site streamlines the legal process of starting a business. Stripe Atlas will set up your company in the state of Delaware. Stripe will give you the necessary legal documents, apply for your Tax ID number, and file the paperwork for you. Using this tool will have you ready for business within days.
In the case of getting a business entity, if you’re the do-it-yourself type and want to save a bit of cash, then it’s a simple matter of checking your specific state’s Secretary of State site and following their instructions to set up a business entity. There exist great tutorials online and video sites like YouTube that will walk you through the process of setting up your business.
If you want an EIN, they’re free from the IRS and you can get one in a matter of minutes. The great thing about an EIN is it doesn’t matter what state you’re in, the process is always the same!
Once you build the foundation for your business, it's time to launch!
That requires money, and as you grow, you’ll realize your profits don’t come in fast enough to adequately restock in time. In fact, more than ¼ of small business owners say they aren't able to obtain the funds needed to operate their business without some part of their business breaking.
Fintech lending tools like Onramp can help you bridge this gap. Onramp provides eCommerce funding and expertise you need to optimize every part of your business.
We have a guide on the pros and cons of the different types of lending if you’re unsure of the best way to secure funds for your business.
Growing Your Business
After receiving capital, you can utilize Fintech to process transactions and make your business more attractive to buyers.
Stripe, Marqeta, MX, and Plaid are all payment processors that allow you to execute core business functions that make your business run. Square is a great tool for those with physical storefronts. AfterPay, Affirm, and Klarna are all companies that offer your customers the ability to “buy now, pay later” and even offer customers great incentives like 0% APR if they pay off their purchase in a certain time frame.
Offering an updated layaway system like this can boost sales, especially during busy holiday seasons where customers are spending large sums at once. In fact, AfterPay merchants saw a greater than 20% increase in cart conversions.
Marketing your business through Google Ads or Facebook is a great way to reach new audiences. Triple Whale will consolidate all your running ads so you can track your outreach. Onramp can continue to support you as you grow your inventory and market your business.
Protecting your Business
Once your business begins to thrive, you need to ensure the protection of you and your customers. Stripe Radar is also a great service to fight fraud. This software blocks fraud without losing legitimate customers in the process. If you already use Stripe for other services the addition of Radar is a seamless way to protect your business.
There are many fintech services to lock down your books as well. Xero and Quickbooks Online are great accounting tools for eCommerce businesses. If you’re a beginner and sales are just starting to ramp up, you can do some basic accounting yourself, but as your business grows, accounting becomes something you should outsource. We have an accounting survival guide for Amazon FBA and eCommerce Sellers.
Managing Equity for Employees
As your business grows, it's important to ensure your employees are as invested in the success of your business as you are. Offering equity or benefits is one way to achieve this.
If you want to offer a 401(k) plan, services like Guideline or Betterment can help your business manage benefit plans for your employees. Betterment also helps employees meet their personal financial goals. Built for startups, services like Carta simplify managing equity for your employees. Providing an attractive benefit and equity plan can give you a competitive edge in recruiting.
In Focus
These days, there’s a service for almost every function of your business. You should be using a mix of fintech apps and software that enables your business to be efficient, lean, and most important of all profitable.
The capability is there for you to run a fully-fledged multi-million dollar eCommerce business from the comfort of your home.
If you are not using fintech companies to grow your eCommerce business, you are missing out! All the services above, including Onramp are great investments to launch your business and make life easier as a business owner.
