Looking to provide financial solutions for freelancers, Zippi developed the first credit app for these professionals, representing millions of people in Latin America. With the product in hand in June 2022, the startup announced a $16 million investment round. Find out how Trace contributed to this process and simplified Zippi’s investment round!
With the goal of providing financial solutions for freelancers, Zippi developed the first weekly working capital for Pix. Through the app, it is possible to advance the invoice and manage the weekly limit.
“We found a pain related to the payment method for people with small businesses. There was no product that worked well for the entrepreneur to get the necessary working capital,” says Bruno Lucas, Co-founder and CFO of Zippi.
Bruno says the product has had significant growth since its launch: “we had a very good response from the public. Customers really like the solution and we already see the effect of Zippi on their business.”
In early 2022, looking to accelerate their growth trajectory, the startup decided to open a round with foreign investors. Led by Tiger Global and with the participation of Y Combinator, Volpe Capital, Rainfall Ventures, Globo Ventures, among others, Zippi raised $16 million.
Challenges of raising funds
For Bruno, the two main challenges for a startup that raises funds outside their country of origin are: deciding when to bring the value back to Brazil and having a ready structure to make the move. He also highlights the importance of “having a partner like Trace on the roadmap, as well as having all the documents up to date.”
Raising investment abroad and then bringing the value back to Brazil involves a series of bureaucracies. One of the difficulties is related to exchange rates with traditional banks, which, in addition to being expensive, is time-consuming and does not have parallel legal support. In addition, it can take months to complete the opening of an account at a foreign bank that allows for movement between countries.
Trace appears as a solution for companies that raise funds abroad and need support to bring the value back to Brazil. Through a structure designed to facilitate the entire process, the team locates the round in up to one day and with the lowest cost in the market. In addition, the legal advisory team takes care of the bureaucratic matters so that the startup is able to use the raised funds in its operation.
“Trace helped us a lot because it facilitated the documentary and bureaucratic part, and even in the execution. We had great support, especially compared to slightly larger institutions,” he adds.
Tip for startup leaders and founders
In addition to understanding the best time to bring the value back to Brazil and having the ideal structure, Bruno gives one more tip for leaders and founders who will raise funds with foreign funds: “treat fundraising work with a lot of seriousness and think of it as we think of the product.”
For him, the ideal is to constantly improve the pitch and pay attention to the business and what it has to offer: “constantly improve the pitch and the materials presented. That is, make the presentation of materials as friendly as possible, to focus on the business itself, understand what the business is, what it wants to be.”
Count on Trace to facilitate your round
If you want to understand how Trace can also contribute to your startup journey, contact us and discover all our solutions!
