Processing economics, processor selection, embedded payments, platform monetization and growth capital.
11 articles · Guides, Templates, Analysis
Most businesses accept whatever rate their processor offers at signup and never revisit it. That's leaving real money on the table. Payment processing is a negotiable cost.
Every SaaS founder knows they need to track metrics. Fewer know which metrics investors prioritize at different stages, how to calculate them correctly, and how to present them credibly.
The build-vs-buy decision for payment infrastructure is rarely as straightforward as vendors or engineering teams make it sound. The right answer depends on factors neither side is incentivized to weigh.
Payment operations that work at $1M in annual processing volume will break at $10M and be unrecognizable at $100M. Each order of magnitude requires different tools and processes.
Traditional bank lending requires years of profitable operating history, significant collateral, and months of underwriting. Growth-stage companies rarely have any of those.
The most valuable platforms don't just sell software subscriptions. They monetize the transactions, financial flows, and data that move through their ecosystem.
Choosing a payment processor is one of the most consequential infrastructure decisions a growing business makes. Get it wrong, and you're locked into years of excess costs and brittle integrations.
If you run a SaaS platform, your users probably process payments somewhere. The question is whether you're capturing any of that value. Embedded payments lets you turn your platform into the payments layer.
Most businesses pick their first payment processor based on ease of setup — not strategic fit. That works until it doesn't. Here are five signals that your current processor has become a constraint.
Growth-stage companies that need capital without giving up equity have two primary options: revenue-based financing and venture debt. Both are 'non-dilutive,' but they work very differently.
When your business needs capital, the person helping you navigate that process matters as much as the capital itself. The wrong advisor costs you in misaligned introductions and unfavorable terms.