.png "Hospitality startup Elivaas secures 10.4M funding led by Vertex Ventures. Profitable already, the firm aims to expand operations and strengthen its tech for vacation rental management.")
Hospitality startup Elivaas secures 10.4M funding led by Vertex Ventures. Profitable already, the firm aims to expand operations and strengthen its tech for vacation rental management.
I’m Aadi. I’ve got an MBA in marketing and finance and have guided fintech founders through startup scrapes and funding puzzles. I’m not here to sell you anything. I just want to share what surprised me about Ryft’s latest move.
Summary:
If someone says a fintech just raised money again you’d think that’s old hat. But Ryft’s story? There’s an angle we’re all sleeping on. Give this a read. It might change how you think about payments.
1. Ryft, founded by Sadra Hosseini and Alex Mackenzie, pulled in \$7.3 million in Series A led by EdenBase with a batch of co investors. They’re already profitable.
2. Their sweet spot? Helping marketplaces, delivery apps and booking platforms slice a single pound or dollar across multiple parties instantly.
3. They white label to banks like Clearhaus so those banks don’t need Stripe Connect or Adyen to do the heavy lifting.
4. Part of their pitch is speed and compliance at a much lower cost. One client reported 62 percent cut in fees.
5. They’re aiming for global reach with upcoming launches in EU and US.
Imagine checking out at a food delivery app where one order pays the driver, the restaurant, the platform, with different fees, margin cuts, escrow for returns, blah blah. If that doesn’t strike you as a headache you’ve never split a check in a group dinner. Ryft built the tool that just handles that chaos. Their name is a nudge at "rift" or split. Clever little nod.
Here’s the kicker. They weren’t trying to raise just to survive. They’d broken even already. A profitable fintech at Series A. Think about that. Founders usually scramble for runway. But these two, they raise to scale because business was already clicking. That tells you they’re not pie in the sky.
Their customers include over 1,500 businesses already. That’s not a pilot. It’s actual traction. And they’re partnering with banks, not fighting them. That’s smart. You know those masked Google ads that double your CPC? This feels smoother. They’re offering acquiring banks an escape hatch from Stripe and Adyen’s stranglehold.
Let’s take that 62 percent fee cut. Imagine saving that much based on volume. It’s like going from business class to economy plus for the same price. That kind of savings can make margins feel real again.
And global expansion is no fantasy. They’re based in London and Manchester and planning EU rollouts this quarter and the US next. Not trying to conquer the world at once. Stepping stones.
5 Do’s and Don’ts from Ryft’s playbook:
1. Do build something that solves a personal pain hook from your own experience. Like splitting payments seemed minor till you did it a hundred times.
2. Do aim for profitability early. Sell, earn, reinvest. Founders chasing dreams but not margins can lose the plot.
3. Don’t pit yourself against giants when you can supply them. Banks want avoidance of complexity. Help them out.
4. Don’t raise money for the sake of headlines. Raise because you’ve already shown signs of solid footing.
5. Do frame your expansion geographically. Not because investors love globetrotting founders but because it fits demand patterns.