Velocity Capital Advisors, a leading UK EIS/SEIS investment fund, has today announced the launch of a revolutionary new venture debt provider Juice Ventures (Juice), whose payments infrastructure will be powered by leading FinTech Modulr, to supercharge the UK start-up market.
With quick access to short-term revenue-based loans hit with delays caused by legacy payments infrastructure, many businesses have struggled to launch throughout the pandemic. The launch of Juice, a uniquely designed funding programme that bases its lending decisions on marketing data instead of revenues, helps promising start-ups transform and drive forward business growth all without diluting its equity, aims to solve this issue and help start-ups take off post-Covid.
Juice has secured approval of its application to operate as an EMD (Electronic Money Directive) Agent of Modulr (Modulr FS Limited) in the UK. Powered by Modulr’s direct access to critical payments infrastructure, such as Faster Payments and Bacs, UK startups can gain access to much needed financial support via Juice, at a much quicker pace.
Juice is able to support ambitious founders with accessible, non-dilutive funding that is flexible and secure to fuel transformative growth. Partnering with Modulr, Juice can provide UK start-ups with peace of mind that their funds are secure and held under a regulated framework – Modulr holds an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) licence and is authorised and regulated by the FCA.
Raj Saxena, CEO and founder of Velocity Capital and Juice Ventures comments, “We are delighted to be partnering with Modulr. The relationship is an ideal infrastructure partnership, and has enabled us to offer undiluted lending power, thus allowing businesses to grow at scale without dilution. Marketing is often cited as a digital businesses’ biggest reason for failure – so get it right, and then as an entrepreneur or investor you have a far greater chance of success.”
Kuba Zmuda, Chief Strategy Officer at Modulr comments, “Juice is on a mission to turbocharge the growth of ambitious start-ups, in a time where the market is calling out for support. Powered by Modulr’s infrastructure, Juice is providing businesses with a new way to access credit, one that is ultra-fast and secure. Working together means Juice can automate real-time loan disbursements and easy repayment reconciliation, so their customers can focus on achieving their ambitions.”
Juice provides non-dilutive growth capital to digital distribution businesses. It supports businesses that are early-stage through to series A and because the Juice team collectively have over 100 years of marketing experience, Juice can confidently lend based on the strength of a company’s digital marketing data. This means Juice can offer financing at significantly higher levels compared to revenue-based lenders.
Through initial user acquisition (UA) checks and ongoing support, Juice is then able to ensure each business can meet targeted growth plans. Once funding has been released, customers can flex their funding up or down according to their UA’s needs – amounts can be repaid and redrawn as and when the business scales.
Juice will be able to leverage Modulr’s secure and scalable API platform with its intelligent, automated payment flows replacing manual processes. This allows for full visibility of funds, improved security and enabling spending restrictions, if needed. Through the partnership, Juice can support and amplify growth for promising entrepreneurs.
Modulr is authorised and regulated by the FCA as an Electronic Money Institution, and so can issue GBP accounts with dedicated account numbers and sort codes. As a direct participant of the Faster Payments and Bacs schemes, they hold and settle funds at the Bank of England, providing reliability and security for users.
