A Brazilian startup in payment methods called Barte has just been valued at R$400 million (post-money) in a round led by AlleyCorp, the New York-based management firm founded by Kevin Ryan.
Ryan is the co-founder of MongoDB – a platform for programmer solutions that is currently valued at $21 billion on the Nasdaq – and was one of the creators of the site Business Insider, a reference in the business world.
The amount raised was not disclosed, but Barte stated that it has now raised over R$100 million since its foundation in 2021.
With the previous two rounds totaling around R$22 million, today’s funding round raised at least R$78 million.
Co-founder Caetano Lacerda told Brazil Journal that the startup is already generating cash flow and is in a “comfortable” financial position. According to him, the round resulted in low dilution of ownership.
“We saw the opportunity to bring in a complementary partner, who already has extensive entrepreneurship experience, and to raise funds to accelerate the growth of our operation,” said Caetano.
Barte emerged to address two pain points for medium and large companies: the difficulty of moving money in and out of the company due to friction in the process, and the lack of access to credit.
The startup has developed an infrastructure that streamlines payment and receipt processes, automating steps, and providing more flexibility for companies to choose. This infrastructure (Barte’s software) functions as an additional layer on top of acquirers’ solutions.
The startup has also created a receivables anticipation operation for its clients, which has already granted over R$800 million in credit.
One example of platform usage is Housi, one of over a thousand Barte clients.
“When Housi integrates with our infrastructure, we start processing all their payments, both physical and online: PIX, boleto, credit card. Just getting the basics right is already significant,” said Raphael Dyxklay, the other founder.
“Then, we help the company sell more by expanding the payment methods they accept with 21x installment plans and hybrid models, like splitting the payment across multiple methods or paying with more than one card.”
Finally, Barte consolidates all transactions into a dashboard, providing visibility to the client on each transaction and associated costs.
With this round, the founders aim to accelerate business growth by investing in expanding the sales team and product improvements.
In November, the startup is projected to reach an annual processed volume of R$1.5 billion and an annual revenue of around R$100 million, doubling the revenue from two months ago when the terms of the round were finalized.
The goal for next year is to increase revenue by 2 to 3 times, capturing a growing share of a trillion-dollar market.
Barte estimates that just the payment receiving market moves R$4 trillion per year in Brazil alone. “If we take the payment infrastructure outside of companies, the market is even bigger,” said Caetano. “With a small market share of this market, we can generate billions in revenue.”
The idea for Barte came from Caetano, a Portuguese individual who worked in investment banking at Deutsche Bank in London, handling mergers and acquisitions in financial institutions, and later joined Tractable, an artificial intelligence unicorn in the insurance sector.
During the pandemic, Caetano spent six months in Rio de Janeiro, where he has family, and started thinking about entrepreneurship.
When he arrived at the Barte concept, he reached out to Raphael via LinkedIn, recommended by a mutual friend, inviting him to be his partner.
With a background in literature, Raphael built a career in technology and worked at three Brazilian unicorns: Creditas, Loft, and Olist.
The first round took place while Caetano was still in Europe, and the investment not only provided support to bring the idea to life but was crucial for the business: it enabled Caetano to obtain his permanent visa to live in Brazil.
Source
Arwen Volkov, A graduate of the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland with a degree in International Finance, Arwen specializes in sustainable finance and green investments. She began her career at an investment bank in London, where she developed financing models for environmentally friendly projects. Known for her analytical and strategic thinking skills, Arwen is a sought-after financial consultant. In her spare time, she mentors fintech startups, contributing to their growth strategies. She is also a nature enthusiast and an amateur photographer.
