Six months after announcing $30 million in equity and debt, Bopos, the Miami-based lending platform for business acquisitions and growth, is back in the big round with a $58 million Series A mix of equity and debt.
Bopos founder and CEO Juan Ignacio Garcia Braschi told TechCrunch that the latest round includes $8 million in equity and $50 million in debt. Fasanara Capital, which led the first seed round, is participating again, this time with Bonsai Partners leading the round and additional participation from Noah Capital Partners. Actius and K Fund are also in the investor group.
Garcia Braschi started the company in 2020 to help business owners, especially company collectors, make acquisitions to grow their companies. Most small business acquisitions are often not eligible for bank financing, and small business management loan assistance may be slow and require a personal guarantee, he said.
“For many people, this is too much of a risk,” added Garcia Braschi. “They’re willing to take the risk of buying a business and owning a business, but they’re not risking their own assets. And in too many cases, the buyer is not a U.S. resident, which is what happens with online businesses, and the loan is based on a tax return.”
Bupos helps buyers apply and use their LinkedIn profiles to ensure they have the right skills and track record to succeed in business ownership.
The company can underwrite online deals in less than 48 hours and offers facilities to finance up to 80% of the purchase through a variable income based program. And even if owners don’t want to risk their own assets, the company requires them to invest 20% to have some skin in the game. Bupos charges interest on loans.
Bupos also works with brokers to approve their marketplace listings, resulting in the ability to close sales in an average of less than 45 days. The company is adding about 100 new Amazon Business, e-commerce and SaaS listings every month.
In February, the company had 200 qualified buyers on its waiting list, and today it has grown to over 500. In addition, Empire has partnerships with a group of brokerages that handle $3 billion a year, including FE International, or Quiet Light.
Following the company’s seed round, Adrian Youngs as Chief Technology Officer and Sarita Bhatt as Chief Marketing Officer to help Bopos reach Series B and beyond, Garcia Braschi said. The company now has 25 employees, and Garcia Braschi expects to double that size in the next 12 months.
Meanwhile, the debt investment will help ensure funds are available for lending, while the equity portion will go towards building and growing the Boopos team.
Next, the company will launch a mobile app that Garcia Braschi calls the “Business Owner Dashboard” for users to research and decide what businesses to buy. Once they’ve made a decision and profiled the businesses, the businesses have a portfolio view of how the business is doing in terms of revenue, value, and how debt is being reduced and paid off. Future features will be alerts for businesses for sale.
Garcia Braschi said that the company’s valuation after this round is almost double compared to the previous seed round, although it is not different. It has consistently grown revenue by 30% to 50% every month since the end of 2021.
“Our portfolio is performing strongly despite the weak macro environment and recent layoffs and difficulties, even with competitors,” he added. “We have adjusted our credit policy and are being more conservative, giving lower loans and being more selective. Our financing is still relevant because M&A multiples have also increased by at least 20 to 30 percent, depending on our database.”
