Sibling Founders of Stax Payments Launch New Fintech ‘Worth’ with $20M Seed Funding
Worth, a dynamic company dedicated to enhancing the underwriting process for fintechs, banks, and enterprises, has recently secured $20 million in a seed funding round, aimed at revolutionizing how small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) access credit-based products. This major funding milestone was exclusively reported by TechCrunch.
Significant Seed Funding for Worth
This impressive seed funding comes at a time when securing capital is increasingly challenging. The success of Worth can be attributed in part to the impressive track record of its founders, Sal Rehmetullah and Suneera Madhani, who are siblings. They previously founded Stax Payments, a fintech company that reached a valuation exceeding $1.1 billion before their exit after nearly a decade of significant growth.
Transforming SMB Financing
Based in Orlando, Florida, Worth aims to streamline the often cumbersome process of onboarding and underwriting for SMBs seeking loans and credit products. Madhani emphasized the stark contrast in experiences between consumers and small businesses:
- Consumers can apply for products like the Apple Card and gain instant access.
- SMBs, however, face lengthy applications, extensive documentation, and prolonged waits for responses.
Innovative Technology Solutions
Worth’s innovative technology addresses these issues by significantly reducing the amount of paperwork and accelerating the approval process. The company claims that SMBs can complete applications by simply providing their name, address, and tax ID.
Rehmetullah explains that Worth automates the necessary checks for financial institutions, including:
- Know Your Business (KYB)
- Know Your Customer (KYC)
- Ownership identity verification
- Fraud verification
- Bank account verification
- Financial statement analysis
This comprehensive approach allows Worth to serve SMBs globally, not just within the United States.
Data-Driven Insights with AI
Since launching its product a year ago, Worth has leveraged artificial intelligence and a key partnership with Equifax. This collaboration has enabled the company to compile a proprietary dataset encompassing over 242 million global SMBs. By analyzing various data sources—such as bank accounts, tax returns, QuickBooks, and Stripe—Worth can offer financial institutions real-time insights.
Lead investor Neil Kapur from TTV Capital, which spearheaded the funding round, noted that Worth provides a comprehensive look at the financial health of SMBs, a service that has previously been lacking in the market.
Impressive Growth and Future Plans
While the founders have not disclosed exact revenue figures, they indicated that Worth’s annual recurring revenue (ARR) is in the seven figures and that their growth rate exceeds triple digits. In the fourth quarter of 2024 alone, Worth added 12 new customers.
Currently, Worth serves over 25 clients, including notable companies such as Aurora Payments, REPAY Holdings, Fairwinds, and PatientFi.
Revenue Model and Future Developments
Worth generates revenue by charging a platform fee for access to its pre-filling capabilities, instant verification services, and ongoing predictive monitoring. Additionally, they charge a fee for each entity verification.
Looking ahead, Worth plans to introduce a “Worth Score” to help SMBs better understand their financial health by early 2026.
Currently, Worth employs over 50 full-time staff and intends to utilize the new funding primarily for scaling its sales and marketing efforts.
According to Kapur, TTV Capital believes that Worth’s innovative approach enhances operational efficiency for its clients, delivering measurable ROI. He emphasizes that their investment is as much in the founders as it is in the concept itself.
For more information about Worth and its innovative solutions for SMBs, visit their official website: Worth.
