- CASHDROP — a mobile-first contactless commerce platform focused on small business owners — announced it has raised $2.7 million in a seed round of funding. Harlem Capital led the deal.
CASHDROP — a mobile-first contactless commerce platform focused on small business owners — announced it has raised $2.7 million in a seed round of funding. Harlem Capital led the deal and Founder Collective, Long Journey Ventures, and M25 also joined the round.
This deal also saw individual investments from entrepreneur and investor Cyan Banister. Other angels in the deal include Behance founder and Adobe’s Chief Product Officer Scott Belsky, Fullscreen founder George Strompolos, and renowned YouTube personality Michelle Phan.
CASHDROP essentially allows businesses to create an online storefront from their phone in less than 15 minutes. And businesses that deploy CASHDROP never pay commissions or monthly fees on contactless sales of food, retail goods, services, or ticketed events.
With a frictionless ordering process, CASHDROP merchants see up to twice the dollar volume per transaction as compared to cash and card payments made through legacy point-of-sale systems. And merchants can create a custom store link to use across their social media channels and increase order value by empowering customers with easy, quick order placement.
CASHDROP’s offerings include contactless ordering, automatic text updates, and sales analytics. And it also provides a fast and easy checkout experience for consumers who can order through CASHDROP’s web-based platform with no app download or login required.
The company was incorporated by Ruben Flores-Martinez in January 2020 with a goal to “empower the dreamers” by making it easier and more accessible to start a business. Ruben had immigrated from Mexico when he was 13.
Even though Flores-Martinez finished high school at the top of his class, he was unable to gain admission to college due to his lack of immigration status. So Florez-Martinez taught himself to code via YouTube tutorials. CASHDROP’s mission is an homage to Ruben’s personal story about the challenges of being an undocumented teenager determined to succeed — who eventually was able to later become a U.S. citizen.
KEY QUOTES:
“CASHDROP is looking to democratize and simplify digital commerce. Our app is 100% free to use for merchants. The idea that a business has to give away 30% of their revenue per order is not sustainable anymore. By eliminating predatory fees, maximizing online orders, and providing a seamless buying experience, we help create sustainability for businesses using CASHDROP.”
— Ruben Flores-Martinez
“CASHDROP has a massive long-term market opportunity. In the short-term, however, it has proved to be a platform that empowers restaurants and other merchants to adapt quickly to a new way of doing business during the global public health crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
– Jarrid Tingle, Managing Partner at Harlem Capital
