ING Ventures

Propel is investing in founders creating “the new economy.” The financial services sector is the primary driver of many economies, and opportunities to enable, accelerate, deliver, and secure value exchange are immense and diverse. Propel invests primarily from Pre-Seed to Series A in the Americas with initial check sizes from $250k to $5M with follow-on capital much higher. Portfolio companies include Coinbase, Nomad, Neon, Guideline, Groww, SumUp, Newfront, and Safebooks. Propel is headquartered in the SF Bay Area with a workspace in Jackson Square.

As one of the world's largest financial services organisations, we have the power of scale to develop and deploy smart solutions globally, with a focus on delivering excellent customer experiences. Our areas of expertise Security, crime prevention and identity Protecting the bank and its customers against threats Cybersecurity Compliance tools Digital identity Biometrics Cloud, data and analytics Utilising data and the Cloud to provide enhanced services in a secure manner Foundation tools (Data storage & management, artificial intelligence / machine learning) Governance Insights Decisioning Operational Efficiency Digitising workflows Automation No code development (NCD) Paper digitisation Communications Future of work Banking access Digital access to Banking services anytime, anywhere Open finance Banking as a service (BaaS) Embedded finance Payments Platforms & networks Customer interaction Emerging Technology Preparing for the future of Banking Quantum computing Internet of things (IoT) 5G technology Digital assets Borderless financial Services Exploring all aspects of Financial Services and its intersection with adjacent industries Neo FS Smart cities Real estate Automotive Wellness Energy Subscription services Impact & Sustainability Investing to catalyse positive change Environmental Social & corporate governance (ESG) Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Education

Haymaker Ventures has an ambitious vision for fintech. One could argue there’s never been an easier time to start a company. But there’s also never been a harder time to start a great company. We at Haymaker know the importance of staying intellectually nimble. As Mike Tyson famously said: “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” We believe that, done right, fintech not only offers more, faster, and cheaper choices, but also provides better choices. It allows individuals to start businesses, manage risk, participate in the global economy, and create opportunity where legacy financial services have failed. The potential for disruption is enormous, especially considering that many customers don’t have a lot of good financial choices to begin with. Coming out of the financial crisis, our team saw opportunity in a nascent industry built on new technology to tackle these problems. As COVID-19 drove more of the economy online, the result has been unprecedented investment and adoption in the space. Rather than adding marginal value to existing infrastructure, the next generation of fintech winners could command huge markets built on embedded fintech products and platforms that extend more broadly than traditional applications of financial services. These fintech winners will be defined by durability - commitment to being different in a way that lets them thrive across cycles and survive multiple economic regimes where others failed or gave up. Durable businesses require aggressive pivots, efficient operations, and nimble exploitation of new tactical opportunities. They require entrepreneurs that plan in decades and dream of changing the world: relentless and committed, cunning and wily, and just plain tough.

We invest in high-growth private fintech companies across Europe, typically at Series A and beyond How we add value We partner with exceptional fintech teams, working closely with them to accelerate their growth. Entrepreneurial DNA We have sat on the other side of the fence, building fintech businesses over several decades as well as investing in them. When you need an external perspective, we will be there. Future fundraising Patient capital is at the core of our business. We work closely with portfolio teams over the long term and support on areas from pitch advice to investor introductions. Connections Our team has a wide, deep, relevant network across the fintech sector and beyond. We want to help open doors for you, whether that might be for talent, business development or future fundraising. Fintech founders Our specialist investment platform and experienced team with 100+ years' experience have been built to identify and invest in outstanding private fintech businesses at early stages, ahead of significant potential growth. Offering rare exposure As early investors we participate in the shareholder value creation that the scaling of our portfolio companies generates while they are still private and offer public market investors rare exposure to these growth journeys in fintech. To a diversified portfolio Our current portfolio of 24 high potential private fintech companies is diversified across the fintech ecosystem and stages of maturity, generating a pipeline of exit opportunities with depth. Investments include Tide, Zopa, Grover, Onfido and Monese. And a strong pipeline We are excited about the journey that lies ahead with our existing portfolio and have strong additional opportunities under active development in our pipeline.

Our name says it all - we identify and invest in the leading bank technology companies, and are deeply entrenched in community banking to make sure the companies work effectively with our banks to deliver maximum value and impact. The ecosystem we’ve developed is our greatest strength and is why 100+ leading community banks have joined us, and also why leading technology entrepreneurs work with us.

QED is the premier VC in the fintech space. We are operators well regarded for our expertise, engagement, and empathy. We invest in businesses that disrupt and empower. Fintech is about leveraging the best aspects of technology – mobile adaptation, optimising data, agile tech build, and heightening rapid learning – to make financial services better for consumers – through driving adoption, reducing friction, and creating transparency. Fintech is doing all of this rapidly, cheaply, and in modular/flexible form. But at its core, it’s about solving a problem for a user. Our Philosophy On their own, small hurdles are often easy to overcome. But stacked together, many small hurdles can present an overwhelming challenge, even for the best founder. We call this .8^5. It’s our job to help companies improve their chances of success. Back to Basics If you know anything about us, you will know we are fanatically focused on unit economics. Curious about the other principles we hold near and dear? Our Investment Criteria We invest in early-stage, disruptive financial services companies in the U.S., U.K. and Latin America. Our initial investment size typically is around $5M with significant reserves for follow-on. We keenly focus on talent. To build conviction around an investment, the company must have amazing leadership. This means that management is balanced and transparent, open to advice, and focused on unit economics. After all, Fintech is hard and we strive to work with CEOs who innately understand this. Founders who think they know all the answers are subject to stumble. We focus on companies who are unrelenting. Fintechs need to push through constant challenges in order to be true disruptors. The business must solve a real problem or create a palpable benefit for the user.Beware of technology zealots in search of a problem to solve. We are customer first in our thinking. The business must be thoughtful about managing opportunity and risk. Solving a narrower problem well is less risky, but often has less upside, than solving a bigger problem with a larger TAM. QEDis also hypothesis driven. We develop hypotheses, evaluate the universe of companies in the space, and apply full-court press to convert the best we can find. If we don’t reach a deal with a company we believe in, or if we don’t find one, we test further. Sometimes we will build it ourselves or assemble a team to build it and fund them from day zero. In that case, we tap into theCapital One diaspora – a now global network of industry leading business-builders with expertise in all aspects of financial services. We have had great success doing this through our Belay platform, building companies such as ClearScore, Wagestream, minu, MotoRefi, and two other companies that will be announced later this year, and we have scores of ideas in the pipeline.