Benjamin
Setting the Scene
Every credit card company advertises its cash back rewards to convince cardholders to purchase with them. 💸
But how do rewards actually work?
Credit card companies negotiate agreements with merchants to offer cash back on certain spending activities.
As a result, both parties build customer loyalty, acquire users, and incentivize spending.
However, credit card rewards are not standardized, and cardholders are often unaware of their offerings, leaving money on the table.
This week's company provides a cash back platform that optimizes rewards for shoppers and runs rewards campaigns for merchants.
In a Sentence
Benjamin is a financial platform that enables credit card holders to optimize their rewards and merchants to engage shoppers.
Holders: Users link any credit or debit card, spend online or in-store, and claim cash back rewards through the Benjamin app.
Merchants: Brands of all sizes run cash back campaigns on the platform to acquire and incentivize customers.
Engage: The Benjamin app gamifies earning cash back, simplifies rewards, and builds user retention.
Bulleted Version:
- Think of Benjamin as your cash back concierge, aggregating and optimizing your rewards from all aspects of your spending. 🤑
The Basics
- Headquarters: NYC
- Employee Count: 8
- Investors:
Antler, Expert Dojo, Steven Mak, Laura Palminen, Vesa Piltonen, Shlomi Haybi
- Business model: Commission from cash back offers, affiliate tasks, merchant campaigns
- Early traction: Launched last week after a successful beta test, 6.5k active users growing 30% monthly, $27M GTV with linked cards, 60k online merchants, and 10k in-store merchants
Due Diligence
WHAT WE LIKE
💳 Credit card trends: As credit cards increase in usage and optionality, consumers are looking to select financial tools that optimize for rewards, personalization, and ease of use.
Benjamin’s gamified platform helps the 23% of cardholders who haven't redeemed any rewards over the past year.
🗺 The roadmap: Benjamin's vision extends beyond cash back, with plans for its own cards, personalized AI shopping, payment acceptance for merchants, premium subscriptions, and more.
This diversification builds multiple revenue streams beyond cash back fees including interchange, ad revenue, and subscriptions.
🤝 Beneficial to merchants: Benjamin enables all brands to engage with and reach new consumers through configurable campaigns, regardless of size or relationships with credit card companies.
POTENTIAL RISKS
🏁 Competitive landscape: Benjamin must convince consumers to adopt another finance app while also competing with well-funded credit card rewards giants.
👓 Maintaining focus: With an ambitious roadmap, Benjamin must ensure it can execute its numerous product offerings from the onset.
🏪 Supply and demand: Benjamin's success relies on its ability to continually acquire a diverse range of merchant partners to offer compelling rewards to its users and onboard enough users to interest merchant customers.
Founder Profile
Erno Tauriainen, CEO: Previously founded Spent, which raised $20M and was backed by Visa.
Jaakko Hyttinen, CMO: Previously co-founded Uleabo.
Nouh AlKhafif, COO: Previously worked at Amazon, where he led the advertising operations and robotics teams.
Kati Kaivonen, CGO: Previously served as the Head of North America at Finnair.
Comps
Bridge: Backed by TMV, Ulu Ventures, Bread and Butter Ventures, and others.
Ibotta: Backed by Koch Disruptive Technologies, GGV Capital, Teamworthy Ventures, and others.
Dosh: Backed by Goodwater Capital, Western Technology Investment, PayPal Ventures, and others.
Why Benjamin
With a gamified platform that simplifies rewards and builds shopper loyalty, Benjamin is poised to cash in on its product that benefits consumers and merchants alike. 💰