Hamburg, Feb. 16, 2023 - Seventure Partners, 4Tree Capital, Innovationsstarter Fonds Hamburg and four business angels jointly invest three million euros in the fast-growing FinTech startup Flexvelop.
In addition to the institutional investors, the four business angels - all of them former investment bankers - are of strategic value with their expert knowledge and personal networks in order to continuously raise additional debt capital for equipment financing. The investment is used to expand into further online stores and partner retailers in order to integrate the new form of B2B equipment leasing there, directly as a clickable payment solution.
"Despite a difficult economic environment, the Flexvelop team was able to convince us with a mature platform, strong traction and Hanseatic charm. We see huge potential in B2B equipment leasing and look forward to actively accompanying the next growth steps and contributing our know-how as well as our contacts."
Dr. Andreas Schenk, Venture Partner DACH at Seventure Partners (Lead Investor)
Flexvelop enables business customers to flexibly rent individual small items of equipment as well as larger collective orders in seconds - "flexing" for short. This means that young, small and medium-sized companies in particular can work with professional equipment without any detours and later decide flexibly whether and when is the best time to buy or return it.
The Hamburg-based company takes over the invoice and thus the investment risk. In this way, Flexvelop combines the classic advantages of leasing with the freedom of a continuously flexible rental and the familiar speed of an online order. If the customer decides to return a device, a specialized service provider sustainably refurbishes the returned product and feeds it into the recycling economy.
Flexvelop is already present at retailers for catering equipment, office IT and tools. At partner retailers such as Notebooksbilliger.de, WMF or the consumer electronics store EXPERT, "Flexvelop" is already a recommended payment option for tradespeople. In the future, the fully automated payment solution is to be increasingly integrated into the check-out process of online stores in addition to the store floor in order to exploit the scaling potential that presents itself.
After in-house IT development and a successful market entry in 2020, the startup was now able to convince several institutional investors to invest in the team and the innovative business model of Flexvelop, despite the difficult market environment. With the fresh capital, the team is to be doubled this year from the current ten employees to around 20 people and the in-house technical solution is to be further developed.
"Since Flexvelop's inception, we have followed the startup's development with great interest. The team won us over after demonstrating the agility to quickly and purposefully adjust the business model's focus to meet new market needs. We see tremendous demand in B2B equipment leasing and look forward to supporting the team as they continue to grow."
Stefanie Hoehn, Sen. Investment Manager of the Innovationsstarter Fonds Hamburg
The prerequisites for further growth were created with the move to new office premises. The company has found a new home in the city-famous and listed remise "Halbmondhaus" on Elbchaussee.
"With a full tank and fresh vitamin B, we can now tap further credit lines, meet the high demand and pursue our growth targets unabated. In particular, the strategic added value of our new shareholders makes this round so valuable for us."
Dr. Hans-Christian Stockfisch, CEO Flexvelop GmbH
