Clearco’s Non-Dilutive Funding Powers eCommerce Success Stories Like The Adventure Challenge

A Shopify Podcast To Grow Revenue And Loyalty

Welcome to another episode of eCommerce Fastlane. Today, we have two amazing guests: Andrew Curtis, the CEO of Clearco, and Tim Marinello, the COO of The Adventure Challenge.

Clearco is changing the game for ecommerce businesses by giving them new ways to get funding to grow. Andrew explains how Clearco helps all kinds of ecommerce entrepreneurs with fast, flexible funding. Tim shares the exciting story of how The Adventure Challenge used Clearco’s funding to expand around the world, work with big retailers, and manage their seasonal sales cycle.

We also discussed important topics like the challenges of marketing today, why data integrity matters, and how to succeed selling in multiple places. You’ll learn about Clearco’s unique invoice funding model and how it helps brands grow in a smart way.

Whether you want to diversify where you sell or get fair funding to take your business to the next level, this episode is full of valuable insights.

This is Andrew Story…

Andrew Curtis is the CEO of Clearco, a special kind of financial services company that supports online stores in growing their business through Invoice Funding. Clearco funds invoices and receipts for inventory, marketing, and shipping and logistics.

Andrew has a tenured background in finance and leadership. He first joined Clearco in July 2022 as an advisor to help guide the company. Later, he became the CEO to lead Clearco through an important time of change in the technology industry.

Under Andrew’s leadership, Clearco has stayed focused on its main goal – to provide fast, flexible funding to ecommerce businesses as traditional options, such as banks, aren’t ready to support these businesses. Clearco can quickly look at a business’s financial health and future potential to make a funding decision and get that ecommerce business the working capital it needs to grow.

Clearco’s capital is fair and works with all types of founders. Clearco believes everyone with a good business idea should have an equal opportunity to succeed.

This is Tim Marinello’s Story…

Tim Marinello is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of The Adventure Challenge, a unique company that makes special scratch-off adventure books. These books are designed to bring people closer together, whether it’s couples, families, or friends. The adventures are a surprise until you scratch them off, but they all focus on creating exciting shared experiences and building stronger relationships.

Over the past six years, Tim has led The Adventure Challenge through major growth. When he first started, the company only sold books in the United States. But under Tim’s leadership, they have expanded internationally to Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and most recently, Mexico.

One of the biggest challenges Tim had to tackle was the seasonal nature of the business, with most sales happening around holidays and special occasions. To help the company grow more steadily, Tim focused on diversifying their sales channels beyond just their website. This included partnering with major retailers like Target, starting with one product in 500 stores and quickly expanding nationwide. Tim also oversaw the company’s expansion on Amazon to reach a wider customer base. Through it all, Tim has stayed true to the mission of bringing people closer together and creating meaningful experiences.

Key Takeaways From Our Conversation:

1️⃣  Empowering Growth with Flexible Capital: Clearco’s mission is to provide fast, flexible, and fair funding to e-commerce businesses – especially when traditional financing options may not be available. With over $2.5 billion invested in more than 10,000 businesses, Clearco funds businesses who earn revenue of minimum $10,000 USD+ per month.

2️⃣ Transition to Invoice-Based Funding: Clearco has pivoted from its previous cash-in-bank, revenue-based finance model to their Invoice Funding product. This approach allows e-commerce businesses to pay specific invoices and receipts, such as marketing expenses or inventory costs, using Clearco’s capital. Customers only incur costs when the capital is deployed for a designated purpose, promoting financial efficiency and aligning funding with tangible business needs.

3️⃣ Expanding Horizons for eCommerce Brands: Tim Marinello shares The Adventure Challenge’s success story, highlighting how Clearco’s funding facilitated their expansion into international markets like Canada, Australia, the UK, the EU, and Mexico. The capital also supported their diversification into new sales channels, including Amazon and retail partnerships with major stores like Target, enabling them to manage seasonal demand fluctuations and reach a wider customer base.

Summary Of What We Covered:

• Clearco’s Funding Model: Clearco offers Invoice Funding, allowing businesses to pay specific invoices and receipts using Clearco’s capital. This promotes financial efficiency compared to traditional cash-in-bank models.
• The Adventure Challenge’s Growth: Clearco’s funding helped The Adventure Challenge expand internationally, diversify sales channels (including Amazon and retail partnerships), and manage seasonal demand fluctuations.
• Marketing Challenges: The podcast discusses the importance of data integrity in marketing and the need for e-commerce businesses to look beyond ROAS as the sole metric, especially given recent changes in data privacy and attribution.
• Omni-Channel Strategies: The Adventure Challenge shares insights on expanding into retail, including starting with a single product, proving success, and gradually expanding partnerships with major retailers like Target.
• Inclusive Funding: Clearco aims to remove biases and provide fair access to capital for all ecommerce entrepreneurs.
• Sustainable Growth: Clearco focuses on funding sustainable and growing businesses that can generate profits and free cash flow, ensuring the company can continue supporting e-commerce growth in the long term.
• Adapting to Market Changes: Clearco aims to remain agile in the face of macroeconomic shifts, adjusting its products and strategies to best serve e-commerce founders in the current high-interest rate environment.

Links and Resources Mentioned

• Clearco
• The Adventure Challenge
• Shopify
• Shopify Markets

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