Former Startup Battlefield competitor Satago raises £4.6m to help small businesses get paid

Back in November, TechCrunch took a look at former Startup Battlefield competitor Satago, a U.K. fintech startup that was looking to help freelancers and other small business owners get paid on time.

Satago started an automated database that lets users see how well (or poorly) companies are at paying invoices in a timely fashion, and has tools such as automated invoices, reminders, payment requests and integrated credit reporting that help freelancers keep track of their finances and outstanding payments.

In January of this year, the team launched a pilot of Invoice Finance, a premium tool that actually paid freelancers and small businesses 85 percent of outstanding invoices up front, then the remaining 15 percent, less a small fee, once the businesses finally ponied up.

satago

Today, Satago is launching Invoice Finance in a big way. The company recently announced a £4.6 million funding from ESF Capital. That funding will enable Satago to give its roster of 1,000+ freelancers and SMBs the same level of credit control as major corporations.

Satago will now front outstanding invoices as small as £500 and up to £50,000 per client.

With the bolstering of the launch of Invoice Finance, Satago CEO and founder Steven Renwick is predicting strong growth in the year ahead.

“Late payments are a perennial issue for SMEs, damaging their finances as a result,” Renwick said in a press release. “But with this support from ESF Capital, Satago has the firepower needed to finally put SMEs in full control. We actually work to improve clients’ financial health before offering them finance, and we’re excited to now offer these capabilities to a much wider audience.”

We are thrilled to see former Battlefield companies like Satago doing so well post-Disrupt, and we can’t wait to see the next crop of Battlefield companies at Disrupt SF 2016. And, we hope you’ll be among them. Apply here!

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