It’s not how much you raise. It’s how much you own.
There is a better way to fund your startup
Who We Are
Upper90 is a hybrid investment firm that seeks to leverage data to provide tailored debt and equity to technology startups with predictable revenue or collateral. We aim to lead with credit and participate in equity for greater alignment.
Capital-intensive E-Commerce and fintech businesses that start with Upper90 as their capital partner before raising a traditional Series A can own meaningfully more without sacrificing growth.
Lifecycle
The earlier we invest, the more value we can add. Upper90 initially provides $5-25M credit facilities that can scale to $250M+ for Seed - Series B startups based on the asset performance — not just equity raised.
Alignment
Our goal is to be long-term partners with portfolio companies; we generally invest across the capital stack. We only invest when we are both excited about the trajectory of the business and have high confidence in the credit quality.
Flexibility
Fast-growing startups want certainty and flexibility of capital to solve key near-term growth needs. We provide corporate, asset-based loans, preferred equity, and other creative solutions to help founders scale while preserving optionality.
Network
Our strategic group of limited partners, which includes 300+ business builders, empowers us to identify, diligence, and add further value to companies by connecting founders with real operators across industries to help with customer and talent acquisition.
Certainty, flexibility, then cost are the most important factors when choosing your initial financing partner. Upper90 is a credit firm that thinks like an equity owner. Their bespoke facility helped us capture market share quickly and scale more efficiently. Any fintech startup would benefit from having Upper90 in their capital structure.
- Martin Pustilnick: Co-Founder & CEO, Mundi
Upper90 provided a novel structure that solved our debt and equity needs, allowing us to execute on our growth plans. The firm has quickly become a strategic asset to our business and adds value far beyond capital alone. Any fintech startup would benefit from having them involved.
- Jason Guss: Founder & CEO, Octane Lending
As a capital-intensive business, it was imperative that we partner with a credit firm that could scale to meet our needs. What we found in Upper90 was much more. With world class operators who understand even complex business models and the levers of a business, they crafted a structure that solved our needs, adding value along the way — they even introduced us to the venture investor that led our Series B. Since partnering with Upper90, we have seen a ~10x appreciation of the value of our business. The team at Upper90 should feel proud to have played a meaningful role in our growth.
- Michele Romanow: Co-Founder and CEO, Clearco
Over the last 10 years, founders have faced fifty percent dilution through Series B rounds. Upper90-backed founders, conversely, own materially more by utilizing credit earlier for the healthier parts of their businesses. With pressure on valuations, access to alternative financing solutions is top of mind
- Billy Libby: Co-Founder and CEO, Upper90
Somewhere along the way founders started getting judged on how much money they raised instead of how much ownership they retained. This is backwards, debt has been viewed as a four-letter word but, in reality, by looking at how it is utilized in real estate, it is clear that online business models that have predictability or asset collateral can massively enhance equity returns by being thoughtful with credit.
- Jason Finger: Co-Founder and Chairman, Upper90
