In the world of small businesses, keeping track of your finances is top priority. Anything which makes the job easier is a great help to entrepreneurs and business owners alike. Eyal Shinar, CEO of Fundbox, helps entrepreneurs get access to their funds prior to invoice net terms. We sat down with Eyal to learn more about Fundbox, his background, and advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.
What's your background and why did you start your business?
Prior to creating Fundbox, I worked extensively in finance, machine learning, SMBs and SaaS. I was formally Vice President at Battery Ventures where I led numerous projects and investments in those specific areas. My co-founder and I started Fundbox to address the biggest pain point for small businesses – cash flow gaps. I wanted to create a quick, accessible and safe way for small businesses of all kinds, especially healthy, growing businesses, constrained by cash flow, to get access to working capital so that they could continue to invest in their business even while waiting on invoices to be paid.
Fundbox is a bit of a personal mission for me. My mother previously ran a small business so I got a first-hand glimpse of the challenges that small business owners face. I wanted to create a quick, easy and safe tool that would help small businesses run more efficiently without causing any disruption to the company's workflow.
Tell us about Fundbox
Fundbox offers business owners a simple way to fix their cash flow by advancing payments for their outstanding invoices. 32% of B2B small businesses reported having inadequate cash flow that was preventing company growth, while 14% cited late payments as their biggest business challenge. With Fundbox, in approximately 24 hours, a small business can have working capital available in their bank account to invest in their business.
How can data-science and business analytics close the cash flow gap between accounts receivable and accounts payable?
Fundbox uses proprietary technology, which is based on data science and machine learning, to alleviate the administrative overhead and low success rate associated with trying to get working capital. The platform enables a small business to access funds immediately – closing the gap between invoices being issued and paid – allowing the business to run more efficiently.
What advice would you give to entrepreneurs and business owners?
While not all advice is good for all entrepreneurs, I would absolutely urge business owners to focus on what they are most passionate about. You must live and breathe your business for it to be a success. Also, surround yourself with employees and a team of people who are equally as driven and motivated as you are and who are fully invested in the success of your business. Nothing can beat a strong team.