Revenge Of The Bootstrapped Startup
Bootstrapping, particularly in an industry like fintech where competitors have loads of VC cash, can require patience and steely nerves. Just ask Paul Beldham, CEO and majority owner of Rochester, New York-based PayQuicker, a payments platform which enables instant global payouts in 80 currencies for everything from insurance claims, to stipends for participants in clinical trials to affiliate marketing payments to social influencers. Its system uses algorithms to determine the most efficient method in various cases—with money disbursed via prepaid debit cards, virtual cards and mobile wallets.
Beldham, 65, has an unusual—and unusually long—backstory for a fintech entrepreneur. An electrical engineer by training, he sold his first startup, a pumps and equipment manufacturer, to IDEX Corp. in 1998, stayed in that industry for the next decade and then started looking for something new. In 2008 he acquired PayQuicker, which was trying to develop a payments platform for social media. When he realized it would take millions (not the $300,000 he had budgeted) to build that platform, he considered—and rejected—taking VC cash. “I initially talked to venture firms and those conversations showed what is typical in venture. They’re investing. They’re taking a risk, they want a significant piece of the ownership to take that risk, and I just thought it was too expensive to raise capital that way,” he recalls.
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About PayQuicker
PayQuicker is an innovative and award-winning global FinTech company designed to revolutionize cross-border payouts and serve the diverse needs of its clients and payees across multiple industries. Our cloud-based and regulatory-compliant payouts orchestration solution powers clients to seamlessly deliver secure, instant payouts and digital wallets to millions of recipients around the globe. Schedule a free demo to learn more.
