Branch Plans to Use Series C Round to Enter New Markets

Introduction

Branch, a US payroll platform, has recently closed its Series C funding round and raised over $75 million at a valuation of over $2 Billion. Led by Balderton Capital and with participation by existing investors Global Founders Capital, Graphene Ventures, and Creandum, this round of funding marks one of the largest pre-IPO Series C rounds in Europe. The branch plans to use the funds to expand its operations internationally and into new markets.

Founded in 2013 in California by Jonathan Verk that is currently operating in the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands, Branch provides payroll services for SME businesses seeking admin efficiency when it comes to payroll management. Their app-based platform helps businesses process payroll more effectively, as well as provides employees with visibility into their salary data.

Overview of Branch

The branch is a US payroll platform that helps small and medium-sized businesses manage their payroll and bookkeeping services. Originally founded in 2015, Branch has grown to become a trusted platform for businesses to help them better manage their financial operations.

This article will provide an overview of the company and its recent $75 million Series C round.

Overview of the Branch’s business model

The branch is a US payroll platform devoted to eliminating the hassle of traditional related processes for the gig, contract, and part-time workers. This new technology essentially eliminates the middleman from wage processing by providing both employers and employees with a user-friendly platform. Using its innovative FinTech suite, companies are able to pay their independent workers quickly and securely via direct bank transfers coupled with tailored tax solutions. Moreover, Branch provides useful measures of cost optimization for business customers with its powerful analytics tools.

Founded in 2015, the company is based in California’s San Francisco Bay Area and operates globally, serving over 30 countries currently, including the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australasia. In order to finance its growth ambitions as a rapidly expanding FinTech firm, Branch recently announced its successful Series C funding round worth $ 75 million, which will be directed towards substantial R&D efforts as well as entering into additional international markets.

The growth trajectory of this start-up has been impressive — earlier this year, they managed to acquire UK payroll start-up Spyral’s assets, which eventually emerged into their existing product offering, although their primary competitors remain rival payroll processing platforms such as Gusto Payroll or Zuman Payroll known for providing similar services on a smaller yet global scale compared to Branch’s presence.

Overview of the Branch’s product offerings

The branch is an automated payroll platform backed by over $75 million in Series C funding. The company seeks to reduce the manual labor of traditional payroll systems by providing an array of services that streamline transactional processes for businesses and individuals. The platform automates the process of collecting payments, issuing invoices, paying bills, and submitting taxes with ease. It also provides industry-standard security measures that guarantee the protection of user data. Additionally, users can access a real-time dashboard to view their financial data from any device anytime, anywhere.

Using Branch’s artificial intelligence algorithms, businesses are able to accurately forecast payroll needs such as employee salaries, commissions, and bonuses; understand their cash flow situation more clearly; empower employees with banking tools such as direct deposits and automated paychecks; provide administrative efficiencies through customizable settings that streamline employee onboarding procedures; gain insights based on past performance thanks to predictive analytics capabilities; manage advances or loans better depending on specific business needs through its merchant banking platform; and engage in rewards programs for employees through its Gamified feature.

Through these features and benefits offered by Branch, businesses are able to save time along with money while managing their payroll system more efficiently. With this influx of investment capital now available due to its Series C round of funding, Branch plans to pursue new international markets while continuing to innovate its existing products.

Details of Series C Round

Branch, a US-based payroll platform, has announced the close of a $75 million Series C funding round, which was led by Emergence and QED Investors, with additional participation from Thrive Capital and existing investors.

With this funding, Branch plans to enter new markets and continue to expand its financial products.

Let’s explore the details of this financing round further.

Overview of investors

Branch, the US payroll platform, today announced that it had closed a $75 million Series C round from a group of leading investors focused on fintech and small business solutions. Participants included global bank BBVA, Mayfield Fund, and Base10 Partners. With this new funding round, the Branch plans to deepen its presence in the North American market as well as expand international operations in Latin America and Europe.

The investment will be used to further develop Branch’s payroll product suite, expand its international operations and invest in Branch’s customer support network. The company recently expanded into Canada with the launch of its Canadian payroll service aimed at making it easy for businesses to pay their staff without jumping through hoops or worrying about compliance or fraud prevention.

In addition to BBVA, Mayfield Fund, and Base10 Partners investing in this round, existing investors, including GIC, Moment Ventures, and Clocktower Ventures, also participated. This brings the total amount raised by Branch since it was founded in 2017 to $134 million.

US payroll platform Branch closes $75m Series C round

The funds raised in the Series C round will be used to expand Branch’s product offering and bring the company’s automated payroll, tax, and benefits solution to more businesses across the US. Specifically, the Branch plans to use a portion of the funds to enter new markets, such as California and Texas, as well as further expand its services in markets where it already has a presence.

In addition, equity raised through this funding will be used for strategic investments in sales & marketing, product development, and engineering in order to continue growing the business and increasing market share. The round also includes funding for potential M&A opportunities that may arise in the future.

Impact of Series C Round

Raising a Series C round is a significant milestone for many companies and can have a major impact on the growth prospects of a business. In the case of Branch, the $75 million in capital will be used to expand into new markets, helping the payroll platform reach a wider audience of customers.

In this article, we will examine the broader implications of the successful Series C round for Branch and beyond.

Expansion into new markets

Branch, a US payroll platform, recently closed a $75 million Series C round. Of the funds raised, Branch intends to use the capital for international expansion into new markets.

The platform provides services designed to optimise the payroll process for businesses of all sizes. These include tax filing and withholding services, prepaid debit cards and paper checks for salary payment. According to their CEO, Alex Rampell, this ‘round of funding will help take Branch’s payroll-as-a-service model to countries outside the US, including Europe and Asia.

The ability to expand into new markets presents an opportunity for Branch to capture more market share within the industry. By providing its technology in countries with little or no existing competition, Branch stands a chance of gaining substantial traction and increasing its customer base rapidly. Additionally, by deepening its roots in already established markets, it can build upon existing customer relations while further penetrating more profitable client segments such as SMEs who need effective employee compensation systems but lack technical resources and capital.

Although expanding into new markets carries inherent risk such as currency fluctuations and geopolitical tensions that could adversely affect business operations; the potential rewards need to be considered when evaluating this move by Branch.

Increased hiring of talent

The successful completion of the $75 million Series C round closed by US payroll platform Branch will enable the company to accelerate its business expansion and scale-up operations in new markets. This is likely to be accomplished by hiring additional employees that are equipped with the in-depth knowledge, skills and experience required to penetrate new markets quickly. As it takes time and expertise to build strong relationships with local partners, global customers as well as commercialize services, Branch will need to hire subject matter experts (SMEs) from relevant industries such as enterprise technology or finance.

The additional resources acquired through the Series C funding will allow Branch to determine how many workers it needs for a particular expansion effort, prepare job descriptions for each role, develop a recruiting plan and set up systems conducive for finding quality candidates. The company can use multiple approaches when recruiting staff members — such as headhunting suitable recruits, drafting comprehensive job ads targeting ideal personnel or utilising third party recruiters experienced in finding SMEs.

Furthermore, once qualified candidates are identified, Branch should create attractive profiles of available openings through preparation of appealing job applications that can drive suitable applicants who have demonstrated technical expertise to pursue career opportunities with Branch. Ultimately, this will ensure that people involved in executing on the expansion plan have superior capabilities that are essential for penetrating new markets while increasing ROI (return on investment).

Conclusion

US-based payroll platform, Branch successfully secured a $75 million Series C round of growth capital. In total Branch has raised $100 million in venture capital and debt funding since its founding in 2014.

The investment round was led by Riverwood Capital, with participation from Manta Ray Ventures and existing investors Shasta Ventures, General Catalyst and Human Capital. Branch plans to use the funds to make additional investments in technology, customer success infrastructure and expand into new markets. This comes at an opportune time as Branch is expanding on its successful partnerships with various companies worldwide.

Branch’s mission is to build a world where everyone is able to access their pay when they need it without any stress or hassle. With this latest round of funding, Branch looks forward to continuing that mission and becoming even more accessible as a global enterprise payroll provider for businesses of all sizes.