'Founders use expensive capital to do something repeatable': Behind ClearCo's funding model

Welcome to the Tearsheet Podcast. I’m Tearsheet editor in chief, Zack Miller. Revenue based financing is quickly becoming a popular route for businesses to tap into needed capital. Structured like a loan and not equity, new financing firms are using this new/old type of financing to help all types of businesses to scale. ClearCo brands itself as the world’s largest ecommerce investor. It’s fresh off of closing its own $100 million equity round, including $250 million debt facility. The company, which rebranded from Clearbanc, has close to a $2 billion valuation and is sharing new data on how Clearco’s proprietary AI is democratizing funding to female founders and people of color. ClearCo’s co-founders, Michele Romanow and Andrew D’Souza, an entrepreneurial couple, join me to discuss their plans for with this new round of funding and why ClearCo is well positioned to fuel entrepreneurship outside of typical venture networks and regions.