LONDON – (BUSINESS WIRE) – After a six-month search, Storfund has appointed Worldfirst’s former global business manager, Oliver Whelan, as Chief Revenue Officer. Whelan, who spent almost a decade on payment fintech Worldfirst, will be responsible for accelerating Storfund’s rapid and profitable growth.
Storfund is available in 20 countries on the world’s largest marketplaces, including Cdiscount, Back Market, PcComponentes, Fyndiq and Amazon, and is one of the UK’s fastest growing fintechs. But what is more remarkable in an industry that is obsessed with scaling down loss-making operations, Storfund has achieved this growth at the same time as it has made a profit.
The founders made the decision to finance growth from revenue instead of external capital, believing that this would create an influential culture: growth would only come if customers saw that the service was worth paying for.
“Unlike its competitors, Storfund has focused on its product and, most importantly, its customers,” Whelan said, “it knows why it exists, and it has not forgotten this in its pursuit of growth.” Storfund is the only European provider of factoring – immediate payment on sale – to marketplace sellers, an essential service provided to companies that wait an average of 42 days to get paid.
“Cash flow is still the biggest challenge for e-commerce businesses,” Whelan said. “There are a few start-up companies that offer loans to online retailers, but Storfund is still the only European fintech that offers working capital in the form of factoring. Traditional banks, even digital challenger banks, still do not understand the e-commerce sector. ”
“The potential of big business is enormous,” Whelan said, “it offers a simple solution to an industry worth nearly £ 4 trillion.”
The demand for the service means that Storfund has doubled its funding every year for the past three years; and last autumn, Storfund announced that they had put in place financing that would make it possible to give up to 5 billion pounds each year to e-commerce companies. Whelan’s task will be to capitalize on this momentum, drawing on his experience from Worldfirst.
Worldfirst’s groundbreaking growth led to the transfer of over £ 70 billion to customers between its launch in 2004 and 2019 when it was acquired by Ant Group, in one of the largest deals for the world’s largest fintech. As Wordfirst’s global business manager, Whelan was responsible for negotiating the company’s largest strategic e-commerce and financial partnership.
“Worldfirst’s success was driven by culture,” said Whelan, “and Storfund is the same. It has a fantastic team and loyal, enthusiastic customers – over a third of new business comes from recommendations.”
“The strength of our product, our financing structure and profitable growth obsession enable us to stay 100% focused on our mission,” said George Brintalos, CEO and co-founder, “which is also one of the reasons we are in able to attract exceptional talent like Oliver and continue to hire as the industry as a whole declines. ”
The technology industry has been flooded with venture capital over the past three years, and Storfund’s unusual decision not to raise external capital puts it in a strong position to cope with the market downturn, which has particularly affected the value of technology companies. Without pressure for returns, Storfund is well positioned to continue to grow through steady expansion.
The next few years will be about expansion through partnerships with rapidly growing marketplaces throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas. “Oliver is the right person at the right time,” said Akbar Ahsan, co-founder. “Not only does he have an enviable track record and a large network, he is also the right cultural fit. sleeves and get stuck, but he also brings with him the discipline and process-driven thinking that large companies embark on, which will be crucial as our international business expands even more. ”
Whelan’s appointment follows Storfund’s strategy of appointing experienced e-commerce managers to senior roles. Other notable hires include David Rolls of Amazon and Margaret-Anne Galvin of Cdiscount.
