Clearco is a funding company led by Andrew Curtis that specializes in non-dilutive revenue-share agreements with start-ups. Clearbanc claims to make equity-free investments in businesses within 48 hours based on information provided on the two metrics ad spend and unit economics and calls this ‘The 20-Min Term Sheet’. Unlike venture capital firms that require stock, Clearco takes a fee on investments up to $10 million. Businesses apply online, and its payback fees range from 6–12.5%. It is a Canadian business founded by

Michele Romanow Michele Romanow (born 1985) is a Canadian tech entrepreneur, television personality, board director and venture capitalist. She co-founded Clearbanc, a Toronto based provider of revenue sharing solutions to fund new online businesses, and othe ...

and Andrew D'Souza in 2015, and headquartered in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. It partly uses

Artificial Intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

to make decisions on potential investments. As of August 2019, it has invested in 791 businesses, has a stated monthly average revenue of $121 million and raised $1 billion. In 2021, Clearbanc rebranded itself Clearco to reflect the goal of long-term partnerships with clients based not only on financing. Between 2022 and 2023, the company experienced financial difficulties in a changing economic environment. Clearco laid off approximately 72% of their staff and saw the exit of its two co-founders Romanow and D'Souza.

Business Model

Clearco offers capital from $10,000 up to $10 million to entrepreneurs. The platform uses an AI system to connect to a potential client's payment, ad, and

e-commerce E-commerce (electronic commerce) refers to commercial activities including the electronic buying or selling products and services which are conducted on online platforms or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile co ...

platforms to analyze their business's financial health and revenue. The platform then reviews the data and automates the diligence process, effectuating funding decisions within minutes. By only reviewing financial and marketing data, Clearco posits it is "able to remove the bias out of traditional VC funding", translating into more capital being extended to female founders "on their platform over the industry average".

References

{{Venture capital firms Venture capital firms of Canada 2015 establishments in Canada Companies based in Toronto