Benjamin 💵

Every credit card company advertises its cash back rewards to convince cardholders to purchase with them. 💸

But how do rewards actually work?

However, credit card rewards are not standardized, and cardholders are often unaware of their offerings, leaving money on the table.

This week's company provides a cash back platform that optimizes rewards for shoppers and runs rewards campaigns for merchants.

Holders: Users link any credit or debit card, spend online or in-store, and claim cash back rewards through the Benjamin app.

Merchants: Brands of all sizes run cash back campaigns on the platform to acquire and incentivize customers.

Engage: The Benjamin app gamifies earning cash back, simplifies rewards, and builds user retention.

Industry: Fintech, Personal Finance

Headquarters: NYC 🍎

Year founded: 2022

Employee count: 8

Investors: Antler, Expert Dojo, Steven Mak, Laura Palminen, Vesa Piltonen, Shlomi Haybi

Currently raising: $2m pre-seed SAFE ($1m committed)

Business model: Commission from cash back offers, affiliate tasks, merchant campaigns

Early traction: Launched last week after a successful beta test, 6.5k active users growing 30% monthly, $27M GTV with linked cards, 60k online merchants, and 10k in-store merchants

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💳 Credit card trends: As credit cards increase in usage and optionality, consumers are looking to select financial tools that optimize for rewards, personalization, and ease of use.

🗺 The roadmap: Benjamin's vision extends beyond cash back, with plans for its own cards, personalized AI shopping, payment acceptance for merchants, premium subscriptions, and more.

🤝 Beneficial to merchants: Benjamin enables all brands to engage with and reach new consumers through configurable campaigns, regardless of size or relationships with credit card companies.

🏁 Competitive landscape: Benjamin must convince consumers to adopt another finance app while also competing with well-funded credit card rewards giants.

👓 Maintaining focus: With an ambitious roadmap, Benjamin must ensure it can execute its numerous product offerings from the onset.

🏪 Supply and demand: Benjamin's success relies on its ability to continually acquire a diverse range of merchant partners to offer compelling rewards to its users and onboard enough users to interest merchant customers.

Erno Tauriainen, CEO: Previously founded Spent, which raised $20M and was backed by Visa.

Jaakko Hyttinen, CMO: Previously co-founded Uleabo.

Nouh AlKhafif, COO: Previously worked at Amazon, where he led the advertising operations and robotics teams.

Kati Kaivonen, CGO: Previously served as the Head of North America at Finnair.

Bridge: Backed by TMV, Ulu Ventures, Bread and Butter Ventures, and others.

Fetch: Backed by Softbank, ICONIQ, Headline, and others.

Ibotta: Backed by Koch Disruptive Technologies, GGV Capital, Teamworthy Ventures, and others.

Dosh: Backed by Goodwater Capital, Western Technology Investment, PayPal Ventures, and others.

📄 Pitch like a pro: Are you looking to take your pitch to the next level?

📈 This week in venture: M&A for venture-backed startups is on track for its lowest year since 2013.

💡 The innovation situation: Last week, Twitter released its controversial rebrand to X.

*This is sponsored content.

The results are in: Personal AI, a company that enables individuals to build a personalized AI model, was favored.

Subscriber feedback: “While the product seems useful, it may reduce the work and creativity of individuals.”