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Parafin, launched in 2020, works with so-called platform partners, or companies that other small businesses sell their products through. All the cofounders knew was that they wanted to build technology that would help small businesses. And they may not get their first contract payment from the government for as long as 120 days," Reed, the startup's CEO, told Insider. Helping small businesses manage their taxesComplYant's founder Shiloh Jackson wants to help people be present in their bookkeeping. HoneyBookWhile countless small businesses have been harmed by the pandemic, self-employment and entrepreneurship have found ways to blossom as Americans started new ventures.

Steve Ahern, KB PartnersSteve Ahern is a partner at KB Partners. Tixologi and its investors, including KB Partners, think blockchain is the answer. When used for ticketing, it can prevent counterfeiting by letting fans easily trace back to see if a ticket is authentic. While sports is a natural first market for Tixologi, Steve Ahern, a partner at KB Partners, said there's significant room to expand. "Real has done a very solid job developing a platform that keeps fans engaged around the most exciting moments in sports," Ahern told Insider.

☆ B2B payments startup Hopscotch aims to be a supercharged 'Venmo for businesses' with a new tool helping SMBs manage invoices
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Ann Gehan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Hopscotch, a B2B payments fintech, aims to be a Venmo-like payment tool for businesses. The result is Hopscotch, a B2B payments platform that adopts the look and feel of a consumer app and offers instant, free payment services. Hopscotch Flow is a way to monetize the startupAccording to Switzer, Hopscotch is built on the belief that businesses shouldn't have to wait to access money they've already earned. "The whole point is to give our users really more control over their cash flow, because for most of them, their cash flow is fairly unpredictable," he said. A rendering of a business user's Hopscotch dashboard.

☆ Meet 15 retail power players revolutionizing the in-store shopping experience
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Ann Gehan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

After largely shopping online during the pandemic, people are returning to stores in greater numbers. Shoppers want the best of both worlds: the convenience of e-commerce and the excitement of experiences they can't get online. Now, retailers are balancing services they'd first rolled out as safety measures, like curbside pickup, with personalized shopping experiences and events. Making connections between stores and e-commerce is critical as shoppers browse in a variety of ways for the same transaction. Insider's retail team selected them based on nominations and our reporting on the retail industry.

☆ Lululemon slashes price of Mirror by 50% as it nears launch of fitness studio membership
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Matthew Kish | Ann Gehan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Lululemon announced the price change as part of the upcoming launch of a new studio platform. On Wednesday, it offered new details about the platform, which it's calling Lululemon Studio, including an October 5 launch date. Membership requires the purchase of a Mirror device, and current Mirror owners will automatically become members of the program for 12 months. Lululemon will also launch a free membership program on October 5 that will offer shopping rewards, free access to select Lululemon Studio classes, and early access to product drops. At the April investor day, said Michael Aragon, Lululemon Digital Fitness CEO, said Mirror is a natural fit for the company's business plan.

☆ DTC cookware brand Caraway raises $35 million to add retail partnerships and products as it builds out its 'ecosystem' of home essentials
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Ann Gehan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The DTC home-goods brand Caraway just raised $35 million in funding, the company told Insider. The DTC retailer announced a $35 million funding round on Wednesday to grow its product selection, head count, and overall retail presence. Being in stores also helps Caraway compete more effectively with other home brands, Nathan said. The brand's retail sales this year were up 300% through August compared to the same period in 2021. Caraway aims to keep its customer-acquisition spend low enough so that a customer's first purchase is profitable for the brand.

☆ Shopify elbows further into brick-and-mortar retail with launch of new POS hardware to rival Square and PayPal
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Ann Gehan | Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

POS Go will also help Shopify bring in more revenue through its merchant solutions line of business. The launch reflects Shopify's recent emphasis on physical retail and revenue-generating merchant services like payment processing. Expanding point-of-sale offerings could also help Shopify grow its merchant services revenue, both through the sale of POS hardware and recurring revenue from processing more transactions. Merchant services will most likely remain a priority for the company going forward. Kaz Nejatian, who was formerly Shopify's vice president of product for merchant services, was promoted to chief operating officer earlier this month.

☆ Shopify elbows further into brick-and-mortar retail by launching new POS hardware rivaling Square and PayPal
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Ann Gehan | Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

☆ Walmart's secretive fintech ONE is the new disruptor in consumer banking, and the retailer has nabbed talent from Wall Street mainstays like Goldman Sachs.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Aaron Weinman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

In January last year, the retailer said it was pursuing a partnership with venture-capital firm Ribbit Capital, which backed Robinhood. The next month, Walmart lured Omer Ismail and David Stark, two executives from Goldman Sachs' Marcus, over to work on a fintech initiative. Insider's Ann Gehan, Carter Johnson, and Ben Tobin have identified the key people shaping this effort at its fintech called ONE. Done deals :Acrisure, a fintech company that operates an insurance broker and real-estate services company, has acquired B2Z Insurance. Aditxt, a biotech company developing tech around monitoring the immune system, raised $20 million after selling 3.33 million shares on Nasdaq.

Leadership has come to ONE from firms like Goldman Sachs, Apple, and Lyft. Meet the 13 key leaders manning the helm of ONE, from C-suiters to product-and-engineering talent. Legacy banks are also increasingly responding to the threat from fintech startups with varying levels of success. From JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America to Marcus, top financial firms have revamped digital offerings throughout the pandemic and emphasized tech-forward approaches. The departures of key executives leading these changes, then, can have consequences for incumbent players.

☆ Shopify's long-awaited compensation reorg is rolling out as falling tech-stock prices frustrate employees across the industry
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-16 | by ( Madeline Stone | Ann Gehan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Shopify announced Friday it haS launched its new compensation plan for employees, called Flex Comp. After several months of delays, Shopify announced on Friday that it has officially rolled out its new compensation plan for employees. Called Flex Comp, the system gives employees the ability to determine how much of their compensation comes in the forms of cash and stock. However, Shopify is not currently offering the new compensation structure to employees "whose performance is off track," a spokesperson said to Insider. "It aligns employees' interests with the success of the company, makes employees feel like owners, and certainly gives them opportunities for immense wealth creation."

☆ Block's Cash App Pay expands to outside retailers and payment processors as company targets 'superapp' status
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-16 | by ( Ann Gehan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Cash App has expanded its Cash App Pay feature beyond the Square network for the first time. Cash App has taken another step toward becoming a "superapp" by extending its Cash App Pay feature to more e-commerce merchants and an additional payments processor, the company told Insider. With Cash App Pay, users can make online purchases using their Cash App balance by selecting the payment option at checkout on a retailer's website. Retailers including American Eagle, Aerie, and JD Sports will now adopt Cash App Pay as an option for e-commerce payments. There's upside for Cash App as well — by expanding Cash App Pay's availability, Cash App can reach more users, as well as strengthen engagement with existing ones.

☆ Jack Dorsey's Cash App wants to become a super app — and is aggressively integrating buy now, pay later service Afterpay into its ecosystem to get there
▼ + stars: | 2022-05-18 | by ( Ann Gehan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

"Afterpay can help transform Cash App into a super app," Molnar said. Block estimates only around 6% of current Cash App users are also Afterpay users, meaning over 75 million Cash App users are potential new Afterpay customers. Other significant developments include the addition of an Afterpay shopping and browsing feature to Cash App and the integration of Afterpay account management capabilities into Cash App. The Cash App and Afterpay integrations will extend to e-commerce checkout, where Afterpay sellers will now be able to accept Cash App Pay as a form of payment. A slide from Block's 2022 investor day presentation lays out a plan for integrating Cash App, Afterpay, and Square.

Persons: Cash, Brian Grassadonia, Cash App's, Afterpay cofounders, Nick Molnar, Anthony Eisen, Alyssa Henry, Jack Dorsey, Molnar, Afterpay, Block's, Grassadonia, there's, Eisen, Block, PYMNTS, Omar Ismail, Goldman Sachs, David Stark Organizations: Block, Business, Cash, Dick's Sporting Goods, PayPal, Klarna, Walmart

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