How Ecommerce Businesses Can Raise Capital—The Easy Way.

Ecommerce Money Map Podcast brought to you by Salim Omar, CPA and Shawheen Amirkhizi.

Asher Ismail the co-founder of Uncapped. It's the fastest, most affordable way for founders to fund marketing, inventory or hiring. Ismail is the serial entrepreneur and business scaling expert that has raised over a hundred billion dollars in capital for his companies from angels, crowdfunding, and banks. He is also the founder of InterTech Diversity Forum and sits on the advisory board of Global Tech Advocates. In 2021, Ismail was entered into the Entrepreneurs Hall of Fame.

Asher Ismail's Backstory

This motivated him to start a company that provides quick and flexible funding to ecommerce businesses. The key factor that sets Uncapped apart is that they provide funding without asking for personal guarantees or dilution of their businesses.

"Our first customers were actually my friends. Our aim was to create a product that was friendly and a process that was fast and fair. It's the funding product that I wish always existed. Uncapped has now expanded to 22 countries including the US, UK, Germany, Poland and Spain. Ismail's business has grown exponentially through the deployment of hundreds of millions of dollars."

How Long has Uncapped Been in Business?

Uncapped has been in the game for close to three years. It has been a rapid journey and is one of the fastest scaling businesses around, especially in the remote sector. Ismail says that his success did not come about overnight, but is the result of previous experiences, frustrations and challenges.

How is Your Funding Different?

"Uncapped was born out of the frustrations I faced. When launching and running my first business in 2003, I was young and trying to raise a 100k. I had hundreds of meetings and received hundreds of no's."

Asher wanted to avoid the pitfalls of venture capital and traditional banks. He noticed that others around him were experiencing the same problems, causing them to repeatedly miss out on growth opportunities.

Who Do You Work With and What Kinds of Businesses Do You Fund?

Uncapped works with businesses that are making at least 10K of sales per month, has generated revenue for at least six months and one that shows growth. "The ideology behind this is that once you're making 10K of monthly sales, you've actually built something where you are showing sustainability."

“We work with ecommerce businesses as well as a wider variety of businesses who show potential.” Ismail uses a data driven technique that connects directly to the customers work platform, allowing Uncapped to access and determine the amount of capital the business needs. All of this is done within 24hours. The approach eliminates the need for the filling in of lengthy documents and forms.

How Do You Determine If Your Customer is Suitable?

Ismail states that his business model is focused on growth capital. His ideal clients are business owners who have reached a stage where the business has become repeatable and predictable. 

"We get a lot of insight into how people spend. We are able to see the transactions and track how the funds are used. That helps us get a better understanding of the business and then continues to give them more money in the future."

Ismail says that this creates a good dynamic. When his clients do well, they do well. They become a long-term partner as they scale their business.

How Do You Mitigate Risk?

"We don't have a personal guarantee or any other kind of security. This means that we have to be smart about who we give capital too. We'll never give an offer that we don't think the founder can afford, but we are able to fund way more businesses than ever before, because we use a data-driven approach." 

Ismail says that one of the powerful things that he does is connect to the live data sources of the business. Within a few seconds, Uncapped can get an analysis about how your business is performing. We then can speak to our clients and give them valuable insights about their current status and how they could perform better.

Uncapped uses hundreds of different metrics that Ismail has learned over time for different business models.

"Uncapped looking for those patterns. Ultimately we are looking for businesses that are having customers who come back to them, while the company maintains a good profit margin. Uncapped clients often come back to them in order to continue scaling their businesses.

Where Do Business Owners Go To Apply?

Businesses can go directly to the Uncapped website at uncapped.com. They can fill out a short form telling us a little about their business and see if they qualify. They can speak to one of our team members, ask questions and have their accounts connected in a few minutes. A business can find out about their funding options within 24 hours.

What Advice Do You Have for Ecommerce Owners Looking to Raise Money?

• Should you even raise money?

While we're in the business of getting people capital, sometimes you may not need it to grow your business. 

• If you aren't able to raise. How would you make this business work? 

The question business owners should ask themselves is how would the money be used and what are you willing to give up? Think about how you could make your business work without raising the funds work— you may surprise yourself.

• Have the right fundraising mind-set.

Learn how to expect and embrace rejection while planning ahead. Rejection is part of the process. Do not take it personally.

What are Some Lessons You Have Learned Being in Business?

• Build a good support network around you.

As an entrepreneur, you can end up being so dedicated and so focused on running your business that you end up not having time for people in your life. 

• Trust your team

People have a limited amount of decision-making ability on a given day. We ask everyone to be a leader. 

Gain more ecommerce success tips by listening to the eCommerce Money Map Podcast. Learn more about eSenshi by browsing through our services page. We offer a variety of services such as Virtual CFO services, Sales Tax Services, Income Tax Planning and Preparation for ecommerce businesses.