SaaS, SME Finance Save B2B Funding’s Week

Not every week can be a home run for B2B startups. This time, the industry saw modest gains — a couple million in funding here, another million there — with just three venture capital funding rounds. Software-as-a-Service earned some surprising investor attention, but it was small business financing that earned the biggest round of the week. Find out who secured how much below.

SaaS

SaaSOptics

With the Software-as-a-Service trend in full force, sellers of products and services that deploy a subscription business model have run into new challenges when it comes to accounting and cash flow. SaaSOptics provides automated accounting solutions tailored to companies that offer their services on a recurring basis, and investors have just provided the company with $1.8 million in venture capital.

Reports Tuesday (Nov. 1) said SaaSOptics secured the funds from TEN Holdings Chairman Tom Noonan, Fulcrum Equity Partners Founder Alston Gardner and internal investments. Accompanying the new $1.8 million will be Tim McCormick, a veteran of the B2B software space and SaaSOptics’s new CEO.

UserIQ

Also targeting SaaS businesses is UserIQ, which announced its own $2 million Series A funding round this week, led by BIP Capital. UserIQ enables SaaS companies to retain their customers through engagement technology and in-app data management. In addition to BIP Capital, Accelerant Venture Capital, Tech Square Ventures and BLH Venture Partners also participated in the round, reports said.

SME Finance

Flexiti

Offering point-of-sale financing, Flexiti has secured new investment to the tune of $5 million, the firm revealed Wednesday (Nov. 2). Globalive Capital led the funding, reports said, to support the Canadian company’s offering of point-of-sale solutions and financing to smaller merchants. In a statement, Flexiti Founder and CEO Peter Kalen said the funding will help the company accelerate growth and augment its underlying technology. Globalive Chairman Anthony Lacavera, meanwhile, said the investment supports Flexiti’s ability to meet the demand among consumers and businesses in the nation for alternative financing options.

Misc.

Chic Lifestyle

While the exact value of the funding was not reported, Chic Lifestyle announced Wednesday that Maven Capital Partners provided up to $2.2 million to the company that provides inventory management for small hotels. Chic Lifestyle operates the Chic Retreats online marketplace to help smaller hotels manage room booking and online availability optimization. With the latest funding, the company said it will focus on developing its core technology, developing its mobile offerings and expanding into new geographic markets.

Honorable Mention

i2B Capital

With a narrow focus on providing loans to financial entrepreneurs, i2B Capital has carved out a market for itself, and investors seem to have faith in its success. The company announced Wednesday that it secured a funding agreement with Arena Investors, which will enable i2B to pursue larger investment opportunities of up to $20 million. The company, whose name stands for Institutional-to-Business Capital, was founded last year and focuses on the U.S., Europe and South America for its investments, more recently focusing on capital financing for startups in North America.