Launched in 2020, Pennylane is continuing its journey of fast-paced growth with a fresh funding boost of €50 million just secured. The company wants to become the leading financial OS on the European market, enabling thousands of small businesses to centralize their financial management in a single tool.
This latest round of funding for the Parisian fintech comes from existing investors Sequoia Capital, Global Founders Capital and Partech and will make Pennyland one of the only platforms combining a complete software solution for accountants and a financial management tool for VSEs/SMEs.
Since raising €15 million last year, the French startup has seen incredible progress in its mission to help companies regain control of their finances. We also reckoned they were one to watch last year. Over the past few months, it has built and delivered a unique solution to the market: a platform that combines a complete software solution for accountants and management and a decision-making tool for company managers. Pennylane also provides small and medium-sized businesses with the ability to manage their cash flow, pay their clients, use numerous integrations, and exchange information with their accountants in real-time.
The company now has 180 employees representing 20 nationalities, with a plan to grow to 500 employees by the end of the year, creating one of the largest tech teams seen in the European account-tech industry. To drive this recruitment effort they have a 15 person talent team and crucially they operate as remote-first throughout Europe for their technical team. With almost half of the developers recruited in 2021 located in Spain, Germany or Romania, Pennylane has developed a highly successful remote-first working culture.
Arthur Waller, CEO and co-founder of Pennylane commented: “This new funding round comes at a pivotal point in our growth. We have all the elements to significantly scale up and to continue to develop the best accounting tool on the market. We’re also really proud of our remote-first culture and are excited to grow our team and recruit the most talented people across tech and data regardless of where they are”.
The Pennylane product is proving incredibly popular – amongst both accountants and SME’s. As a result, its volume of direct customers has grown 98% in just 6 months, and its level of recommendations amongst clients is impressive. Over the past 6 months, the number of companies using Pennylane on the recommendation of their accountants has increased from 22% to 81%.
On the back of this funding, the priority is to increase hiring and accelerate product development. Following this, Pennylane will start its European expansion in 2023 by entering Spain and Germany.
