Imagine doing work and having to wait months for your paycheck. That’s what many small businesses go through when their big customers take forever to pay invoices. FundThrough – a financial technology (fintech) company based in Houston and Toronto – was created to fix that problem. It gives small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) an advance on their outstanding invoices, so they don’t have to wait ages to get paid. Now, FundThrough is taking this mission even further by acquiring a New York fintech company called Ampla. This move is like a power-up in a video game for FundThrough’s platform, making it even easier for small businesses to get the cash they need, when they need it.
Meet FundThrough and Ampla
FundThrough is known as a leading invoice factoring platform for SMBs. In simple terms, that means if a small business is waiting for a big client to pay an invoice, FundThrough can pay that business right away and later collect the money from the client. This helps business owners avoid cash flow crunches – much like getting an advance on your paycheck instead of waiting for payday. FundThrough has been growing fast (it even bought Bluevine’s invoice factoring business in 2021 to expand its services) and works across many industries. For example, FundThrough funds invoices in sectors like:
- Retail
- Manufacturing
- Oil and gas
- Technology
- Professional services
- Food supply and agriculture
In fact, about 85% of FundThrough’s funding goes to U.S.-based clients, even though the company operates in both Canada and the U.S.
Ampla, on the other hand, is a fintech company founded in 2019 by Anthony Santomo (a former investment banker). Ampla’s focus has been on helping consumer brands – basically the companies that create products for everyday shoppers. Ampla provides these businesses with working capital (cash loans to keep things running), business banking services, corporate credit cards, and analytics tools to manage their finances.
The company has some impressive stats under its belt: it has funded over $2 billion in loans and handled over $5 trillion in transaction volume through its platform (yes, that’s trillion with a “T” – a huge number!). By joining forces with Ampla, FundThrough is strengthening its “digital-first” ecosystem, creating a combined platform tailored for small businesses that sell to larger companies and often have to wait to get paid after sending an invoice. In other words, this acquisition is aimed at building an unrivaled service for businesses who regularly face the waiting-for-payment problem.
Why the Acquisition Matters?
This deal isn’t just about merging two companies – it’s about solving a big pain point for small businesses. Steven Uster, the CEO of FundThrough, highlighted why services like FundThrough (and now Ampla) are so important. “Business owners have increasingly been forced to act like banks for their much larger customers who extend invoice payment terms beyond reasonable lengths.
They need a seamless way to bridge the cash flow gap, and FundThrough provides a tech-enabled financial solution,” Uster said. In other words, many small companies basically end up financing their big customers by waiting 60, 90, or even more days for payments, which isn’t fair or easy. FundThrough’s platform steps in to bridge that gap – like a friend spotting you cash when your paycheck is delayed – using technology to make the process quick and smooth.
Uster also explained how adding Ampla’s technology into the mix will make FundThrough’s platform even more powerful. “Now, Ampla’s technology significantly enhances FundThrough’s AI-powered model, enabling us to level the playing field further. With Ampla, we can scale faster, enhance our credit underwriting and monitoring processes, and help even more businesses solve their number one pain point, cash flow. I’m excited to work with Anthony, a proven entrepreneur with vast knowledge in this space,” he added.
Essentially, Ampla’s tools and expertise (especially in things like AI and credit monitoring) will help FundThrough serve more businesses, more efficiently. It’s like upgrading the engine of a car – now FundThrough can go faster and farther in helping companies with their cash flow needs. Uster is also enthusiastic about collaborating with Ampla’s CEO, Anthony Santomo, who brings a lot of knowledge in this arena.
What about Ampla’s team? Anthony Santomo, the CEO of Ampla, isn’t disappearing from the picture. In fact, he will stay on as a strategic advisor to FundThrough, and his core team will join FundThrough as well. Santomo is excited about combining forces. “I’m excited about Ampla’s acquisition by FundThrough and the potential of the combined platform to support small businesses.
This strategic move enhances commerce capabilities and provides operators with greater resources to succeed,” said Santomo. From his perspective, bringing the two companies together will give small business owners better tools and more resources to grow their companies. It’s a win-win: FundThrough gets Ampla’s tech and talent, and Ampla’s clients get access to FundThrough’s funding platform.
A $25M Boost and Plans for the Future
Alongside the acquisition, FundThrough announced it has raised $25 million in a Series B funding round. This round was led by Klister Credit Corp., an investment firm that has been a long-time backer of FundThrough (and was an early big investor in Shopify as well). This influx of cash is a big deal because it gives FundThrough fuel to accelerate its growth. The company plans to use the $25M investment to push into key growth areas, such as:
- Further acquisitions (buying or merging with other companies that can add value)
- Investments in technology and AI (making the platform smarter and more efficient)
- Improving user experience (so that the service is easier to use for customers)
- Accelerating product innovation (coming up with new features and services faster)
John Phillips, the President of Klister Credit Corp., explained why he’s confident putting more money into FundThrough. He praised how Steven Uster has guided the company through some tough years and made it a leader in its field. “Steven’s leadership has firmly established FundThrough as a bellwether in the fintech and specialty finance industry. FundThrough’s track record over the past years of uncertainty is impressive.
FundThrough has stayed tightly focused on robustly serving the needs of small businesses forced to hold receivables from their much larger, better-capitalized customers,” Phillips said. In simpler terms, FundThrough stayed committed to helping small businesses survive the challenge of waiting for payments, even when times were uncertain, and that steady focus makes the company stand out.
Phillips also offered an optimistic outlook for what’s ahead: “The outlook for small business growth continues to be positive, and my increased investment reflects my confidence in the FundThrough team’s continuing focus on serving this important market through the best service and continual product innovation.” This means he believes small businesses will keep growing, and he trusts that FundThrough will continue to serve them well with great service and new ideas.
Helping Small Businesses Thrive
With Ampla now part of FundThrough, the combined company is doubling down on helping small businesses keep their cash flow healthy. Steven Uster summed up the mission by noting that in a world with changing economic conditions (like evolving global trade tariffs and other uncertainties), staying cash-flow positive is vital for small companies. “As small businesses navigate the evolving global tariffs, the best thing they can do is preserve their cash flow. FundThrough helps bridge the gap by providing peace of mind for business owners during these uncertain times,” Uster concluded.
For small business owners — including young entrepreneurs fresh out of college — this acquisition is promising news. It means FundThrough’s platform will become even more robust, ensuring that waiting to get paid won’t hold back growth and innovation. FundThrough has even been earning accolades (like making the Deloitte Fast 500 and The Globe & Mail’s list of top growing companies), showing that its approach is working. In a nutshell, FundThrough’s purchase of Ampla, combined with the new $25 million funding, is a big step toward making sure that small businesses can spend more time building their business and less time worrying about cash flow.