Benjamin Capital Partners has raised $5.5 million to put money into its money rewards enterprise constructed across the Benjamin app.
The seed spherical for the New York and Oulu, Finland-based firm will gasoline the subsequent stage of progress in its mission to disrupt the fast-growing client money rewards market. And imagine it or not, this has a gaming angle to it.
The funding got here from Play Ventures and F4 Fund, that are each outstanding gaming funds. Different outstanding buyers within the spherical embrace inventor, investor, and serial entrepreneur Anton Gauffin (founding father of social gaming firm Huuuge); tech CEO and 20-year cost veteran Shane Happach; and Ilkka Teppo, founding father of Reworks.
The funds will assist the corporate develop its Benjamin money rewards app, which has generated strong client demand and income progress since its launch in October 2023.
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Since popping out of beta in October, the Benjamin app already has over 250,000 installs and 155,000 month-to-month energetic customers (MAUs). Many customers are already incomes over $100 per 30 days; some are over $1,000 per 30 days in earnings. Furthermore, greater than 50% of installs are staying as MAUs. Income progress has additionally been very robust, rising above 40% month over month since October.
“We’re delivering viewers to those recreation firms the place they go so deep into taking part in their video games. And so they’re keen to pay some huge cash for that,” stated Erno Tauriainen, founding father of Benjamin Capital Companions, in an interview with GamesBeat. “We additionally reward these folks for his or her on a regular basis purchases, like once they go to Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts. We give them cash every day, they usually love us. We’ve an extended checklist of recreation publishers who’re knocking on our door. They need these Cash Moments in their very own video games.”
The injection of funds will go in direction of aggressive person acquisition and funding product growth. The increase coincides with the upcoming launch of an enhanced model of the app in addition to the hiring of Benjamin’s first CEO.
Power in gaming
Gaming has emerged as Benjamin’s most strong space of progress since launch. Play Ventures and F4 are each leaders in gaming investments.
Together with gaming, the Benjamin leaders are targeted on two different key pillars of alternative for the newly enhanced Benjamin product. The primary one is every day cashback earnings, which once more generates rewards for customers on all of their every day purchases from groceries to Netflix.
On this age dominated by social media, the Benjamin staff can also be prioritizing the “social cash” options on the app. This would come with the power to earn cash for creating social posts.
Origins
Tauriainen migrated to the U.S. in 2010, having grown up in Finland in a household retail enterprise. Within the U.S., he needed to begin one thing associated to banking knowledge as a part of his American dream. He constructed a few startups that grounded him in money rewards. The second enterprise, Spent, (began in 2014) let folks file and monitor their bills. He created an app that he hoped can be higher than Expensify. However the factor that took off with customers had been the particular affords for affiliate hyperlinks subsequent to the expense numbers.
“It immediately resonated with the customers, and I assumed let’s construct this,” he stated. “The bills mixed with cashback affords was a success.”
Throughout that point, he met Lon Otremba. Spent needed to have interaction in maneuvering to attempt to beat out its competitors. He ultimately offered the corporate to a banking accomplice.
“Then we stated let’s drop the expense half altogether and give attention to the cashback half,” he stated. “The research present that it will increase all your numbers.”
Tauriainen started eager about Benjamin, and he really began the corporate in 2022.
“I spotted a few issues. Cash as an incentive is healthier than something,” he stated. “And it’s going to revolutionize promoting as a result of in Benjamin’s case, the cash will go on to the buyer. After which we name them Cash Moments. So we’re creating a brand new paradigm. It’s not cashback. It’s not promoting. However it’s what we name Benjamin cash moments. I known as it Benjamin due to the $100 invoice.”
It’s merely sending the money to the buyer in the event that they do one thing like learn an article, play a recreation, or have interaction with an commercial. (Sounds just like the Kiip enterprise I wrote about years in the past; it shut down in 2019).
“We at the moment are the quickest rising app within the area,” he stated.
Tauriainen recruited Otremba, promising to disrupt the cashback world.
“I used to be blown away by the imaginative and prescient,” Otremba stated in an interview. “I used to be going to take a breather. However Erno known as me 30 days after [he sold his prior business].”
They met in Florida and Otremba signed on.
“I’ve a lot respect for him, and I’ve admired his mind and his his rules and the way in which he conducts his enterprise and the way in which he was placing these items collectively,” Otremba stated. “If he had been beginning a taco truck, I most likely would have stated let’s do it.”
They opened up the beta testing in October and obtained good traction.
“We knew that recreation publishers,had been very energetic within the area of offering rewards to folks for attempting their video games,” Otremba stated. “And so this could be an important place to get a provide of cash moments that we may put in entrance of individuals. And in order that’s the sector we obtained our provide from. After which we begin going out to see how we’d purchase avid gamers first. And it’s been off the charts ever since.”
New CEO
The brand new CEO Otremba has a background in media, advertising and marketing, and expertise. Most not too long ago, Otremba was the CEO of pioneering native promoting tech platform, Bidtellect, whose progress he spearheaded via to acquisition final 12 months by Simpli.fi.
Otremba is a seasoned and versatile business chief whose profession hallmarks embrace efficiently operating AOL’s Interactive Advertising and marketing Group. He was the founding president of Mail.com (exit by way of IPO and eventual sale to AT&T); and was a founding govt at CNET Networks (exit by way of IPO).
“We’ve a easy objective”, stated Otremba. “To permit customers to generate no less than a Benjamin a month – $100 – utilizing the Benjamin app.”
Benjamin Cash Moments
The Benjamin app permits customers to generate money rewards – known as Benjamin Cash Moments – on a broad vary of on a regular basis actions together with purchases, cellular gaming, and viewing advertisements. You’ll be able to earn money rewards by finishing every day duties in cellular video games.
This versatility permits Benjamin to up the ante to compete in opposition to different established gamers within the cashback enviornment.
Bilt Rewards, which not too long ago raised $200 million with a multi-billion greenback valuation, is concentrated on money rewards for paying lease or one’s mortgage. One other participant, Upside, which beforehand generated a $165 million Sequence D spherical, is concentrated on producing money again on client fuel purchases for his or her automobiles.
“Our imaginative and prescient is for Benjamin to be the facilitator of a complete money rewards way of life throughout the total vary of business manufacturers and entities with which customers work together every day,” stated Tauriainen. “The Benjamin pockets would be the catalyst for a collection of ‘Benjamin Cash Moments’ for customers as they go all through the course of their days. They’ll use the app within the morning at their native Starbucks and get 2% again. After which when they’re commuting on the prepare to their jobs, taking part in their favourite cellular video games, they will earn cash there too.”
Tauriainen is a 15-year veteran of the money rewards area, with two earlier exits.
Advert business modifications
Because the advert business struggles with methods to keep scale of correct digital advert focusing on and measurement within the face of sign loss precipitated by Google’s deprecation of third-party monitoring cookies, model entrepreneurs are focusing more and more on harnessing and making use of first-party, consented knowledge.
“Play Ventures may be very excited to steer the seed spherical of Benjamin as they proceed to construct category-defining client reward merchandise. With practically half of the US inhabitants taking part in cellular video games, and client bank card rewards reaching new heights yearly, we imagine that the intersection of client rewards and cellular video games is a significant rising alternative,” stated Harri Manninen, founding accomplice at Play Ventures, in a press release. “We’re excited to place our experience in scaling gaming firms to work with the Benjamin staff to assist them seize the chance to redefine way of life merchandise within the class.”
With Benjamin’s complete, cross-vertical protection, the corporate is poised to develop into a significant accomplice with main manufacturers throughout the spectrum.
“We at F4 Fund are thrilled to be buyers and backers of Benjamin. The brilliance of their cashback app lies in its simplicity, effectiveness, and distinctive attain into gaming, which opens up new avenues for monetization and distribution of video games,” stated Joakim Achren, basic accomplice at F4 Fund, in a press release. “The staff at Benjamin has impressed us with their data on this area and their abilities in delivering an unparalleled resolution. “
