- Census data shows that a record number of new businesses were founded in 2021.
- Technology companies that cater to small and medium-sized businesses, or SMBs, have also proliferated.
- Here are 12 startups helping SMBs with credit, expense management, corporate cards and more.
Starting a small business is hard — something millions of Americans have learned during the pandemic and a growing debate over the nature of work.
The number of new business applications hit a record of more than 5.3 million in 2021, up from about 4 million in 2020, according to the US Census Bureau.
But starting a small or medium-sized business, or SMB, comes with a wide range of challenges, such as raising the investments and capital needed to start building and selling products, and managing expenses, vendors, and accounts while the company grows. Fortunately, there are a growing number of financial technology companies that offer services and products specifically designed to help.
These startups—often founded by entrepreneurs who know firsthand the ups and downs of starting a company—work with a broad spectrum of SMB clients, including early-stage technology players, small government contractors, freelancers, and entrepreneur. Their goal is to provide more efficient ways to manage the critical, but often overlooked, aspects of running a business for the approximately 8 million SMBs in the US.
Even as big SMB fintech players exit the market — for example, business card startup Brex said in June it planned to close its SMB segment to focus on larger companies and startups. technology – opportunities for others remain.
Stephanie Choo, a managing partner at venture capital firm Portage Ventures, told Insider that there are gaps where fintechs can reach smaller customers. “It’s really hard to think of SMBs as one giant segment because a hair salon is going to have very different needs than a restaurant, which is going to have different needs than a startup,” Choo said.
