Investing in Helcim: On a Misson to be the World's Most Loved Payments Company

Despite the significant innovation across the payments ecosystem (Square, Stripe, Toast), the needs of Main Street business owners are still not being met. Traditional SMB and mid-market merchants make up a significant portion of GDP in North America (source), and yet consistently report that their business needs are being underserved. Characterized by higher AOVs, lower penetration of digital payment methods, and tighter working capital needs, the legacy providers that have historically served this segment are clunky, expensive, and have failed to innovate to support these needs, while newer entrants like Square are better suited for micro-merchants. Enter Helcim, an omnichannel payment processing platform for traditional SMBs and mid-market merchants in Canada and the U.S. Helcim has found market pull across multiple major sectors, including medical (dentists, vets), B2B wholesale, and auto. The depth of product build combines both function and design to meet their customers' needs, which is why over 70% of their thousands of customers switch from an existing provider. 

Headline is thrilled to be leading Helcim’s oversubscribed $20M Series B. Helcim is unique in that they’ve built a full stack next-gen omni channel payment processor; their ability to own most of the process in-house creates a more streamlined and affordable experience for main street business owners. Whether enabling vets and dentists to more seamlessly accept payments at the point of sale or B2B automotive and wholesalers to accept payments easily online, the product composition between online and offline has catapulted Helcim into becoming one of the premium payment brands. Their name has become synonymous with the superior product, pricing, and customer service that meets SMB business owners where they are. Even the ‘unboxing experience of their smart terminals and onboarding flow simplifies and elevates a complicated and mundane, but mission-critical component, of running a business. Not only is Helcim making an impact on the P&L of traditional businesses, but they are also facilitating the transition of B2B payments away from checks and cash to digital methods, a core thesis of ours within the Headline Fintech pod. 

Nicolas Beique began working on Helcim in 2018, bootstrapping the business originally with proceeds from his previous company. A self-taught programmer, we’ve been blown away by Nic’s technical and business acumen. His dedication and execution in one of the more complex areas of fintech have positioned Helcim to become the de facto payments platform to better serve traditional SMB+s in North America. We believe that the existing incumbents and market landscape are ready to be displaced and that Helcim’s current product positioning provides a strong wedge to achieve this vision. Headline is joined by existing investors Information Venture Partners and Aquiline, as well as new additions to the cap table with Clocktower Ventures, Vesey Ventures, and Silvercircle. Headline is thrilled to be partnering with Nicolas and the entire Helcim team on the journey to make Helcim the world’s most loved payments company, for all stakeholders involved.

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