Companyon Ventures

Hey Founder CEO, be honest—does this sound like you? ? “Ugh, another board meeting. Let’s just get this over with.” ? “I don’t want to share bad news… they might lose confidence in me.” ? “These meetings are a waste of time. I’ve got a company to run!” If any of this resonates, here’s the tough truth: The board dynamic is a direct reflection of the CEO’s mindset. The 3 Common CEO Board Personas: 1?? The Intimidated CEO – Nervous about tough conversations, sugarcoats bad news, and avoids pushback. This hurts the company because a board can’t help if they don’t have the full picture. Lead with the bad news. Seek honest feedback. That’s how you extract real value. 2?? The Checkbox CEO – Views board meetings as a bureaucratic chore, something to endure rather than leverage. The result? A missed opportunity to get real strategic input. Your board isn’t a reporting obligation; it’s a tool for scaling your business. 3?? The Pro CEO – Understands that a strong board makes them a better leader. Comes prepared, shares the same data they use to run the company (KPIs, financials, pipeline, execution against plan), and focuses the meeting on reflection, debate, and decisions. At the end of the day, if your board isn’t valuable, it’s on you. You either: ? Haven’t structured it correctly ? Don’t have the right people in the room ? Don’t know how to run an effective board meeting If you’re not getting the candid feedback and tough conversations you need, it might be time to re-evaluate your approach—or even bring in an independent board chair to help you get the most out of your directors. Your board should challenge you, push you, and make your company better. If that’s not happening, fix it. What’s your board dynamic like? Drop your thoughts ??

18 months ago, Flex set out to redefine financial empowerment for business owners, tearing down the walls between personal and company spend, income, and payments with an all-in-one ecosystem of financial products, purpose-built to help business owners. Today, I’m thrilled to announce that Flex has raised $225M in equity and debt capital to accelerate our mission of empowering the dreams of owner-operated businesses—$25M in equity led by Titanium Ventures, with participation from existing investors like Companyon Ventures, MS&AD Ventures , AAF Management Ltd., Florida Funders, and more, and a $200M credit facility from Victory Park Capital Advisors to expand access to capital for business owners. Why does this matter? Company and personal finances for business owners are deeply intertwined. This leads to "pull-my-hair-out" hours spent in front of Excel, reconciling inventory, credit card swipes, client invoices, and family bills—all in one. Owners don’t think in silos; they yearn for and deserve a single, powerful platform that handles everything from business invoices to personal spending. Enter Flex. In just 18 months, we’ve surpassed $1 billion in annualized TPV (total payment volume), co-piloting thousands of business owners in managing their payments, working capital, banking, cash flow, and scale. Our product vision is ambitious: capture the full lifecycle of every dollar entering a business owner’s life—from the time they make revenue to the time they personally spend it. - Flex Credit Card: AI underwriting for hyper-personalized float, flexible terms, and rewards for owners. - Flex Banking: A modern banking experience with up to 2.99% yield on idle cash and zero fees. - Flex Expense Management: Modern expense management for employee expenses with AI-powered receipt collection and reconciliation with ERP systems. - Flex AP Automation: AI invoice processing that automatically ingests and schedules bill payments, with global payments in 180 countries. And introducing Flex Consumer: Soon, business owners can seamlessly manage their personal finances—all from the same platform. We call it: Flex Elite. Flex is building the first true financial ecosystem for business owners, and we’re still early. Thank you to our incredible investors, customers, and team, who believe in our vision. We’re just getting started. A massive shoutout to all our believers: Kinan Hayani, Yash Patel, Saxon Baum, tom wallace, Tom Lazay, Ronny Chatterjee, Firas Raouf, Kyle Hendrick, Omar Darwazah, Ankeet Kansupada, Anirudha Mididoddi, Scott Anderson, Jon Soberg, Dominik Pasilic, Eric Bahn, Elizabeth Yin, Aneel Ranadive, Turner Novak, Eugin Lee, and many more. Read all about us on TechCrunch here: https://lnkd.in/dmu9CWdX Learn more at www.flex.one

Great solution? That's just the start. ?? To build a truly successful business, you need to master the art of articulating your opportunity beyond the product. In this clip, David McFarlane from Companyon Ventures emphasizes the crucial shift from solution-focused to business-driven. Are you tracking the right metrics to prove your profitability? Do you understand the business opportunity as well as you understand your domain? This is the key to attracting investment and scaling sustainably. Want to learn how to make this critical transition? Hear more insights from David on our latest Profit Streams? podcast with Luke Hohmann. ?? Link to Episode: https://lnkd.in/gxWz_qCv What business metrics do you find most essential for demonstrating profitability? Share your thoughts below! ?? #ProfitStreams #BusinessStrategy #StartupGrowth #SaaSMetrics #VentureCapital #BusinessDevelopment #Entrepreneurship #Leadership #CompanyonVC #BusinessOpportunity #Profitability

Success leaves clues—follow them. ??? Effective founders don’t wait to figure it all out alone, they tap into the experience of those who’ve been there so they can build smarter, faster, and with fewer blind spots. Posh founder Avante Price shares one of his keys to scaling: “Surround yourself with founders who are one or two steps ahead—they can see around corners you haven’t reached yet. That’s how your idea becomes a $100 billion idea.” Get more expert insights on building a thriving startup: https://bit.ly/42uukty

Calling all Bostonian Claymakers ???? -- Everett Berry (our Head of GTM Engineering) and Alex Lindahl (GTME & Author of Claymation.io) are headed your way! Come hang out with us next Wednesday -- they'll be showcasing the latest in signal-driven GTM automations live as you nosh on some 'zza ? Vibe check: We'll kick off with networking and welcome drinks, then dive into Clay workflow demos that blend theory with tactical tips you can implement right away You'll learn: ?? Latest trends in GTM Engineering ?? Signal-based use cases that drive results ?? Tips & best practices from the experts ?? BONUS: All attendees receive FREE Clay credits! ~~~~~~~ ?? Hosted at Companyon Ventures (Thanks for having us, Tom and team!) ?? Wednesday, March 5th ?? 6:00 PM EST ?? Pizza + drinks will be made available Register now! ?

Onboarding is often the forgotten step after hiring—but it’s critical for long-term success. In this clip, Meg Henry, Head of People & Talent at Companyon Ventures, talks about the key to effective onboarding. ?? Meg breaks it down into two essential components:?? Company Orientation – Helping new hires understand the business, product, and team dynamics.?? Role-Specific Onboarding – Setting clear 30-60-90 day goals so new hires know exactly what success looks like. A great onboarding process isn’t just a formality. It drives engagement, speeds up productivity, and helps companies retain top talent. ?? Listen to the full episode to learn how you can build an onboarding strategy that works! What does onboarding look like at your company? Let’s discuss below! ?? Latest episode of The Talent Tango: https://eleva.no/mhenry #Onboarding #HR #PeopleOps #talent #hiring

Ever wonder how VCs really think about pricing, packaging, and licensing? ?? In our latest Profit Streams? podcast with Luke Hohmann, we dive deep with David McFarlane, Managing Partner at Companyon Ventures, and unpack the secrets to capital-efficient growth. David shares his incredible journey from UK roots to building unicorn outcomes and reveals the metrics that truly matter to investors (hint: it's not just about the numbers). If you're a founder or growth-minded leader, this episode is a MUST-LISTEN. Discover how to optimise your profit streams and build a sustainable business. Hit play now and transform your approach to growth! ???Link to podcast episode: https://lnkd.in/gxWz_qCv #ProfitStreams #VentureCapital #Startups #BusinessGrowth #SaaS #PricingStrategy #Packaging #Licensing #ARR #CapitalEfficiency #Entrepreneurship #Podcast #B2BSoftware #CompanyonVC

?? Strategy Session for Scaling Your Startup ?? Firas Raouf's favorite analogy for how we help companies is to imagine flying a plane just by looking out the window then upgrading to navigating with a jet’s instrument panel: that’s the clarity needed to bridge Product-Market Fit (PMF) and Go-to-Market Fit. ?? The Chasm Between PMF and GTM Fit Talent: Hiring the right leaders to scale operations Capital: Balancing growth with runway preservation Focus: Narrowing ICP on highest-value cohorts Execution: Prioritizing what to start and stop doing ??? Strategy Canvas Our first step Post-investment, is running an in-person Strategy & Planning Session to: 1?? Align on Vision, Mission, Culture - Ex. What are we trying to build and why? What type of people do we want on our team? 2?? Map the 2-Year Horizon (Not just numbers like $10M ARR): What does success look like in team structure, product, traction, and next-round readiness? - Ex. New product in market, new partner channel active. 3?? Break It Down 12-Month Milestones: What do you need in Year 1 to hit Year 2 goals? - Ex. Senior executives hired, ICP nailed down and GTM engine active. 6-Month Priority Hires: Critical hires to accelerate growth - Ex. Hire a GTM Engineer, hire a CSM to manage inbound tsunami, hire 3 devs for X. Immediate Actions: What to launch, double down on and stop doing - Ex. Stop selling to SMBs who churn quickly or stop giving reps commission on SMB deals. ?? Want to experience for yourself? Sign up for Companyon Ventures Lunch & Learn Strategy Session Feb 28th at 12pm ET here: https://lnkd.in/eHT7zW92 #startups #venturecapital

?? Early-stage B2B founders: Struggling to turn your vision into a clear, fundable execution plan? We’ve got you covered. Try out Companyon Ventures' free Company Strategy Canvas & Interactive Planning Tool to help you and your leadership team craft a focused growth strategy that attracts investors and drives real revenue impact. ???Join us on February 28th at 12pm ET (RSVP in comment) to learn how to ?? ? Build an execution plan that aligns with investor expectations ? Learn from real-world founders who’ve used it to accelerate growth ? See how this framework has driven results like: ? 2-3X increase in ACV for ideal customer cohorts ? 50% faster sales cycles ? 2X increase in Lead-to-Trial conversion ?? Whether you’re preparing to raise or scaling towards Series A, this session will give you tactical takeaways you can apply immediately. Hear from?Hersh Tapadia,?Allstacks,?and?Daniel Vataj, Sentdm, about how it has and will impact their business. See you there! #startups #vc #venturecapital #SaaS #10Stepsto10M #leadership #fundraising