PayIt gains $25M follow-on investment from early backer Weatherford Capital
May 31, 2019 | Tommy Felts
A Tampa-based venture capital firm run by three brothers sees investing in Kansas City’s PayIt as part of its long-term strategy.
Weatherford Capital first backed PayIt in 2016, through a $4.5 million Series A round led by New York-based Advantage Capital Partners, and followed by Weatherford, Royal Street Ventures, the Missouri Technology Corporation and Five Elms Capital.
The firm confirmed to Startland this week a follow-on investment of $25 million for the Kansas City GovTech innovator, which is led by co-founders John Thomson and Michael Plunkett.
Specializing in GovTech applications that better connect government to its constituents, PayIt made news in 2018 thanks to major partnerships with the State of Kansas and the Unified Government of Kansas City, Kansas. Its iKan app notably allows Kansas to skip the line at the Department of Motor Vehicles.
PayIt was named one of Startland’s 10 Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2017 and 2018.
“As investors, we seek out quality teams, leaders, and healthy cultures, not just assets and good ideas,” reads the investment firm’s website. “We believe that through long-term partnerships with purposeful capital and high-quality companies we will produce outcomes that promote human flourishing.”
Driven by Will, Sam, and Drew Weatherford, the firm has a nationwide focus on middle market firms with enterprise value of $50 million or more.
In March, PayIt made headlines with a more than $100 million investment by New York-based Insight Partners, which provided an exit for investors within the KCRise Fund.
Click here to read about the game-changing investment for PayIt and Kansas City.
“The company [PayIt] happens to be in Kansas City — Investors expect a return. They’re looking for big, scalable, durable businesses,” PayIt’s Thomson said at Startland’s May Innovation Exchange event. “You’ll hear the phrase ‘escape velocity’ — those that can turn into the next Fortune 500 company in a market or a category. It’s all about the execution of the business, the growth trajectory and how investable is that team and business.”
Meeting with more than 85 firms in its most recent funding push, however, PayIt saw rising interest not only in its GovTech offering, but in its hometown backing, he acknowledged.
“There’s a broad awareness of Kansas City, this ecosystem and this environment — and that it’s been on the rise,” Thomson said.
Featured Business
2019 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Missouri Hyperloop talk turns to motion sickness, comfort at high-speeds
But how will it feel? With the feasibility of a high-speed Missouri Hyperloop route connecting Kansas City to St. Louis in about 30 minutes now established, the conversation has shifted tracks to ergonomics, said Diana Zhou. Curious members of the public want to know more about the safety of the proposed transportation mode’s 600-plus-mph speeds,…
$300K Kauffman grant will keep no-cost LaunchCode coding classes in KC another two years
Sourced in community building through enhanced access to resources, a grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation will allow LaunchCode Kansas City to continue its training program for at least two additional years, the program announced Thursday. “It’s very exciting. We know that it’s, in part, through the vision of the Kauffman Foundation that LaunchCode…
New Kauffman indicators point to more fertile ground for startups on Missouri side of state line
A new analysis of early-stage entrepreneurship over the past 20 years indicates a more welcoming environment for fostering startups has developed in the Show Me State. In a state-by-state breakdown released Thursday by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Missouri outperformed Kansas across the board. Overall, Missouri’s scores showed climbing measures of entrepreneurship, while Kansas saw…
Friend That Cooks in-home personal chefs bake healthful cooking into families’ diets
Champagne wishes and caviar dreams be damned, Brandon O’Dell quipped. Personal chefs are no longer a luxurious perk of the nation’s one-percent — all thanks to Kansas City-served startup Friend That Cooks. And as the market grows, so too does the repertoire of chefs at O’Dell’s startup, a weekly in-home meal prep service now operating…