A new fintech company has pledged to finance more than $125 million in sales and marketing costs for seven technology startups over the coming year, according to a Crunchbase News report published Thursday. New York-based Skalar launched publicly this week with an undisclosed seed round led by São Paulo venture firm Monashees and a debt financing partnership with General Catalyst's Customer Value Fund. The company offers capital to fund customer acquisition without taking equity or demanding repayment on a fixed timeline, instead collecting revenue generated by the customers acquired with its financing.
Skalar's financing model ties repayment directly to customer revenue rather than a predetermined schedule. The company typically collects about 1.1 times the capital it provides—for instance, advancing $10 to acquire a customer and collecting the first $11 that customer generates. If a customer produces less revenue than anticipated, Skalar absorbs the shortfall rather than requiring full repayment of the original sum. The arrangement means companies repay faster when customers generate revenue quickly and slower when revenue takes longer to materialize. Skalar is targeting technology companies spending between $100,000 and $3 million monthly on customer acquisition with a proven track record of earning more from customers than acquisition costs. The company's initial seven clients include four or five Latin American businesses plus U.S.-based firms, and Skalar plans to work with no more than 15 companies annually.
Co-founder and CEO Sebastián Cárdenas told Crunchbase News that "we only get repaid as they get repaid," emphasizing the revenue-linked structure. According to co-founder and COO Daniel Castrillón, Skalar has developed specialized expertise in evaluating these risks, stating the company determines "when they are sufficiently predictable and sufficiently profitable to be underwritable." Cárdenas acknowledged the arrangement carries risks for startups, noting that Skalar sets minimum revenue targets and can demand faster repayment if results fall short or halt additional capital under certain circumstances.
The financing structure differs from venture debt, which the founders contend can force startups to reduce sales and marketing investment or hoard cash when growth opportunities arise. It also diverges from revenue-based financing, which typically advances money against signed contracts or existing revenue streams. Skalar finances potential revenue before it exists and accepts the risk that the revenue may never fully materialize. The company analyzes detailed transaction data to assess customer acquisition costs, retention duration, and lifetime revenue, continuously updating evaluations as new information arrives. Skalar's agreements don't grant rights to seize company assets in default situations and don't require borrowers to maintain specific financial benchmarks or cash balances, according to Cárdenas.
Skalar emerged from Cárdenas's work as an entrepreneur-in-residence at Monashees, where he introduced portfolio companies to General Catalyst's Customer Value Fund model. General Catalyst pioneered a similar approach but increasingly concentrated on larger deals, creating an opening to serve smaller companies and Latin American startups. Monashees general partner Caio Bolognesi said his firm has observed companies with strong customer performance struggle to secure adequate growth financing, particularly as equity investment in the region fluctuated. Looking ahead, Cárdenas sees opportunity beyond venture-backed startups, noting that businesses unable to attract institutional capital due to location, industry, or growth rate may still qualify based on financial performance. "Venture capital solved the problem of funding the top 1% of tech businesses," he said, adding that more than half of the remaining 99% could potentially be financed through Skalar's product but currently lack capital access. The founders eventually plan to offer similar products for other business expenses that produce sufficiently predictable returns. Companies that can simultaneously demonstrate unit economics and struggle to raise traditional growth capital may find themselves caught between models—benefiting from flexible repayment terms while navigating the uncertainty of performance-linked funding thresholds that could accelerate obligations or cut off expected capital.