Park Place Payments Defies Market Trends to Close $1.5 Million Seed Round During Year of Decreased Funding for Women-Led Companies

By AIT News Desk On May 28, 2021

Park Place Payments, a female-founded fintech building a new payment processing experience for businesses while also closing the wealth gap for women who join its sales force, announces a $1.5 million seed funding round led by Curate Capital.

The company closed the round during the pandemic when funding for women-led companies suffered a 27% decrease, dropping to just 2.3% of all venture financing in 2020. The raise will fuel accelerated growth for the company whose single-minded commitment to service is already upending the payment processing industry’s traditional priorities and will be allocated primarily to expanding the team and product offerings.

“At Curate Capital, we are passionate about investing in businesses by women for women,” said Carrie Colbert, Founding and General Partner, Curate Capital. “First and foremost, we invest in winning women – and that’s exactly who Park Place’s Founder and CEO Samantha Ettus is. We invest in businesses that cater to the unique needs of women and we wholeheartedly believe in the nationwide sales force that Park Place Payments is building.”

“We’re thrilled about this remarkable and diverse group of investors,” added Ettus. “This group will be pivotal in supporting our mission to help more businesses while delivering meaningful opportunities and financial stability for more women at a time when it’s most needed.”

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Over the last year, Park Place Payments has seen a 371% growth in its sales force, which is expected to reach 1,200 by the end of 2021, and a doubling of its corporate headcount, including its award-winning in-house, Los Angeles-based customer service team. With a 92% increase in merchant clients and a 134% increase in monthly processing volume since March 2020, Park Place is satisfying small business owners’ desire to choose partners that embrace a service-first philosophy while delivering innovative solutions for virtual and contactless payments.

Ettus founded Park Place Payments in 2018, having observed women struggling to find viable employment after time out of the workforce, and others whose earning potential was capped because of race, gender, age, and education. With nearly 3 million additional women exiting the workforce since the pandemic began, Park Place Payments provides an unmatched solution for them to return to work or leave their full-time positions for more flexibility while seizing control of their financial future.

Additional investor highlights for the round include Katherine August-deWilde (former President and current Vice Chair, First Republic Bank), Anne Clarke Wolff (former Global Head of Investment Banking, Bank of America), Jackie Shoback (Co-Founder, 1414 Ventures and former GM, Staples Online), Lisa Stone (Managing Director, WestRiver Group and Co-Founder, BlogHer), Jason Levien (CEO & Managing General Owner, DC United), and XFactor Ventures.