Payhawk from an investor perspective

June Fund is a global technology investment firm. Established in 2017, the fund has invested in more than 25 companies, most of which tackle large global markets through technology. They are based in Germany and the US and invest in businesses worldwide.

Different from a typical Payhawk customer story, this short article covers how we met and started working with June Fund both as one of their investments and by providing seamless spend management.

Discovering Payhawk

Back in 2020, June Fund was looking into expense management solutions in Europe and came across Payhawk. Always keen to back technology with big potential, the June Fund team was intrigued and impressed by what they saw and wanted to find out as much as possible about the growing (then) startup.

David Rosskamp, Founder and General Partner at June Fund explains:

We liked the fact that Earlybird’s Digital East team had backed Payhawk early in 2020. And, we were intrigued to get to know more about the company and team, so we contacted Hristo, the CEO, right away.

Targeting mid-size companies and underserved markets — and simplifying travel spend

Payhawk stood out from other expense companies June Fund considered by focusing on mid-size companies rather than startups or small businesses. David and his team saw this as a strategic niche for Payhawk because it targets companies that are not too large to have all systems in place yet not too small, where revenue primarily comes from numerous smaller deals.

What also intrigued June Fund about Payhawk was its availability in markets with lower competition, particularly in Central Europe, Spain, and Germany. Payhawk's international availability made it both easy for companies to use across their businesses in different markets but also simplified travel with low FX and internationally accepted cards.

David describes:

One standout feature that resonated with us was Payhawk's exceptional foreign exchange (FX) rates, which are crucial for our team as we frequently travel worldwide. The low FX rates mean we can save significantly on currency conversion costs, ultimately maximising our travel budget. Additionally, the positive feedback from our team about Payhawk's support further solidified our decision to choose them as our expense management solution.

On top of FX, we now offer lots of ways to keep business travel costs under control, including:

• Mileage tracking
• Custom pier diems
• Reimbursements
• An integration with TravelPerk

How fintechs are changing the way we do business

Back in 2020, when we interviewed David, he asked us about how we changed the mentality in companies that have managed expenses with personal cash, paper receipts, and reimbursements for more than 20 years. The answer's simple: We convince the finance director of two things:

1. They will save time and money using an expense platform with cards. No more expense reports, no more chasing your team for receipts, and no more paying personal credit card fees.
2. Second, they will have 100% control of all expenses in real-time

Together, these benefits have convinced companies from across the globe — including the UK, US, and EEA — to save time and take control of spend with Payhawk.

David says:

Fintech companies like Payhawk are helping businesses gather all expense data in one straightforward platform that (now) syncs seamlessly with accounting software. This is a game-changer for many CFOs and finance leaders, and they're willing to give it a try.

Want to know more about simplifying travel spend? Book a personalised demo today.