Mobile-First Commerce Platform CASHDROP Announces $2.7M Seed Round to Empower Small Business Owners

CASHDROP, a mobile-first contactless commerce platform targeted at small business owners, today announced it has raised $2.7 million in a seed round. Harlem Capital led the deal, which saw participation from other venture firms including Founder Collective, Long Journey Ventures, and M25. The deal also saw individual investments from stalwart Silicon Valley investor and founder Cyan Banister. Other angels in the deal include Behance founder and Adobe’s Chief Product Officer Scott Belsky, Fullscreen (acquired by AT&T) founder George Strompolos, and YouTube pioneer Michelle Phan.

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CASHDROP allows businesses to create an online storefront from their phone in less than 15 minutes. Businesses that deploy CASHDROP never pay commissions or monthly fees on contactless sales of food, retail goods, services or ticketed events. The company was formed in 2020.

CASHDROP was incorporated by Ruben Flores-Martinez in January 2020 with the mission to “empower the dreamers” by making it easier and more accessible to start a business. Ruben immigrated from Mexico when he was 13.

“CASHDROP is looking to democratize and simplify digital commerce,” says Flores-Martinez. “Our app is 100% free to use for merchants. The idea that a business has to give away 30% of their revenue per order is not sustainable anymore. By eliminating predatory fees, maximizing online orders, and providing a seamless buying experience, we help create sustainability for businesses using CASHDROP.”

Despite finishing high school at the top of his class, he was unable to gain admission to college because of his lack of immigration status. Undaunted, Florez-Martinez instead taught himself to code via YouTube tutorials. CASHDROP’s mission is an homage to Ruben’s personal story about the challenges of being an undocumented teen determined to succeed, who eventually was able to later become a U.S. citizen.

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Jarrid Tingle, Managing Partner at Harlem Capital, met Ruben in June 2020 and was “instantly impressed by Ruben’s story, vision, and strong product developed using minimal resources.” Tingle says that “CASHDROP has a massive long-term market opportunity. In the short-term, however, it has proved to be a platform that empowers restaurants and other merchants to adapt quickly to a new way of doing business during the global public health crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Powered by a frictionless ordering process, CASHDROP merchants see up to twice the dollar volume per transaction as compared to cash and card payments made through legacy point-of-sale systems. Merchants can create a custom store link to use across their social media channels and increase order value by empowering customers with easy, quick order placement.

CASHDROP’s offerings include contactless ordering, automatic text updates, and sales analytics. It also provides a fast and easy checkout experience for consumers who can order through CASHDROP’s web-based platform, with no app download or login required.