Partner Playbook: How Banking & Finance Platforms Can Support SaaS Capital Needs
No single platform can meet every need of a global SaaS founder, but together, we can cover the entire capital stack. Understanding the SaaS finance ecosystem, what it is and how to build one through partnerships, can help to maximize the benefits to both SaaS customers and the financial companies that fuel them.
The SaaS Finance Ecosystem
B2B finance companies can’t be everything to every business. Instead, we should think of ourselves as a thriving ecosystem that works in collaborative and complementary ways to support the capital needs of SaaS and AI companies. B2B SaaS focused accounting firms and tax services, legal advisors, accelerators, early-stage VC firms, boutique investment banks, and revenue-based financing lenders—we all play a part. When we work together, we can strengthen our businesses while delivering an improved experience to the customer.
Support Growth Through Specialization
By leveraging strategic partnerships with other financial platforms and providers, we can focus on what we do best, putting the heavy lifting into improving our core offering while allowing reciprocal partnerships to fill our customer pipelines. The more specific you get about your core offering, the stronger your value proposition becomes.
The Ideal SaaS Finance Partnership Mix
- Accelerators: Early-stage SaaS startups can find vital support, including mentorship, resources, and access to investor networks, through accelerators. The SaaS startups best suited to an accelerator may not be ready for equity or debt financing, but with the right support, they will in the future.
- Lending platforms: Non-dilutive financing platforms like ECL help SaaS startups access the working capital they need to grow. Revenue-based financing can work hand in hand with VC rounds, accelerators, and other financial tools to ensure that SaaS startups can achieve velocity and profitability.
- Early-stage VC firms: Accelerators and lending platforms can partner with early-stage VC to create a vetted pipeline. Sometimes, the right funding choice for a VC-backed company is non-dilutive capital—having a partner you trust can help funded companies access the capital they need faster.
- SaaS companies: Finance and banking platforms often work with businesses that don’t yet have their tech stack on lock. B2B SaaS companies can offer discounts for referred customers.
- Accounting and tax platforms: When funding and accounting platforms collaborate, we’re better suited to cover the financial needs of each SaaS customer.
- CFO tools: Most SaaS companies need CFO support before they have full-time CFO budget. Partnerships allow finance platforms to connect CFO offerings with the SaaS companies that need them and vice versa.
- Legal platforms: Legal expertise tailored to SaaS operations, from contract structuring to intellectual property protection, underpins sustainable growth.
The Benefits of Partnering with a Lending Platform
Efficient Capital Labs specializes in revenue-based financing, allowing global SaaS companies to leverage non-dilutive funding in multiple currencies. We also work strategically with our partners to ensure that all the capital needs of our SaaS customers are being met. Here’s how we complement the services of other financial providers.
For VC firms
RBF platforms like ECL provide VC firms with a less dilutive alternative to traditional equity funding, helping portfolio companies access growth capital without giving up additional ownership. This can extend runway and improve exit potential while reducing the pressure on early-stage valuations.
Banking platforms
Banking platforms expand their product suite instantly, without building new credit models, by plugging into ECL’s API. tied directly to revenue performance, improving loan underwriting accuracy and reducing default risk through dynamic repayment structures.
Accounting and tax platforms
Partnering with ECL helps accounting and tax platforms streamline cash flow management and tax planning for SaaS clients by aligning financing repayments with revenue cycles. This integration reduces financial stress and improves forecasting accuracy for both clients and advisors.
How Partnership With a Lending Platform Works
Everyone has different partnership agreements. At ECL, we’ve found these to be the most successful.
- Refer customers/companies: Partners who make referrals to ECL receive a referral reward (with volume incentives).
- Access to exclusive pricing: ECL partners can access exclusive pricing on ECL financing for themselves, their customers, or their portfolio companies.
- Cross-promotional events: ECL partners host in-person events and virtual educational seminars, unifying our customer bases.
- Embed our financing in your product: Offer instant, non-dilutive capital to your portfolio company or customer base via our embedded finance product.
Partner With ECL
If you serve SaaS & AI founders, let’s explore how our capital can make your product stickier, your customers happier, and your portfolio stronger. Speak to our Partnerships Team to find the best way for us to work together.
Series A FAQ
Series A funding is the first major round of venture capital used by SaaS and AI startups to scale product, team, and go-to-market after achieving early traction.
Series A rounds typically raise $5M–$20M, depending on the startup’s traction, market, and capital needs.
Founders usually don’t make personal money during Series A, as proceeds go to fund company growth, not individual payouts.
If more capital is needed post-Series A, startups can use non-dilutive financing to extend runway, raise a bridge round, Series A extension, or move toward Series B if metrics support it.
Series A investors typically include venture capital firms, sometimes joined by strategic investors or super angels with domain expertise.
Series A founders make money later through equity value appreciation realized at acquisition, secondary sale, or IPO.
Series A investors make money by receiving equity that appreciates in value and pays out during a successful exit, such as an acquisition or IPO.
Only about 50% of Series A startups raise a successful Series B, and fewer make it to exit or IPO.
Series B funding is the second formal venture capital funding round, raised to scale revenue, expand teams, and optimize operations, typically after proven product-market fit and repeatable growth.
Series C is the third formal funding round. Funding from a Series C round supports aggressive scaling, new market entry, or acquisitions, often from growth-stage or late-stage investors.
A Series D funding round is for startups that need additional capital before an exit, are facing delays, or are exploring new pivots or strategic expansions.
Most venture-backed startups go through 3–5 rounds (Series A to D/E) before pursuing an IPO.
